Auto Gossip

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33803, 27 March 1975, Page 22

Auto Gossip

by

A.J.P.

1 Figures can be used to I prove almost anything, and' the figures connected with; road deaths are no ex-! ception. I have been rather! interested, for example, to see a United States report that says road deaths in that country fell dramatically in 1973 because of the safety regulations applying to vehicles, and the lower speeds and traffic volumes brought about by the fuel crisis in the last two months of that year. The death rate for every 100 million vehicle miles was 4.3, the lowest in the world, and nearly half the eight deaths for every’ 100 million vehicle miles in . New Zealand, the report , says. Deaths for the yean were down by 500, to 1 55,500. 3 Taken by itself, that last; 2 paragraph sounds impres-i < sive. But if you analyse it. i s you find that the death rate dropped exactly 0.8 : per cent. Not exactly! “dramatic”, in my understanding of the word. The report also raises the interesting question of how one should express road death statistics. When' one considers the types of roads and the conditionscovered in 100 million miles in the United States.! and the conditions for the same distance on New Zea-! land roads, 1 think that the discrepancy between the two figures makes sense. I would suggest that NewZealand drivers make more trips, and shorter trips, ini generally worse conditions' and certainly in older cars than do their United States counterparts. At the same time, the! “per 100 million vehicle j . miles” basis for discussing

• loan ueains is mure logical j than merely referring to a 1| national total. To say there i were five less road deaths s this month than in the same month last year is really quite meaningless, unless one knows there were more or less cars on the road covering greater or shorter distances than last year. Even a run of bad weather in the particular month last year may have had a bearing on things. As it is, petrol consumption figures suggest that the national mileage has dropped markedly in the last 12 or 15 months,: and one. would expect a corresponding drop in accidents. Again, talking of accidents every so many miles is probably more accurate than discussing; deaths alone, because the; difference between an in-; jury accident and a fatal; accident is so often a matter of mere chance. Andi one accident, with a train for instance, can account! for four or five lives.