She says . . .

Press, 8 May 1980, Page 27

She says . . .

There have been several theories advanced for the number of accidents on the roads at Anzac weekend, and I’m not going to add to them. But I did notice that the driving in and around Christchurch was exceptionally bad immediately before and during the week-end. That could he just my impression; but I’ve had several other drivers make the same comment, so I wasn’t the only one to notice.

It wasn’t just ill-judged driving — it was reckless

and careless. There was much impatience, much discourtesy. There wasn’t much enforcement. Not that I saw, at any rate. I think we need many more visible traffic officers on Christchurch city and suburban streets, and this was one occasion when their absence was particularly noticeable. The three failures which I noticed most — possibly because they’re all things that scare me— were following too closely, “beat-, ing” red lights, and sudden turns and lane-

changes without signals. All illegal, of course; and all dangerous. And all, Td suggest, offences for which enforcement in this city is visibly and consistently lacking. I'm sure I'm not the only driver alarmed by having a car or truck follow a metre off my back bumper at 50 km/h. I can’t be the only one alarmed at having my “nose wiped” at a green light by someone going through the red light on the cross-street. Nor do I think it unreasonable to express some horror at seeing a driver swing front one side of a oneway street to the other, across four marked lanes, without either signal or glance behind. I don’t know yet how everyone else missed him. But one Anzac week-end bouquet: . thanks to the contractors working in Durham Street, just before the week-end. for the excellent advance warning of their road works. Motorists knew it was “one lane ahead” a couple of hundred metres in advance. That’s how it should be.— Barbara Petre.