Clarification call after Court’s ruling

Press, 28 February 1981, Page 4

Clarification call after Court’s ruling

PA Wellington A High Court decision which found a truck driver at fault in the death of a child, aged six, has moved the Automobile Association to call for clarification of the Road Code. The council of the Automobile Association has asked the Ministry of Transport to spell out more carefully the law as it relates to passing stationary school buses.

The Automobile Association’s president, Mr J. A. Connolly, said the Road Code was not as explicit as it could be on the question of whether “passing” a stationary school bus referred to passing in the opposite direction as well as overtaking.

The council discussed a case in tire High Court at Rotorua on June 6, 1980, in which a truck driver was convicted of causing

death by the careless use of a motor-vehicle. His truck had struck the child after she ran across the road from a stationary school bus. Evidence established that the truck was exceeding the limit of 20km/h when “passing any part of the school bus,” as. required under the Traffic Regulations. The Judge rejected his defence that “passing” referred only to overtaking and not meeting in the opposite direction, as the truck driver had done. The Director of Road Transport (Mr W. Shearer) told the A.A. council that 1 m Judge had interpreted the meaning of the word, “nassing” in the regulations correctly. Several representatives on the council said they had been labouring under the same misunderstanding as the truck driver, and suggested that more publicity be given to

tire fact that the speed restriction applied to all traffic,