Accident emphasises seat-belt need

Press, 23 October 1981, Page 5

Accident emphasises seat-belt need

A head-on collision in darkness in Lewis Pass in June, resulting in a passenger going through the windscreen and losing the sight of an eye, and the driver suffering a cut lip from the steering wheel, led to Judge Bradford, in the District Court yesterday, emphasising the obligation on motorists to ensure they and passengers wore seat belts. He convicted Derek Neil Raphael Jones, aged 22, a farrier, on a charge of careless driving causing bodily injury to his passenger, Graham William Storer, a service station assistant manager, on the Lewis Pass highway in the early evening of June 14. The defendant, who denied the offence, was fined $4OO and his driving licence was cancelled for six months.

Imposing the conviction and penalty, the Judge compared the effects of the accident on the defendant and Mr Storer, who had not been wearing their seat belts, and who were taken to Hanmer Hospital because of their injuries. with those of the other driver, Janet Therese Sheehan, and her girl-friend, both of whom were wearing seat-belts and escaped with bruising. The Judge said that “partly" as a result of the defendant's carelessness Mr Storer had lost his right eye in the accident. However, neither men had worn seat belts.

He said that although he had not taken the matter of seat belts into account in reaching his verdict, his view was that a motorist was a party to, and aided and abetted in an offence, by a passenger who did not choose to wear a seat belt. The motorist’s failure in this regard might constitute a careless use of his vehicle because a passenger in a reasonably violent collision was likely to go through tne windscreen, the Judge said.

He said this was a sad case which aiiould illustrate

to the public generally the wisdom of wearing seat belts.

Sergeant W. J. McCormick prosecuted, and Mr B. D. Kinley appeared for the defendant. Prosecution evidence was that the collision occurred about 6.30 p.m. in darkness, on a bend in hills along the Lewis Pass highway. Miss Sheehan and her passenger were returning, to Christchurch from Greymouth and the defendant and Mr Storer were travelling to Nelson on holiday, having set out after Mr Storer had played in a soccer fixture that afternoon.

The defendant’s car went on to its wrong side of the road at the bend, and struck Miss Sheehan’s car, pushing it back. Her car stopped only a few feet from the edge of a drop down the mountainside, according to evidence.

Constable P. J. Croxon gave evidence of interviewing the defendant on July 21. The defendant told him that half way around the bend he suddenly saw the headlights of an oncoming car. • This shocked him as he

had not seen the headlights before the bend. He then knew he was going too fast to negotiate the bend safely, and he panicked and braked. His car then skidded on to its wrong side of the road and collided with the approaching car. Neither he nor Mr Storer was wearing seat belts, he told the constable. The defendant, in evidence, said he was not aware of any advisory speed sign approaching the bend. When half-way around the bend he was very surprised to see the other car’s headlights appear to be coming straight towards him.

He panicked and braked. He now believed that if he lad not braked he would nave got around the bend. The Judge said a reasonably prudent motorist must expect to meet vehicles coming in the opposite direction, and must drive on his correct side.

Although the defendant's speed was under the open limit he was driving too fast in the circumstances, and was careless in that regard on a winding road and in darkness. _____