M.O.T. and accidents

Press, 9 May 1985, Page 12

M.O.T. and accidents

Sir,—Until I witnessed a collision between a motor vehicle and a cyclist at the Opawa Road roundabout, I believed that the Ministry of Transport treated all road users equally. In this collision the motor vehicle was clearly the offending party, failing to give way to the bicycle on his right-hand side. An officer of the Ministry of Transport saw the collision, the resulting prostrate cyclist, and the motorist continue his journey unhesitatingly. To my surprise the officer remained stationary on the southwest corner of the roundabout, unmoved by this potentially tragic incident. I was of the opinion that an officer of the Ministry of Transport would always ensure that all law abiding citizens would have safe use of the nation’s roads, regardless of the citizen’s race, age, sex or mode of transport. I am horrified this is not true. — Yours, etc.,

G. A. LEGANDE. April 28, 1985.

Sir, — I would sincerely like an explanation. I was involved in a collision at 10 a.m. on Sunday, April 28, at the Opawa RoadEnsors Road roundabout, where I was hit by a car that failed to give way to me. I was knocked off my bicycle but was not hurt. The car failed to stop and continued blatantly on its way. This all happened under the gaze of a traffic officer, waiting to supervise traffic for a cross-country running competition. Although seeing my plight the officer did not bat an eyelid. He did not come to my assistance nor did he do anything about the offending car that was hurriedly escaping the scene. How are we, as honest citizens, expected to obey the laws of the road if the people we employ to protect us just stand about like shop mannequins? — Yours, etc., EDWARD HAYES. April 28, 1985. [Mr I. W. McLauchlan, the Senior Chief Traffic Officer, Ministry of Transport, Christchurch, comments: “If the circumstances occurred as set out in your correspondents’ letters I would have expected the officer to have assisted persons involved and carried out a normal investigation of the incident. In order to complete my inquiries into the allegations I would be obliged if the two correspondents would contact me.”]