MOTOR ACCIDENTS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1024, 13 January 1911, Page 8

MOTOR ACCIDENTS.

-.;. J; ■; jfcAR CAPSIZES NEAR WAITARA. I -V'-'" TWO OCCUPANTS SERIOUSLY ' :' ; - . injured. : '-.>:: • '•', .. P* 7 Tolenrapu.-Press. Association.) ;■'.*-.' '..'.-f-'--"- Now Plymouth, January 12. ' ■.;,-:■- .A, motor-car, driven by Mr. A~ ■H. svN'-Honnq'r, of New Plymouth;' a. coachjv.;.;>. Guilder, turned turtle'- at the toot'. of IvJ'V Big-j;Jim's Hill, a; ; steep part of .the !;-"-■■■ country .road near Waitara, at' three r.r .o'clock this, afternoon," aiid some of the • : ; ~■• party ; were seriously ' injured-. - There |..'Vwero with Mr. Honnor, Mrs. 'Honhor '■ '■'.•andf.her littlo'son. .Mrs.'.T. -,W. r Fisher I ; ' (wife :of Mr. Fisher, Under-Secretary P.-, for. jNative Affairs, ; Wellington), Miss ;' : ..'Fjshor,; and Miss Butler: (Mrs. Hon- ; j nor s sister)'.'' ' ' • : . ' ; .'.*-."■ The account of an eye-witness states •j; : -.:an occurred as though . a iv; Jtyroitubo had hurst. The car skidded, pi; the back wheel collapsed, and tho car I-.' '.capsized. .-:.:. ,".,/.' . 1 :.'.-;■ ' Mrs. Fisher, sustained a fracture of v.'*' the base of .the skull, and Mr. .Honnor jy. v was'. : also seriously hurt. . Both were }. :; unconscious. Miss Fisher:and ».'■■ ;tho boy' were unhurt, and Miss "Butler ;•:•' was. only, sfightly .injured; At;. eleven [< { .v;. o'clock, to-night there was no 'change ;yV;jii thei'condition- of the. two patients.;:

THE IMVERCARCILL COLLISION

~.-EVIDENCE AT'THE,INQUEST.; t'■':>'!•' . . ,(Er Telceraph.—Press •Association.) ';',- [V-Vr :\W'' : K, InveroargUl, January;l2. ' - KX;:: .'Ati the., inuest to-day touching the ,)' .;■. death, of Dr. Fullartpn and the child

L ■■ -Dora Martin, the : victims of, I .:,Vyesterday's motor collision with, a train, ?•':' Inspector.Mitchell,- in addressing the '"•'.■ '•■V i ur - y 'j sa 'd a * *' le position seemed to J:*':.--be that-the guard, Jones, was signalling ■;'■:'• "Dr. Tullarton on the left and a nian

•:••;■' named ..Connell, was. signalling him/'imp . mediately',in front', whilst''irom about , twenty paces from the lino Dr. Fullari' '.ton' would have had an unobstructed :••,- View to' tho right. In'that particular. -.- .instance.it would seem that the motor- ■;^". car. partv_ could ,riot have.'been 'better :■: .-warned? but at the samo'timoho, left it p. •;■'. to the.jury to say whether s it was pos- ['•;■■-, Bible that additional precautions.should '. '...be provided at'the crossing. .' ■■-, ■'',- ' v.... . Thomas Jones', ''guard" on the- J oiit- :\' ,'poing train to Orepuki, stated that at '?'■'■■. -Jlie.'-timo'of the accident lie was'at Wal- ;%.•;■'. Jacetown Junction standing at- the ", points, near the crossing, about twontv- ''■" *}l'o'yardE. from the middle.'of the road. '•.-'• ■'. Whenvho, .saw: the mojor-car it-was >.."; .about .twenty 'yards from the-railway ! , iiiie, 1 and. he estimated •• its -speed at '.;,.; twenty-five miles an hour. At the tirhe i '■- , ';.'.;': he isaw the car ..the engine of the in-:;'.'■-eoniing, train was about'twenty'yards :.- from the cattle-stop. Hcput.'up' his j. hanas and called out to the occuoants ■ V:: of -the car, but the crash occurred- ali most momentarily afterwards. The car . .wasi travelling in'the middle.of the i y road,. At. the soot he. first caw '-the ";. motor-car the view, of the lino would :..- .; be obstructed from the road bv ablack- , Bmith s shop. He believed that' 'Dr. ~-'Fullarton; .who was driving the car' ;;..■. was, looking 'ahead.' Ho tboueht the ;s-;^™ c !: or .. mns t have, seen a maoi—Connell ■V-,'- ; —""'"Shis hands! and the ininression •;-,_. ■ he';(witness) formed;was .that the dec- ;-... .'for., saw' the train,arid atterrmtcd to get ',:- "■■':! across the line in front of it. Ho was :_.• ./An,eye-w;itn'esß.'of. the collision of the l: v .-' ! ™tor-car with the. engine. The car ;': was smashed to' pieces,' arid its oenr- :■':• pants, were qU thrown out into the. 1 ": cattle, .pit. and!.by'.the..side of the line:- .:■ Assistance was'iquickly' forthcoming';' :.;;,;:.and. ihe'/injured' were put into the !.-.; .guards van of. the train and sent to :, , ' the- hospital. The doctor was blcedine' .. frorii'the. .mouth!,,and nose, and was . ■."; barely, alive. The girl Nora Martin ;•■;■■ -.was apparently, dead. , . /"': ,", ' : k '".''. The_driveT of th'e.coliiding trani-said ■;. -,'Jie wnistled twice,'.once about 350 yards :'.•-, ..and, again.about 200 yards'"from the v. 7 : . crossing, Ho did /.not see the car -as [. .he was on the opposite side'of tho'en- :.: ,gme; .-■,' •- ... . - -

~ ..The fireman of this train said he saw 1 '-•'.. ™=-.'P»r whenonlv.a counlo of yards ;'.■■:• •■/K.™'.™ tram..' The. crossing was con- ;,. •: Bidered a dangerous approach amonVst railway men. .'.'",'■■■ '" ■ ;.';,., Other evidence- was: given m to the ;.. dangerous nature bf the crossing ■' \ ' i '-* lm J iou W that 1 the deaths were- ■'"■ v';m H tl l° . colI,s ' 0 ? 'of the motor-car ... with .the train, no blame being:attach- ;>'■ T!,ey. added a rider. ■"''- +t n •. mml ™ lSo the'risk of accident -tho Railway Department should bTa'skl;':^'l 0 T- mOVC a h l* tank on.the side !, • -M; the lino near tho.crossing. v IN MOTOR CARS. \ A MYSTERY EXPLAINED. '~,. A. discovery has just been'made which explains certain cases of sud-den:-death at the wheel of a.motorcar which-have hitherto remained, a 1 :"-■: mystery. • It. probably, also some aeroplane deaths and accidents i. ;; tho cause of which ! has not been ap- ' parent. . ',-.-.-■ ' '■ "People, generally- suppose that these accidents are duo to.sudden heart failure,- :a-.London doctor: said. . "But ;;•;■ doctors', know that in many cases this ' ; is not at all a.satisfactory explanation. :• further myestigaion has 'cleared the r. matter up. The cause-is''carbonic-acid \, gas poisoning duo to the'pressure on ; the. month set up, .;by. ': driving ". fast , through .tho air,'arid" the corisequeiit ?• ; inability to expel ..the 'poisoned air i which has already: been breathed. 'Aar ;■ «once breathed is practically carbonic acid {gas. When you arc passing rapidly,'through .the air in a car' or an aeroplane this suffocating carbonic acid - 'gas'is pushed back into the lungs, and only a little can get away because of tho wallof air pressing into , the mouth. So it is "rebreathed" and ■ f the result is carbonic, acid gas poisbn- . ing„ which produces a kind of narcotic y sleep. If you could breathe through the-back of your head bo safe enough. Motorists and 'airmen . ought to wear-a mouth-guard-with'ii U-shaped tube, tho ends ;of which should open, behind the ears and point backwards, so that, the breath, containing, the carbonic acid gas 'could get ' away. This pluard ought to ebver the nose, 'also. 'You aro not likely to come -to grief from direct poisoning the first time you go fast, bnt in process of time a 'disease' is produced. If you are a motorist and you- begin -to run past your destination without knowing why, i .it' is the first sign that" the:disease is ; getting hold of you. After a time you will begin' to feel ovcrpoweringly, sleepy whenever you are driving, and if.you , persist you will run up banks, collide !... with . other vehicles, and generally -en- '/ danger yourself,' the peoplo you are driving,, the public and tho car. • If ,' ' you . still' persist in driving you have ; ■ a very good' chanco of being one, of 'the not'-unusual cases of dead at the wheel."