CAR FOOTBOARDS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1511, 6 August 1912, Page 6

CAR FOOTBOARDS.

SAFE OR UNSAFE? CONDUCTORS ALLEGE RISKSA LONG INQUEST. I Public interest in tho risks which conductors run in discharging their daily duty has been quickened by recent occurrences, mid footboards (.'specially have como under very serious consideration. Yesterday the inquest proceedings concerning the death of Conductor Ambrose M'Kay were continued, and, naturally, the evidence bore extensive reference to tho safety or otherwise of footboards. Dr. M'Arthur presided, Mr. J. O'Shea (City Solicitor) represented the Wellington City Council, and Mr. 11. Cable (traffic manager) was also present'. Mr. A. Blair appealed for the Wellington Tramway Union, and Station-Sergeant Darby watched the proceedings on behalf of tho police. Mr. Blair said that the existence of tho side-step cars rendering it necessary for the conductor to go along tho side of the car to collect fares, was a sourco of grave danger. He suggested that, although it might result in a little public inconvenience, tho class of cars indicated in the Davey clause should bo adhered to. It was a. matter of life- and death to tho men. There had been forty-six accidents off. the footboard within tho last three or four years. Mr. O'Shea: llow many years? Mr. Blair: We say about four years. Mr. O'Shea: Tho list of accidents goes back to 1907. "We Support the Davey Clause," Mr. Blair (after some other remarks): We will 'say this seriously and advisedly : we seriously suggest that if the tramway department , had not constructed the ear so, rendering it necessary for this particular man to collect his fares from tho footboard, ho would have been alive to-day. And for tho purpose of avoiding this danger in the future we support " tho "JDavoy clause," passed in 1911, which provided, inter alia, for a central aisle in the car. His Worship: Shortly put, it means that all fares should be collected from the inside? Mr. Blair then went on to say that more than 00 per cent, of the conductors in tho tramway service have had somo sort of accident in the way of a fall" off the footboard. His Worship: You contend that tho present footboards are an insufficient support ? Mr. Blair: Yes,'an insufficient support. Proceeding, Mr. Bluir stated that tho .next difficulty was that'tho only means of support: which a conductor has, when, on the running board, and collccting fares was to jam his elbows between the standards. Ho required his two hands to collect fares. When thus jammed in the doorway a lurch of Hl9 car, or a knock by a passing vehicle, often resulted in a fall to tho roadway. Tho grips 011 tho palace cars \vero'4ft. Gin. apart, and an attempt had been made to narrow the distance. Car 12 had the grips on the stanchion, which, when the car was crowded, gave tho conductor little chance of securing a, firm hold. Mr. O'Shea: What do you suggest? Mr. Blair: We suggest that tho Davey clause should be carried out. Continuing, -Mr. Blair stated that thg blinds on tho combination cars were .another source of dangeY.' These blinds, when tho weather is wet, aro pulled down to protect tho passengers, and, when down, they cover tho grips. Conductors and Motormen Give Evidonct re Accidents, A. Gore Word; motohnain recalled, said that he had worked with about fifteen or twenty conductors. . Almost everyone of these had had a fall from the side-step. One conductor had been dragged along the Kilbirnio line for about fifty yards.. Mr. Blair: Have you witnessed any serious accidents? Witness: "I left one banging on a tableleg in Cuba Street one day." He explained that a load of furniture was 011 the side of the road, and the leg of tho table had' hooked the conductor under the arm, lifting him off the car. Witness also stated that tho overloading of cars was another source of danger. Conductors and inspectors had often to pass each other on the footboard. To Mr. O'Shea: Ho had never measured the running-board on Car it, and so he could not say _whether it was seven and a half inches wide. Mr. O'Shea: Can you deny my statement that the running-boards 011 tho cars are uniform—seven and a half inches wide? Witness: No; I have not measured them. Witness (resuming his evidence) stated that complaints had been made that Car; 41' and 42 were death-traps to niotoriuen. who, if there was a smash, could not possibly get out. Mr. O'Shea: Can you instance case; where conductors 011 cars 11 or 42 haw fallen off prior to this accident?—"l conk not say." Do you know how long Car 42 lias beer iu the service?—"Xo." Mr. O'Shea: Well, it has been runnin; seven years. Mr. O'Shea then asked witness whcthoi the safety of a conductor depends on tin care of the niotorman? . Witness: How can it? While he 1: looking back ho might-run over and kit a child. llr. O'Shea then asked witness,, if il .was not a fact that motormen should giv( a signal to the conductor. Witness replied that in somo instance! it. was impossible, as the motormei were gouging all the time. For instance on Saturday nights, when the town wni crowded, and the motormen continually gouging, it was impossible for them ti give warning to their conductors. Mr. O'Shea: Is there not the same dan ger in regard to both palace and coinbina tion cars? "" Witness: Yes, as far as the running board is concerned. Harry Herbert Dunn, motorman, state< that he had been in tho service foi seven years eight months, and was foi two years of that time a conductor. H< had had two falls oil' combination cars. Hi went 011 to describe certain risks incident al to standing 011 the footboard. H( (witness) had met with his first accident by catching hold of an umbrella, whie.l: was being held by a "fare" against tlw grip. Witness also referred totho dangei of drawn blinds. Mr. O'Shea: Are t.he combination cars safer than the palace type? Witness: Yes, a little. John Henry Timriis, conductor of fiv« years' experience, said that lie had had several "spills" from the side step ol palace cars, but; not from tho combination car. On one occasion lie had been knocked off by a dray, and rendered unconscious. He had also had a tall through mistaking the grip on the doubledecker car. On that occasion ho was "off" for seven months. lhc side-step, however, was tho main fourco 01 Samuel Charles Mayall stated that he had teen in the service as a conductor for pdp vcar eight iiioni n>» nnd litm had hvn serious falls oft palace cars. Ho attributed these to the narrowness ot th( side step, and overloading. Reuben Parker, niotnvtiian, said that ho had been in the scrvira 3J years, bcim a conductor for three years. In all lu had had about-a dozen tails from the. side step and some of thoni were serious. Hi concurred with witnesses that the dangei lav in the side-step cars. Witr.es: stilted that his most serious accident hat occurred near the Kilbirnie Tunnel. H< had slipped off the step of the c-ar, am had received injuries from which ho hat never recovered. Sydney 11. Xewstead, conductor, r-tatee tint lie'bail torn in tho service eighteai months, and had had two accidents frou the palace cars during that time. 11< stated that ho w«s still sulfcring fron tin* effects of one of the accidents, tha' being a serious fall olf a palace car, re suiting from his whistle being caught ir the door. Ernest ArtlmY Evans, motorman, sau that he had teen in the service for 41 vears—3l years of that, tinio as a con tluetor. Ito had had two falls, and, 01 another occasion, the hub of a wheel htu knocked hi in, but ho did not fall. Mr. Blair then mentioned thnt lie hat other witnesses to call, bur. to save time ho would put in a list of accidents alleget to hate occurred off the stos.

This closed the case for the union. Mr. O'Shea, addressing tho coroner, ol* served that it had to bo remembered that Wellington, streets were narrow, and tlio corporation had a difficult system to work. As a matter of fact, t.lio most suitable car for coping with the traffic was the palace car—e;ii)ecially for tunnel v.ork. The City Council's Side of the Question. Continuing, Mr. O'Shea said:—Wo are not able to build as in Christchurch witli Bft. over all. We are. limited (.0 7ft. and Cft. Gin., and I submit that all these things must be considered. If proper caro , wore exercised by motorinen and conductors, the accidents would be low and far between. Accidents not only occur on palace-cars in wet weather, and when cars are overloaded. They occur at in- ■ tervals, when the cars are running light. Somo of the accidents referred. to the Court hnvo l>een caused by the negligence of some of the tramway men in not put. ting tho step down. "There is no doubt that there is a certain amount of risk with these palace-cars, but I submit that if you examine the cars you will find that they arc really a very satisfactory class •of car for servico ill 'Wellington, as are the combination cars. i'Hu'ther, there, is th'j minimum of risk to the men with the latter car—especially Cars 41 and 42. Out of the ninety cars in the service, sixty-niuo have side-steps, and tho corporation is not allowed under the Davey clause, to build any more like that. Part of the demonstration, made by tho men is to ensure that the Davey clauso will not bo repealed. We have no intentions of asking that the clauso should bo repealed, Tho only thing that wo wish to guard against is that tho Court should make it incumbent upon tho corporation to scrap all tlieso side-step cars. Mr. O'Shea then went on to refer to the conditions of traffic, and to the high ' wages paid, and to the fact that tho cars were not paj-ing their way, and had not done so for years. Tho cost of remodelling the cars would oost about ,£SOO each, , ana to have to do. this would put the tramway finances in a fatal position. Mr. Blair: You would have had .£BOO towards that if you .had not killed these men (M'Kay and Athea). Mr. O'Shea: You mean if they .had not died. Mr. O'Shea then went on to say that ho was perfectly satisfied that. So. 42 was,safe. "I can only say," he,continued, "that during tho time these cars.liavo been running wo havo had very few accidents; also, during the past few years, when we have been running on biir accident fund, wo havo paid in tho pro-, minnis wo would have, had to pay ordinarily to insuranoe companies', and at tlio present day this fund is .CSOOO in credit.' Mr. O'Shea added that he would like his Worship to see the cars as planned, aiid as they were in practice working. ' _ J)r. M'Arthur remarked that the importance of the matter would compel him . to givo long and serious consideration to the wholo thing. He is to make an .inspection of the combination and palaco types of cars at the car Ehcds at 2.30 p.m. to-morrow.