MESSENGERS’ CYCLES

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 188, 8 May 1934, Page 9

MESSENGERS’ CYCLES

Painting of Mudguards MOTORISTS’ PROPOSAL On the recommendation of the roads committee, the executive of the Wellington Automobile Club’’decided last night to approach the Post and Tele-, graph Department and ask it to consider issuing instructions that telegraph messengers should have the rear mudguards of their cycles painted white as an additional safety measure. The committee reported that it felt that if this were done by all telegraph messengers, it would serve as a good lead for other push-cyclists throughout the country to follow, as the white mudguard could bo picked up by motorists when the rear reflector could not.

The chairman. Mr. E. A. Batt, said fie understood that the cost of painting a rear mudguard was only threepence. He suggested that Hie club offer to pay for the painting of the mudguards of P. and T. messengers’ cycles. He was concerned to create a precedent for getting the thing done generally. Mr. E. Palliser said that in offering to pay the costs, the club might be creating a precedent. He thought that if the department were approached it would be agreeable to including the painting of the rear mudguard among its regulations. The executive decided to write to Hie Post and Telegraph Department asking if it would agree to issue an instruction to that effect, and failing a satisfactory reply, the club then consider the advisability of offering to do it. Cyclists Without Lights. Tlie problem of cyclists who ride without lights at night was also discussed by tlie executive. The secretary. Mr. \V. A. Sutherland, reported that the difficulty was that the penalty inflicted on offenders was so small that it had no salutary effect. Then again, numbers of riders were unemployed. and could not, or would not, pay if a heavier penalty were imposed. The chairman said that there had been two fatal accidents recently. The Hutt and I’etone councils, from what be had read in the Press, were aware of the danger iu their districts, and were doing their best to deal with it.