REDUCTION OF ROAD ACCIDENTS

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 227, 22 June 1936, Page 8

REDUCTION OF ROAD ACCIDENTS

Government’s Proposals

NEW SAFETY LEGISLATION

By Telegraph—Press Association,

Christchurch, June 21. Details of the Government’s proposals to cope with the increasing density of motor traffic in the Dominion and to reduce road accidents to a minimum were explained by the Minister of Transport, Hon. R. Semple, in an address to-night. Mr. Semple classified the new safety legislation under the following heads: Unification of traffic laws into one simple code; Improving machinery for ensuring compliance with the law. Raising the standard of requirements for driving licences.

Heavier penalties for certain offences. Improvement to roads by eliminating danger spots. Improving the mechanical condition of vehicles. Eliminating dangerous level crossings. Prohibiting “sweated” conditions for drivers. Education and propaganda in “safety first.” During the last seven years, said Mr. Semple, 1250 persons had been killed and 35,000 injured in jnotorvehicle accidents. Surely these figures were convincing evidence of the need for drastic action. •

“During the last 13 years,” he added, “casualties from motor accidents have been' greater than those reported for the New Zealand expeditionary forces during the war, or, to put it another way, if you have four children, one of them is, according to the law of averages, predestined to be killed or injured tn a motor accident.” Mr. Semple said he saw no reason why there should be a single death or injury from motor vehicles. Every accident arose from causes that were preventable. The increasing density of traffic on the roads would require a higher standard of skill for drivers, and it was proposed to overhaul the existing requirements for drivers.