ACCIDENT RATE IN WET WEATHER

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 262, 3 August 1939, Page 11

ACCIDENT RATE IN WET WEATHER

Minister Appeals For More i Caution INCREASED VIGILANCE AT j NIGHT — Tire need for greater care on rhe roads in wet weather, particularly at night, was emphasized by the Minister of Transport, Mr. Semple, in an interview yesterday. “The prevailing wintry conditions call for increased vigilance at night by all road users,” he said. “A complete analysis of accidents over a period of 12 months indicates that darkness and wet road surfaces bring a greatly-increased accident risk. “Pedestrians and cyclists specially will need to exercise more caution during the coming month. Decreased visibility is the chief cause of the higher accident rate at night. This risk is intensified when road surfaces are wet, and visibility is further affected. I appeal to all motorists, pedestrians and cyclists to make allowance for these factors and to take no risks on the road.” . . Mr. Semple said that or 017 wet weather accidents, 324, or 62 per cent., had occurred at night. The amount of rainfall during the year was distributed equally during the hours of daylight and darkness, yet the percentage of accidents on wet road surfaces was three times as great at night as during daylight. Chiefly due to the presence of more cyclists and pedestrians,, urban areas showed a greater increase in night accidents than main highways and rural roads.

In daylight, wet weather accidents amounted to 6.8 per cent, of the total.; at night, however, wet weather accidents comprised 25 per cent, of the total. During the 12 months cyclists had 'been involved in 723 collisions with motor-vehicles during daylight; six per cent, of these had occurred in wet weather. At night there were 274 collisions, of which 24 per cent, occurred in wet weather. The figures also indicated that the wet weather accident risk to pedestrians was more than three times as great at night as during daylight. , . . . “There is only one conclusion to be drawn from these facts,” said the Minister. “Instiflicient care is taken to allow for slippery road surfaces and decreased visibility at night. A very gratifying improvement was shown in the accident rate last month; 10 consecutive days elapsed without it fatal accident. Still more caution will be required this month when wintry conditions may be expected to continue.”