PILLION-RIDING

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 124, 22 November 1923, Page 4

PILLION-RIDING

VIEWS OF CYCLISTS r^ABSOLUTELY^ NO DANGER" i" THE PROPOSED BYLAW.

vfhe grades Hall was crowded to the doors" iiy lAotov-cycHsts. who. assembled '. there 'la^eyeniug': to -discuss and . pro- '; te££ agau^t :$;,. pW^^M^Pl??; hSbiting ;>piurori.%di)ig- ..pfcinotor^cles.- - The meSiji|>..y/asTentka^iftstic.%■■',.;;. ''/:.,.;;. t&lr. j^c^^Edwarap'pEeaidedi'Jaiid; in opening' 'the--discussion', said the' frotest was,, against the taking, away of one of their.priviiegeß.- They;stood al- ' most ~as a criminal-,before, the Bar, ■and iiust provide an adequate;defence. The :. nip'tor.-;cycl<3'j with- its sidecar "and • pillion sejit, w.as 'j-eaily.ithe poor man's motorcar, were going to fight to . rnaintain''their 'rights. The motor-cycle had :been called an unsociable vehicle, bjit when they took a young lady behind them-with her arms round their : ' waist-they would agree it was the best ■■; kind" of sociability. (Laughter.) He then put several suggestions, which were ' proposed and passed as motions, asserting that a passenger on the pillion seat did not. detrimentally affect the control . • oi; a cycle'; that no-evidence could be produced to show that any accidents hid occurred in Wellington as the direct result ot.'.pillion-riding; that any accidents tiat, had"happened while pillionriding represented a negligible proportion of motor-cycle- accidents ; that there ■was no increased''menace to pedestrians through pillion-riding. ■• ■He concluded • b-r remarking :that-they would defythe production of evidence to show that there was danger in the practice: • TOne speaker asked if an accident at . Wadestown, when a girl lost her hand, ■was due to the pillion passenger. Two men answered this. The one who was riding the machine said the accident was caused by a side-slip, due to the state ofsthe road. Another cyclist, who passed . - about ftie.same time, endorsed this. 'It was then pointed out that the re--1 cent -. Happy Valley fatality saw the death sof the man in the sidecar. The ' pfliion rider was mot even unseated. ■ Mr. C. Wi Tanner expressed appre- ■ elation of the large attendance, and said that had the deputation to the City Council been as strong they would have ' carried more weight. He had passed oier the Happy Valley road a couple of'days-before the : fatal accident, and regarded it as a trap, as it unfortunately proved to be. He thought the City Council had been to blame in both these ' cases. At Happy Valley the danger spot was .just round a bend, and there ■was absolutely no warning signal before the bend. If the council would look after its finances and roads instead ofr. these pettifogging little things they would have a much better council. (Loud „ applause.) The machines.were now made to-carry passengers, and were steadier on^ the road and more easily controlled.

J&. COUNdLLOB,'S SYMPATHY. '4t this stage Councillor W. H. Bennett was-asked to state the reason for the council's drastic proposal. Councillor Bennett said he was pre- . sent, to show his sympathy ■with the cyclists.v ■ He „-w,as absolutely against the byiaw. .(Applause.) He could see no reason at '■ all for it. .They might as. well say that because one car had run into another that motor-cars should be ptCjhibited. Prohibition of pillion-riding would tend' to selfishness :on the part of-riders.''' He had given notice to move aX, an "amendment that pillion-riding should be not allowed in certain busy and narrow streets at ' certain busy hours. The total application appeared ridiculous ori the face of it, and ho wpuld strongly oppose it. (Applause.) It^was not etiquette for ■ a member 6fE"a committee to speak against a recommendation of the committee, but he felt-very strongly that this proposal was unreasonable. ,The chairman, expressed pleasure at tigs stand. "He..thought .a'-similar bylasS; at Auckland had been overthrown. I^ad been decided agairtst.in England, anid, pillion-riding continued. speaker,: "There is.no place in the weirld where '■ pillion-riding is stopped wfien there is a'sidecar.".;. p)iscussing riding with a pillion passenger, one speaker said ■ that when a rider had a passenger he was doubly ... careful. . ■•■■•••.■ iThe chairman: "Ah! I wanted someoife to say without me leading up toj'it." "i ■■ •• ■ ■ .. % STJEPOET' OF MOTOBiSTS. o meeting .was. unable to bring forwSivi any accident' which" could be at- • trjbuted to pillion-riding. Many, other points were suggested," including the 1 fact that if the bylaw were passed many cyclists would-have to - give up their, machines. Some of theni cpiild not afford sidecar^ and the necessary accommodation". Others could, not carry .everyone in', the sidecar, and they would not go . away with part of their family, leaving the. other part at home. '//The justice of our claims have pene-. tr|,ted to the motorists, and the Automobile Association is supporting us," ..' arinounced Mr. Edwards. He proceed-, edjjto state that nothing was going to ; st^ap the: motor. TKey did not propose tefceriticise the recent bylawa such as the fo^r-mile limit on bus speeds. The further the council went the nearer it was getting to deefating its objects. Ifcehvas .„• fast, getting to a position 'V^ln a man would walk dpwn the road .with a. red flag in front of a car. aspect was presented by a r^jturned soldier, who said 90 per cent, of^those present were returned soldiers, aM this was one way of taking away aojne of the liberty that as British citizens they had fought for—some of them Kid died for: "In :the ; event of the council .declining, what are we going to;ask for next, he concluded. & voice: -'Their resignations." (taughter.) ■ ' £; WILL FIGHT FOE RIGHTS. ■iJTEere was another burst of applause .when the chairman suggested that they should meet each difficulty as it arose, but if they were not successful this time then they were strong enough to organise th%: whole Dominion, and had sufficient finance to fight those councils which adhered to the regulations. (Hearty applause.) ■':'■' . fvThey are going to take away the health of our children. I cannot get J my. kiddies to the beaches and the country, without using the piliion seai. They | want us to keep the children in the city amongst the dust/ remarked another speaker." speakers stressed the steadying effect of passengers. One rider said h'e^was .carrying a scar that he would not have had had he bad a passenger. His machine skidded and he hit a car. A./passenger would have- prevented or greatly minimised skidding. Another speaker ' said he. was familiar with., a rider, employed in a garage, who carried a sack, and when he" had no passenger on the Hutt road he filled the. sa;ck with sand or other material to steady hiß back wheel on the gronnd. *There waa_,a long discussion, in which tKe safety of pillion-riding was stressed. Though the chairman appealed lor any '

evidence against pillion-riding, with a view to investigating and answering any cases mentioned, the meeting was unanimous that there was no danger. A deputation of eight, two to speak, was appointed to wait on the Bylaws Committee, with a view to having the decision reversed.

Themeeting closed with hearty thanks to the "conveners, of the meeting, Councillor Bennett,' the chairman, and the Automobile Association.