MOTORING AMENITIES

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 34, 8 August 1925, Page 6

MOTORING AMENITIES

TO THI IDITOIt.

Sir,—As one of the women drivers of Wellington, I would like to make a few remarks about the lack of common courtesy and consideration which obtains amotig some of our men drivers. In saying .this, I do not claim any special privileges for women, but I have noticed, time and again in the - Wellington streets that it v the men driven who suddenly dash out of a side street and cross your path, or cut in between a standing tram and your car. When approaching an intersection, the vehicle on the right is supposed to hay* the right of way, but that evidently does not concern some drivers. I am writing this in no spirit of captious criticism, but with the hope that it may bring home to some of our men drivers, the fact that the observance of the ordinary courtesies and rules of the road make for more harmony and safety to all concerned-

When drawing out from the pavement, especially in a crowded and narrow street, the driver should make a, signal in order to warn the driver behind of his intention. What woman driver. at one time or another, when confronted with danger arising out of the carelessness of a maii driver, has jiot been favoured with a glare, of contempt, and heard- the. remark, "Woman driver, of course." This attitude of masculine supremacy and superiority must be hard to maintain in New York, in view o? statistics recently published in that city. . ,

" Th* Commissiiner pf Motor Vehicle* for New York State reports that the driving licenses of one thousand persons were revoked or Suspended during the past year. Of this number only twelve were women, tfor being under the influence of liquor #hilo driving, 392 wore punished. Of these only one' wai. a woman. In orders to minimise the significance of those figure;, an attempt was made to show that .there were many more men than women drivers. This is admittedly so, especially with vehicles used for commercial purposes, but when it is remembered that more than onethird of the pleasure vehicles in th» States are driven by women, the disparity between the violators and observers of the law is out of all proportion.. The writer feel* that a combined effort should be made by every man • and woman driver who has the welfare of the community at heart to stop the abuses which called forth this literary effort. -

The suggestion of taking the car numbers of drivers who break the ordinary rules of the road has already been put forward, but any acceptable plan which could be formulated to prevent the minority from bringing discredit on the majority of good drivers would be a boon, not only to the motoring emmunity, but to the public generally.—l am, etc., DIURA.