CYCLISTS' LIVES

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 49, 26 August 1926, Page 16

CYCLISTS' LIVES

RED REFLECTORS

LIGHTS AND MOTOR-CABS,

Various suggestions having for their object the safeguarding of the lives of cyclists were made in the House oi; Representatives yesterday when the 'Lights on Vehicles Amendment Bill was under discussion.

The Minister of Internal Affairs (the Hon. B. F. Bollard) stated that the second clause provided that the principal Act should not relate to vehicles registered under the Motor Vehicles Act. It was desired to make regulations under the Motor Vehicles Act providing that motor vehicles might be left unlighted in parking places if the parking places themselves were well lighted. The provision was asked for by the police. Clause 3 made it mandatory for bicycles or tricycles to have a suitable red reflector on the rear of the machines.

Messrs. T. K. Sidey (Dunedin South) and D. Buddo (Kaiapoi) congratulated the Minister on bringing in the Bill.

Mr. Buddo thought that cyclists should be compelled to carry a light in such a fashion that-it could be seen from front to rear of the machine. Motorists travelling at night realised that their greatest danger was the cyclist travelling alongside the road. Sir George Hunter (Waipawa) regretted that there was no provision restricting the rate at which cyclists travelled after dark. If something of that kind was not done there would be numerous accidents.

That there should not be too many restrictions wag the view expressed by Mr. H. T. Armstrong (Christchurch East). They knew, he said, that if certain people in this country had their way all but those who had motor-cars would not be allowed to use the roads. The Minister should not say that the new regulations regarding rear red reflectors were to come into force on. a certain day, otherwise those who had them 'in stock would Send the price up by 300 to 500 per cent. The Christchurch City Council had passed a bylaw introducing red reflectors aud the prices immediately went up. The council then imported it own reflectors, which it supplied at a much lower price than that at which they could be bought from the retailers. "I am going to support the Bill because the reflector is red,'' remarked Mr. E. J. Howard (Christchurch South) amidst laughter. He hoped, however, that the Minister would not pin his faith to red reflectoi-s as a means of averting accidents. Christchurch experience had shown that accidents to cyclists were prone to happen on wet winter's nights when cyclists' overcoats hid the reflectors from view. The Bill was read a second time.