PILLION RIDING

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 32, 8 February 1927, Page 5

PILLION RIDING

PROPOSED ABOLITION

PROTEST BY CITY DEALERS

MEETING OF CYCLISTS NEXT WEEK Wellington motor-cycle dealers have thrown down the gauntlet to the City Council, which, according to recent statements, proposes to introduce a bylaw prohibiting the practice of pil-hon-riding. They met last evening and expressed themselves on the matter in no uncertain terms, 3nd strong opposition to the council's projected measure may .be expected.

"Pillion-riding can- be called 'poor men's motoring,''.' said Mr. G. T. Edwards, who presided. "Unless the City Council can show that it is fraught with danger it should not be stopped. About five years ago the practice met with a similar attack, but those concerned were able to show the council that the danger existed in its own imagination,, only. That there was any great risk, or that accidents arising out of the habit were in any way frequent, could not be proved. If one were to compile a list of motor-car accidents and compare it with the mishaps to pillion-riders, one would be convinced beyond the slightest doubt that pillion-riding is one of the safest amusements that can be indulged in.: If there were a long list of accidents one could understand the council's attitude." One thing that should be prevented, however, the chairman continued, was the practice of carrying more than .one passengeron- motor-cycles that had no sidecar attached. He was not in accord with overloading a machine, but considered that pillion-riding with one passenger only was perfectly safe. According to English authorities at any rate, there was no real danger;, and it must. be proved to the satisfaction o£ the public that there was danger. ■ ■ ''■ .'.. ■ '; •That a Wellington-Magistrate had last week expressed surprise' that pillion-riding had not been "abolished was commented tia by Mr. E. Sutherland. Possibly, he thought, these remarks had resulted in the. matter being' resuscitated. The Chairman: "We satisfied the council five years ago; I don't know why the matter should be brought up again." A. voice: "People don't like to see a girl sitting on the back of a motor-cycle and swinging her legs—they' think she is in a precarious position." . ' Experts, the chairman interjected, thought that it was better from the'point, of view o£ balance to have someone on the back." Any bylaw that is' unreasonable can be upset at law," he said. "If they say the practice, looks dangerous, and you can prove that-it is not, then they cannot safely pass such a regulation." To Mr. Sutherland's suggestion that a bylaw prohibiting the. carrying of more than one passenger on the back of a motor-cycle be passed, the chairman readily agreed. "Is it your wish to call a meeting of motor-cyclists?" he asked. "I think it is the best thing -to do before approaching the City Council." Mr. Sutherland: "England has seen fit to allow pillion-riding. Surely that is sufficient?"

A voice: "There -are 500,000 motor-cy-clistg in England." On the suggestion o£ the chairman, it was decided to hold. a public meeting of those interested next week, to arouse all possible opposition before the matter of prohibiting the practice goes too far. A committee to make arrangements ivas set up, the members appointed being: Messrs. E. A. Rodgors, Sutherland, Higgins, Purdy, and G. S. Bright.

(To the Editor.)

Sir,—Regarding pillion riding, the contemplated prohibition of which was mentioned in your paper, I do not think that this matter has had the consideration it merits, or certainly the prohibition of such a health-giving and'enjoyable practice would .not be so contemplated. I suppose I have done as much.' pillion Tiding as anyone in this country. Perhaps-more —for I have ridden all over New Zealand in that most enjoyable manner, and may therefore be pardoned for considering myself entitled to speak authoritatively on the matter. I have ridden over the roughest roads in the country, sometimes two hundred miles a day; over the King Country (motorists will appreciate that), the bad roads around Auckland, the worst of the Hawkes Bay district, and the terrible and nerve;racking roads of the little-known districts of the West Const of the South Island. And, Sir; I have chosen to ride pillion for safety' (some of the roads being too narrow for cars to pass), or pleasure, but chiefly, because I found that pillion riding was the quickest road to health after a most devastating attack of nervous prostration. I must say that I know positively that pillion riding, properly managed, is the safest method of riding the motor-cycle. I also ride tha machine myself, so know what. I am talking .about. The motorcycle is not the safest, of vehicles.. It j is not even a very, safe vehicle for man or woman, but the driver, Sir, is the one who is in any danger, not the pillion rider—if that pillion rider sits properly. And the proper way for that pillion rider to sit, Sir, is astride. I have watched girls riding behind men through our streets and I', have been horrified, knowing the machine as I do; to see the ridiculous "swank" they put on; swank which may easily land them in hospital.- -Not only do they sit aside, but they ".'do not tven cling on. I am astonished that so few accidents occur. Even sitting aside is perfectly safe if the rider clings to the pillion seat with the left hand and clutches the coat or the body of the driver with the right (I have, ridden thousands of miles over the roughest roads in that manner, and whenever we- have had a spill it has not been my fault), but astride is the ideal way, using foot rests. It does not cramp. the organs of the body; it leaves : perfect freedom, and, Sir, I can vouch that for the purest and most healthgiving enjoyment pillion riding has no equal. The pillion rider has none of the cares of the driver, and my husband, for one, maintains; that the cycle is safer and rides more easily, because more properly balanced, . with the pillion occupied. Especially over rough ground. Are we who rely on this pastime for our chief summer enjoyment, who have | spent perhaps £150, .as in my own case, in order to indulge it, in the purchase of a motor-cycle, and its accessories—are we to be deprived of that enjoyment because of the foolishness of a.' few? A foolishness which can easily be put a stop to by the authorities through less drastic action than that contemplated; Would it not meet all the requirements of the situation if the council prohibited pillion riding aside? I, and. most other riders, I. am sure, would be in complete agreement with that course.- Indeed, I have often contemplated, in face of the dangerous riding one sees, mooting that proposition myself. More and more women aro riding- astride. Ono sees them in the street every day. Motor accidents cannot be eliminated altogether. I have known several myself, all happening without a pillion rider, And those who ride both pillion and the machine know that even where those accidents do occur with the pillion, it is not always, or even often, the fault of the pillion rider. Then compare the number of accidents arising, even ostensibly, from pillion riding, with the number occurring through motor-car traffic in our streets or even m outside roads. Yet is there any proposal to stop motor-car riding? Because drunken or careless'drivers in charge of motor-cars cause accidents; do we hear of proposals to penalise all drivers who own motor-cars? All kinds of locomotion, whether for pleasure or for profit, causes accidents. Sir, why pick on the pillion rider?—l am, etc., . . PILLION EIDER. Other correspondents have forwarded etters protesting against the proposed bylaw. The writers reiterate the arguments used by previous correspondents, and contend that if pillion riding is prohibited a large section of the public will be unjustly •penalised.