CROSSING SMASHES

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 41, 16 August 1930, Page 11

CROSSING SMASHES

HIGHWAYS POLICY

IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME

COSTLY ELIMINATION

"There are over 2500 level crossings : in the country, of which over 500 are :on'tho highway system, and of this number 330 are on the primary sys : tern," said Mr. A. Tyndall, Highways *" Board engineer, in a paper ontitled 4/1 Motor Accidents—The problem from -'• 'the "Road-maker's Point of View, "read '■-Si-* w»-recent conference on road, acci- ■''■ dents.- "''''.- ---,:: ■'. '"The question of reducing tho death ' •"••'toll &t level crossings cannot be-attack;-J -'"■ ed from -the economic side. In'other words; if. an arbitrary figure is taken j for the value of one human life, and if an estimate is also made of the cost of"da'niage"and injury to human beings ; and .property as a result of < collisions ■" -at.railway crossings, it will be found that-- very little work in the way of ' elimination of crossings is justified.'' '■ Mr. Tyndall said that to eliminate tho level crossings on the main high- ■■■■ ■ way system would cost at least £3,000,----000, aiid to protect tho whole of the . level crossings on the main highway system with flashing lights would cost 1 about £150,000. He did not propose rto discuss the elimination of tho whole of the crossings in the country, as such I a step war manifestly impossible. To protect all the crossings in tho coun-try-with flashing lights or similar devices would cost about £600,000 in capital expenditure, and also would involvo the railway and loading authorities in an annual maintenance expenditure of £00,000. On the primary Main High-1 ways, eliminations were likely to -bo very expensive, as unless the > stand-, ■ awls of alignment for the climiuation j work were kept up to the ruling stand-, -..- ards for the-'rest of the highway, one) ■' - ' would' simply be substituting one dan- ■ ger -for another. - ■ ■ g • .: .-. "To give; an idea of the cost or •.-■some eliminations, it may be stated j • *hat the estimated cost for the elim- • ■■■ ination of .the Porirua level crossing! ■ ,is about £16,000,' and for the Petone .:•. crossing £60,000," Mr. Tyndall added, j BOARD AND RAILWAY _••-■; DEPARTMENT. i

The whole question of the elimination or. protection of level crossings had received a considerable amount of attention from the. Kaihvay Department and 'the- Main Highways Board, which bodies had been in close collaboration for.'the ..past six years. A number of crossings had been eliminated with the aid of finance found jointly <by the' Ea'ilway Department and the Highways Board, usually also with the aid of small contributions from the local authorities interested.

Last year, an officer o£ the {Railway - ''■' and tie Engineer of the : Main Highways Board were deputed to ' ''makea special report on railway cross- ' ings, and as a result of that report an elaborate programme was being , '.drawn up.by the Bailway Department v in. conjunction with the Public Works . District Engineers for the following : improvements: — (1)- Crossings which should be pro- -•;...,:■ tected immediately With flashing sig- *■ .-nals-or similar'automatic devices. • ; (2) Details of minor works at crossrings- which would greatly improve the . -visibility and generally assist in res' ' ducing the accident risk. ■". -Wherever, the Main Highways Board improved a section of highway, special attention. was given to improvements -at 'my railway crossings whether the '■■'■ crossing was eliminated or not. The formation was widened at the crossing •' and the grades of the approaches were, :' wherever practicable, rebuilt so. that '<" one chain of level road was available - yon: each-side of the rails.. POSITION VS TJ.S.A. .','' The problem of accidents at railway . crossings had been very carefully . .'analysed during the past few years in '■•'./ the United States, and the policy at , present being followed by the Railway .."'■ Department and the Main Highways \ Board.appeared to be well in line with ~ ~ihe. practice being adopted in that country. "Where at all practicable, it was always desirable to eliminate crossings by the construction of deviations ,'rather than by the construction of over- ... head bridges or subways; "I. think sufficient indication has been'given to' show that the road-mak- . ling: authorities of the Dominion are : fully alive to their share of the responsibility in endeavouring to reduce ■ the accident rate," continued Mr. Tyu- ' dull. -"It should be obvious, howeverj that the efforts.of the authorities must b<j. very largely controlled by finance '■'. ' &ji appalling expenditure would be necessary to make the "main highways alone fit for a universal speed of only ,'. ■ SO miles per hour, yet most-modern cars arc designed for a touring speed .' of 45 miles per hour. It should be equally* obvious that until the roads • are made'reasonably fit for the higher : speeds, some control of the speed, whe- " ther national or individual, must be exercised. Even were the whole of ' the- roads in the Dominion perfectly straight, absolutely flat, and of ample 'width, the number of motor accidents /Would still probably be very high. "Most of the statistics which have beeii kept in the United States have disclosed that more accidents occur on good road than on bad road, and that experience, I believe, will be found to be repeated in New Zealand when proper statistics are available." STEAIGHT ROADS DEATH-TRAPS.

Mr. Tyndair read the following extract showing the experience in one State in the "United States for the year 1929: —<'Driving too fast on straights was the cause of the second largest number of deaths. The 'highway cocktail'- of a driver, a car and a dash of ;toooze, took its annual and unnecessary toll. It is noteworthy that all records show 'bad road' to bo a place where accidents rarely occur. The driver _is carefully minding his business in driving: over such stretches. One of the finest'stretches of straight, high-type surface road in the State is one of our greatest death-traps, figures show. The story Here is usually of a speed of 65 or 70 miles per Hour, a tire blows out, k steering knuckle- breaks, or the driver dtafes' mentally for a moment, and the -car is found smashed to pieces in the ■ ditch' or but on the prairie with a dead man clinging to the wheel." "Profrably one of the most dangerous sections of main highway in New ZeaJan'd is 'the road between Gisborne and Opptiki, via Motu," said Mr. Tyndall, "yet on this section, I think it is ,safe to say, there have been fewer serious accidents than on almost any other section of highway in the Dominion. Therefore, unless the many other .causes of motor accidents are controlled or' eliminated, the efforts of the road-maker will be to a largo extent futile. It is paradoxical, but unfortunately often found to be true, to say that the straighter the road and the better the surface, the greater the accident ratio."