HOLIDAY TOLL OF THE ROAD

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 153, 26 December 1936, Page 10

HOLIDAY TOLL OF THE ROAD

Despite all appeals and Avarnings to motorists to take particular care this holiday season, with the prospect of a record number of cars on the road, the toll of accidents already reported has been unexpectedly heavy. There have been four fatalities and more than 30 people have been injured. It has to be admitted that over a fairly wide area conditions for driving were bad, especially on Christmas Day. Drizzling, driving rain reduced visibility to a minimum, and in- several cases the accident may be directly attributed to this cause, which is, indeed, specifically mentioned. On the other hand, of the accidents reported to the Wellington Automobile Association the majority took place between 11 o'clock on Christmas Eve and 2 o'clock on Christmas morning, and if is believed that the main causes of these night smashes were fatigue and poor headlights. A statement issued by the association suggests that many motorists set out on a night journey, after a long and arduous day's work, with the intention of getting far on their way in the darkness. Traffic was obviously heavy, and driving conditions such as to need special vigilance and concentration. It is further stated that headlights were reported to be in poor order and adjustment; also that a great deal of overtaking was done in circumstances that created every risk of accident, illustrating once more the danger of the impatient driver to other road users. The accidents reported from all over the Dominion comprise almost every variety of road casualty from head-on collisions and running off the road to fatalities to pedestrians. It is to be hoped that exhaustive inquiry will be, held in each casein order to determine the causes as precisely as possible. The whole problem of road traffic is a very serious one, and it has become abundantly evident that no rough-and-ready method of approach to the problem offers much prospect of a solution. The tragic opening of the holiday motoring season has given a sharp shock to Mr. Semple's optimism, but this should serve only to spur him and all others concerned to still greater efforts for road safety.