EDUCATE THE DRIVES

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 100, 29 April 1937, Page 8

EDUCATE THE DRIVES

SAFETY CAMPAIGN

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —In connection with the problems of traffic control I should like to give you my suggestions and conclusions, reached after careful thought and based on some twenty years' driving experience in Europe, Africa, Central and South America, and New Zealand.

The main conclusion reached is that while pictorial posters and newspaper publicity undoubtedly draw' attention to the fact that there are too many accidents -and to,mortality figures, etc., they do not make better drivers of the majority who are bad drivers, and no amount of publicity will improve their standard of driving. Films are not much use, since they are costly, and as it is almpsf impossible to reproduce a genuine accident artificially, the attempts do not improve actual driving. As for radio talks, most people, particularly after a day's business, say, "Oh, "another talk; find some music," or, if they listen and the talk is good, they say "That was good, wasn't it?", and could not repeat a word of it two days later. .

It has been suggested recently in the Press that anybody and' everybody should report breaches of regulations, dangerous driving, etc., and that 'two or more reports on any one driver should lead to a prosecution. There are many arguments against; this scheme and few, if any, for it. In the first place the average person is in no way constituted,or trained to say what is, and what is not, dangerous driving. Firstly, because they are not in the position of the driver and cannot see what he can see. Secondly, they do. not realise that what may be dangerous in one type of car may be perfectly safe in another type. Thirdly, they: cannot recognise the capabilities of a' driver by his methods, and so on. As an instance of ail this one can guarantee that the drivers of small sports cars would be-the first reported, yet these small vehicles are the.safest, since they are built for speed, and manoeuvrability; further their owners, look after them far better than the average owner looks after his ' car;. They are men, as a rule, who.take a deep interest in the'methods used by. the masters of the art of driving,--such as Seaman, Caracciola, Nuvolan, art.d others; and thus consciously or unconciously train themselves to be the best and safest drivers on the road. . Now, whether a community to which a Safety First Campaign is addressed takes notice or not of all the written, spoken, and recorded publicity and warnings given. them, there is one thing they will take notice of, and that is a man in uniform. It is the same the whole world over. Very well then, we must have more men in the uniform ot traffic inspectors to act as "educators and they must have suitable means of transport. . , This sounds costly, but it need not be and I think the -following scheme, besides being cheap to the Government, would be effective. Let the Minister of Transport have a number of men who have the following or similar qualifications, sworn in. as special constables. ' ■,-,-„ (a) They must be owners and drivers of ■ motor-cars. (b) They should' have had at least fifteen years' driving experience. (I give a lengthy period for driving experience to make sure that men are not appointed and then taught ■ to "bT They should' be over 30. Below this age drivers are not quite so set(d) 'They should be under 45. Above that age drivers, as a rule, unless_ very specially trained,.are slow in their-re-action times, and they are less tolerant and too biased . against the young "bloods" who want educating, not "chasing:" . (c) They should have a good knowledge of the mechanical side of motormThis special, mobile constabulary: would be .used thus: Officers would go on duty in pairs, Jwo to a car. .They would be given a roving -.commission over all roads in a certain area It is ! useless for them to patrol a short length of road, because everybody knows they are1 there and, drives more or less safely on that stretch, .at least while the -'officers are in sight. They should be empowered to stop any driver they considered • should be •warned about his or her driving methods. The circumstances would be xeported at-headquarters and any driver found ito have been warned more than two or-three times would be proceeded -against. Pedestrians should .be treated in .the way_ if ! possible, and cyclists certainly. This ■would be easier if legislation is brought; in compelling -them to carry numbers. Officers should not be put on petty duties, such as looking for breaches of parking regulations in towns, etc.; they would not be out to catch people, but as "educators. ■ The cost to the Government of this scheme should be small, because the men would use their .own cars, which could be fitted with a syren, and carry a detachable insignia of some sort which could be mounted when -the car was being-used for patrol-work.. Petrol and .oil would be Supplied by the Government and, possibly, but.not necessarily, a small allowance -for wear and tear might be made.. Also there would be the cost.of uniforms. So much for the rough idea of the scheme, but I feel sure there are enough men interested in the whole subiect of safety on the roads to give some of their time and the use of. their cars in the interests of the community. They must be prepared to give time in the week as well as at the weekends, because weekend patrols are nearly as useless- as none at all. There is just as much bad driving on the week days as at the weekends. In conclusion, I do not claim to be the originator, of the above scheme, since it is, I believe, in operation in certain parts of England at the moment; at least, something like it. Meanwhile, whether Mr. Semple will let us help him in his Safety First Campaign in a really useful capacity or not, let each one of us "drive like a genUeman."—l. km, etc., . ,

TAMBOURINI