FIRST THINGS FIRST ON THE ROAD

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 147, 23 June 1937, Page 10

FIRST THINGS FIRST ON THE ROAD

While it may be desirable to educate pedestrians in the use of authorised crossings where there are traffic lights or a traffic inspector, a task which the traffic officers appear to be now undertaking, it is a great deal more important, in our opinion, to instruct motorists to respect the specially-marked authorised crossings where there are no lights and no inspectors. Attention to this common failure on the part of motorists to slow down on approaching these crossings and give the pedestrians a chance to get over in reasonable safety and comfort has been drawn from time to time in both news and editorial columns of "The Post." The motorist has no real excuse.; The new marking of the crossings is quite sufficiently distinctive to show that they are "authorised," and Regulation 14. (Rules of the Road) section 7 is also perfectly clear, to wit: Every driver of a motor-vehicle shall yield the right of way to a pedestrian engaged in crossing the roadway within any authorised pedestrian-crossing upon the half of the roadway over which such vehicle is lawfully entitled to travel, and when approaching such crossing the driver shall reduce his speed so as to be able to stop before reaching the crossing if necessary. The public is the judge of how many motorists slow down appreciably at all, let alone, slow down "so as to be able to stop," on approaching authorised crossings, such as, for instance, at the four crossings in the vicinity of the Central Library or that over Jervois Quay near the Central Fire Brigade Station. On- the other hand, perhaps, the safest crossing in Wellington over the most dangerous thoroughfare—Jervois Quay itself —is at the entrance to the Queen's Wharf, where automatic lights have most satisfactorily solved one of the city's worst traffic problems. It may be too expensive to install similar devices at other danger points or to post inspectors at the main authorised crossings, but if less attention were paid for the moment to harrying motorists" from pillar to post over parking regulations and the like, and more to curbing their pace at intersections and crossings, it would be the better for all road-users.