ROAD SAFETY—WHOSE JOB?

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 50, 27 August 1937, Page 8

ROAD SAFETY—WHOSE JOB?

It is' universally conceded thai safety on, the road is one of the problems of the day in every country where motor transport is widely used. The position is fully recognised in New Zealand, but the question has apparently not yet been settled whose particular job it is to look after the problem and devise means for a solution, as far as that is possible, j The .Minister of Transport (Mr. Semple) has played a leading part in tackling the problem both by repeated public appeals and by tighten-j ing up motor-traffic control. He has also endeavoured to'enlist the support of all parties interested in an effort to secure greater road safety. Just over a year ago—on August 21,' 1936—a conference was called of practically every authority and interest concerned .in motoring and traffic control, the churches, and the schools, with the idea of taking steps to reduce the road accident rate, and the conference reached the conclusion that a continued educational campaign offered the surest means of making New Zealand roads safer to all users. It was decided to form a National Road Safety Council; to undertake the work. On September 3 the appointment of the council and its personnel was an--1 nounced. The idea in itself was not new, as similar bodies exist in Britain and in America, and in 1935

definite proposals in that direction had been made by the North Island Motor Union and supported by its sister body in the South Island with an offer of a contribution towards the cost, for it was generally agreed that an effective safety campaign must be adequately financed. The Automobile Association's scheme, covering both islands, provided for a campaign to reach all road-users on the basis of substantial finance, but when the National Road Safety Council was established last year no such provision was made. Whether for that defect or for other reasons the Safety Council has not functioned in the manner anticipated by the public and did not meet again until last month. The question of the Safety Council was discussed at a conference of the North Island Motor Union at Wanganui yesterday, but, so far as can be gathered from the report, the situation can hardly be deemed satisfactory. As an advisory body the council does not appear to be particularly effective, and the educational campaign, from which so much was expected, has so far not achieved great prominence. In his statement to the Road Safety Council last month the Commissioner of Transport (Mr. G. W. Laurenson) suggested an allocation of -work and responsibility between the Government, municipalities, and automobile associations. The automobile associations, he suggested, "might undertake general safety propaganda work in their respective 'districts, the Transport Department giving every possible assistance." What part the Safety Council was to play is not clear. At Wanganui the Commissioner stated tliat the Government was "not favourably disposed" towards "a council with executive and spending powers in substitution for the present advisory council." This apparently limits the scope of the Safety Council to something far less than the motorists through their associations desire. The point of view of the motorist is to be placed before the Minister. The test of machinery is whether it works well. In America the National Safety Council plays a most important part, and there is much to be said for giving a similar New Zealand body a chance to do effective work.