AN IMPROVEMENT

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 87, 9 October 1937, Page 10

AN IMPROVEMENT

FEWER ACCIDENTS

TOO MUCH CARELESSNESS

MINISTER'S SURVEY

[ "Whose turn next? That is the: question which all adults, parents especially, might well ask said the Hon. R. Semple, Minister of Transport, in announcing that for the twenty-eight weeks ended September 30, road casualties have reached a total of 2321. "In respect of the accidents report-

Ed during September, the number of

persons killed was 21 and injured 313. The latter figure is well below the average for the previous three months," said the Minister.

a "To show the way m wnieft many of n these accidents happen, I quote a few typical, cases; (1) A pedestrian stepe ping off the footpath was knocked down by a motor-lorry. (2) A pedesi- trian ran from behind a parked car e and collided with a motor-cycle; in s this case there was an authorised ? pedestrian crossing only a few yards away. (3) Child ran round behind a s tram and was struck by a car. (4) A - push cyclist failed to give way at an ) intersection and was run down by a 3 motor-vehicle. (5) Another cyclist cut ' across the path of a motor-car travelt ling in the same direction.. (6) A - motorist travelling at excessive speed " over white line, collided with an on-, > coming car; in this case four people ' were injured. ? "Taking the '28-week period under > review, it' is found that nearly 400 ac--1 cidents would have been avoided if ' all motorists had observed the card-1 5 inal rules (i) keep/to the left, and (ii) i give way to the vehicle ■ approaching > from the right. • • . j "Push cyclists have suffered because of careless 'Or reckless riding, failing to keep to the left, not yielding the right of way, and failing to signal before turning to the right. , ; "With pedestrians also, , the ■ main accident cause is carelessness on the pedestrian's own part.- No less than 182 pedestrians actiially ■ walked • into motor-vehicles', • many of them ; stepping out, unthinkingly, from behind another vehicle. , "Those are the facts,"' concluded the i Minister. "No one desires to have the responsibility of causing accidents to others, and we all desire to. escape accident to ourselves. To achieve this all that is necessary is to be careful at all times and to observe the few simple traffic rules." ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENTS. Accompanying the Minister's statement is an analysis of the 1845 accidents recorded from March 15 to the end of September. No less than 1662, or 90 per cent, were collisions, as under:—Between motor vehicles, 551, or 33 per cent.; between motor vehicle and pedestrian, 483, or 29 per cent.; between motor vehicle and cyclist, 465, or 28 per cent.; other collisions, 163, or 10 per. cent. The modern vehicle (up to three years old) represents 44 per cent, of the total vehicles involved; from three years to six yeilrs 20 per cent., and ; older vehicles 36 per cent. ; Experience of drivers: Less than six ] months, 6 per cent.; six months to i twelve months, 3 per cent.;, one year to i two years, 6 per cent.; two years to i five years, 19 per cent.; five years to j ten years, 24 per cent.; ten years and ] over,. 42 per cent. Location of accidents: 60 per cent, of the total occurred in cities and boroughs of over 6000 population; 10 per cent, in the smaller towns,' and 30 per cent, on main highways and other country roads. Nearly half the accidents occur during the night or at dusk: Daylight, 53 per cent.;, dusk, 6 per cent; dark, 41 per cent. The worst hour was between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., when 12 per cent, of the accidents took place. • . i

The worst period is the weekend. N6arly* 18 per cent, of the total accidents occur on Fridays; over 20. per. cent, on Saturdays, and 13.5 per cent, on Sundays.