STREET CROSSINGS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 45, 22 August 1939, Page 10

STREET CROSSINGS

ABUSE OF THE RULE

AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION VIEW

BREACHES ■"" INEXCUSABLE

5 The president of the Automobile As--5 sociation, Mr. E. A. Batt, referring to- , day to the demand made by the Mayor, - Mr. T. C. A. Hislop, that more effective action should be taken against ) drivers who deliberately offend against t pedestrian crossing place rules, said i that the association was in full sympathy with that view. Every person - in New Zealand, whether a motorist or T a pedestrian, knew perfectly well the purpose of the crossings, said Mr. Batt, - and the flagrant breaking of the rules - was inexcusable. J j "I was very pleased indeed to read j t the outspoken statement made by his I Worship the Mayor regarding the coni tinual abuses of pedestrian crossing ' regulations," said Mr. Batt. "Mr. His- » lop does not, of course, condemn all motorists, for there is a big percentage ; of law-abiding and careful drivers, but there are those others who disregard requirements and regulations without ; concern for the rights and safety and comfort of others. Mr. Hislop's state- : ment will, I hope, focus attention pointedly upon this quite inexcusable disregard of the rights of pedestrians. "Authorised pedestrian crossings . have been in use throughout New Zealand for ample time for every motorist and pedestrian to understand their purpose and their advantages; no one can claim today that he does not know what they are there for. The pedestrian, of course, has his share of responsibility, to himself and to the motorist, and must equally be required to observe the crossing-places. "There is another angle I would like to place before the public, and particularly before the motorist: a considerable number of motorists have had the mistaken idea that because there is no authorised crossing they have the right of way regardless of the safety of pedestrians. "That is neither the rule nor the decent attitude, for the liability upon drivers, on every intersection, whether there be an authorised crossing or not, is to drive to the safety of the public. The driver of a motor vehicle going over an unmarked intersection used by j pedestrians must, under the regulations j and under all the rules of common sense, drive with due care and regard to the safety of pedestrians and other road-users. CARS AND DANGEROUS OFFENCES. "City traffic men pay a great deal more attention to parked vehicles than they do to moving cars whose drivers are offending against the regulations, every day, in every street in the city, chalking tyres of parked cars and writing out windshield stickers, while moving vehicles are being driven past in a dangerous way," continued Mr. Batt. "The question very naturally arises which offender is more deserv- ! ing of attention: the man who parks his car where he should not or for longer than he should, or the man who creates an actual, moving danger. "Furthermore, might it not be asked whether the police take sufficient interest and action to supplement the work of the city traffic staff? I am of the opinion that the influence of the police could be even more effective, if applied, than that of the traffic officers." Mr. Batt referred to the comment made by Mr. Hislop that "if the Automobile Association people, who want to see the regulation observed, would act in the same manner (by themselves reporting offences at crossings) they would achieve a greater result than by talking about it," and said that he did not read from that remark that the Mayor was criticising the attitude or work of the association or its genuine desire for road safety. "I would point out," said Mr. Batt, "that we have no statutory power and we can go no further than we have for a period of years in the education of the road user to drive according to the regulations and with proper regard to the safety of others. "This association, like others through the Dominion, has devoted an immense | amount of time, and of money, in an endeavour to reduce accidents and to improve conditions on the roads. The suggestion that, road users should lay information against others who are guilty of flagrant breaches of the regulations opens up a very big question. While one or two States in America have adopted this plan, others have tried and abandoned it. There is a natural reluctance on the part , of private citizens to inform on one : another, but I may say that I, like ; Mr. Hislop, have on the occasion of . a particularly flagrant and dangerous ; breach, reported the circumstances ■ and the driver, though, I must say, it j iis not a pleasant thing to do." WHY NOT A FIELD DAY? i The observance of the crossing rules i' i did show improvement, said Mr. Batt, but the deliberate offenders were asking for and should be given a lesson. I "May I suggest to Mr. Hislop and the City Council that the traffic office \ should be instructed to hold a field ] day, to station an officer at every busy • crossing in the city and to call for j ' the particular co-operation of the i( police? The prosecutions that would 5 follow would act as an effective deter- * rent, and if there were no grounds for js prosecutions—if drivers and pedes- 5 trians alike behaved as they should s on the crossings—the one-day campaign would still be valuable as ajr warning that offenders in the future « would not get away with it lightly." i