STATIONARY TRAMS

Evening Star, Issue 22327, 1 May 1936, Page 8

STATIONARY TRAMS

RIGHT OF WAY AT INTERSECTIONS MOTORISTS’ POINT OF VIEW Several prominent motorists in the city were interested in the court proceedings taken yesterday against a motorist for failure to give way at a street intersection to a tramcar approaching from the left. They stated this morning that frequently one encounters a similar position to that described in court, and at several points in the city and suburbs. They have interpreted the regulations to mean that motor cars had the right to pass in front of stationary trams at various intersections.

If a tram were stopped at an intersection, said one, it might be picking up and letting down any number of passengers up to, say, 20, but a motor driver could not reasonably be expected to wait until the car_ moved away before lie crossed the intersection. Approaching a stationary tram on the left, the motorist could not always see whether there were passengers either alighting from or boarding the other vehicle, and, while the tram was still standing, he had a perfect right to continue on his course. Attention was drawn by one man to the clanger sometimes caused by tram cars standing at the St. Clair terminus. Some of these trams were not driven to the end of the line past the Beach street intersection, but a, portion was left obstructing part of the crossing. There had been several accidents there as the result of this. Traffic officials stated that they had taken this matter up, and were endeavouring to have the trams taken to the end of the line, so that when they were waiting to pick up their timetable before returning to town motorists coming from the direction of the beach or down Bedford street would have an unobstructed view of other traffic approaching the intersection.