LEST WE REGRET

Evening Star, Issue 23408, 27 October 1939, Page 8

LEST WE REGRET

MORTALITY ON THE ROAD CONCLUSIONS ON CAUSE AND PREVENTION GOOD CONDITIONS INDUCE ACCIDENTS “ Dangerous bend ahead.” “ Motorists should exercise caution on roads in the area affected by the recent snowstorm.” “Fog conditions prevail over Mount Cargill.” Such warnings through a variety of mediums form an accepted part of the everyday life of to-day. The question has been asked, “ Are such warnings effective? Does the average motorist pay them the attention they deserve?” In this connection a booklet issued by an American life insurance company is of great importance. Tables of statistics, taken for 1938 over the whole of the United States, prove that they are effective, and yet that they by ho means touch the vital problem of road safety. Titled ‘ Lest We Regret,’ this attractively printed and illustrated publication is issued in an earnest endeavour to arrest the steadily mounting figures of accidents and fatalities on the modern road. Perhaps the most arresting portion of it is a collection of 16 tables in which accidents are tabulated in an attempt to locate the causes leading up to. them. THE INEXPERIENCED DRIVER. “ It’s a woman driver ” sagely nods the wiseacre as he watches the ear ahead transgressing half the rules of the road. But 90 per cent, of drivers involved in accidents—93 per cent, in the case of fatal accidents—are men True, most. drivers are men, and possibly you may advance the statement that most drivers of commercial vehicles and taxis, which are always on the road, come into this category. But 80 per cent, of the vehicles involved in accidents are private cars. Operating experience counts for safety? Maybe, but drivers who have been driving for a year or more are responsible for 95 per cent, of accidents and deaths. The majority of accidents are caused by experienced drivers who know just what to do with their hands and feet, but who do not always use their heads. ® STRAIGHT ROADS, CLEAR VISION. “ That’s a dangerous road,” is said of one which winds dizzily among the hills, and sharp bends with poor visibility have caused many a smash. Turning, backing, and parking are all movements which require care and precision if you wish to keep your fenders from being drumpled; but if you wish to be equally careful of the human body you will use equal care when going straight ahead, because over 76 per cent, of nonfatal accidents, over 84 per cent, of deaths are caused on a straight road.' Visibility should be good for safe driving, yet over four-fifths of all accidents happen on a clear day. Only 4 per cent, happen in fog and snow. Similarly dry roads lead to three-quarters of the trouble. When roads are slippery and visibility is poor driving seems to be most dangerous, and drivers redouble their alertness. But dry weather, a straight road, a clear day, the knowledge of a long driving experience, the superiority complex of the male are all conducive to speeding, and consequently the inference remains that it is speed that kills. SAFETY IN THE CITY, Two other tables have an effect in bringing about this conclusion. The road location table shows that nearly 10 times as many people are killed on rural highways as at rural intersectionc. More people are killed between city intersections than at them. Death strikes more frequently on the open Highway than at any other point, and it is on the open highway that high speeds are most prevalent. The other effective reason for the conclusion is that cars in good condition are responsible for 95 per cent, of accidents, 92 per cent, of deaths. Defective brakes are the worst defect, causing, however, only 1.6 per cent, of accidents, 1.9 per cent, of deaths. The puncture or blow-out comes next on the list, but these smaller percentages are almost negligible compared with the astounding total of deaths caused by cars which would be eligible for a New Zealand “ warrant of fitness.”

After an accident many drivers insist, some quite rightly, that the steering wheel locked or the _ accelerator jammed or the brakes failed to act. Most accidents, it is claimed, can be traced to a failure in mental or temperamental equipment rather than inthe mechanism under its control. RESPONSIBILITY OF PEDESTRIANS. For pedestrians the easiest tvay to court death is to cross the road between intersections, the next to walk sedately along a rural highway. A child playing in the street runs only half the risk: of being killed that a man does who crosses at an intersection which is not controlled by lights or other signal; but children playing in the street, people stepping ftom behind a parked car, and those who cross .an intersection against the signal or without a signal all stand about an equal chance of being' killed. Streets are most dangerous if you are over 65 or under four years or age. Exceeding the speed limit caused- nearly twofifths of the deaths that could be attributed to the actions of drivers. LOCAL APPLICATION. This booklet,. of which these figures form only a section, is intended to b 6 used as a basis for educating Dunedin children to traffic dangers. Mr Gordon B. Anderson, the education officer at; tached to the Otago Museum, has conceived the idea of setting up an exhibit for the use of the schools which will be based on some such figures. Application will be made to the proper quarters in Wellington to see if comparative figures along the same lines are available for New Zealand, and, if so, they will, of course, be used. Although this may be regarded as

being outside the scope of Museum ao. tivities, there is no other educational' organisation at present tackling thie very necessary work. While the United States has more ears on the road, and the average age of each car is less and conditions are nearer ideal for speeding, this country is not very far behind, and a death roll such as this of American children and adults should at all costs be prevented from becoming % concomitant of the advance of modern locornation in New Zealand.