DISMISSED

Franklin Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 40, 4 April 1928, Page 5

DISMISSED

CHARGES O FNEGLIGENCE. MAGISTRATE'S REMARKS. "I cannot understand why the police —I am not referring particularly to thf. local police because I know they arc Instructed to take action—persistently bring charges against motorists be•cau'se an accident occurrs through an ■error of judgment," declared Mr .!. H. Luxford, S.M. at the Pukekohe cour'. 'this morning, when P. Craig and J. L. Duncan motor car drivers were charged •with negligent driving on the Great South Road, near Mercer. Mr Luxford went on to say that quite a number of prosecutions had Taeen brought where there was no possibility of a conviction being entered. Because unfortunate motorists mee-. ■with an accident, through an error of .iudgment, they are charged, with the criminal offence of negligent driving, and are brought to the r»mirt to defend the prosecutions at great expense and inconvenience when the charge has no possibility of succeeding. He characterised ♦»>« case before him as one of them. Such cases should not be brought especially when neither was guilty oxnegligence but an error of judgment, and in this case the accident occurred on a very dangerous portion of the road. "I know the road," said Mr Luxford "because I have driven over it for 20 years. That piece of road between the Rangiriri deviation and the Whangamarino stream is one of the most danegrous portions of road in New Zealand. I feel sorry for these ■defendants," he added. "I am sorry also, your Worship, because one defendant came from Te Kuiti and the other from Hamilton," said Mr M. R. Grierson who appeared for both.

"My remarks am the more pertinent especially when both drivers are charged with negligence, surely both are not negligent. I say a gain that such cases should not have been brought here. The evidence of the police goes to show that there was no negligence in this case" said Mr Luxford.

Evidence was given by John Leslie •Duncan,- who saated that he was driving a car towards Hamilton on Decern " wrien Craig's ear in attempting to pass, "struck witness' car. Neither car was travelling at a dangerous •speed, 'and the accident occurred on a narrow portion of the road. ' Constable G. N. Douglas gave evidence to the effect that the previous •witness reported the accident to him Witness inspected the scene of the mishap and found the carriage way to be 13 feet wide. He also observed the tracks of a car right on the brink of the bank for a distance of 60 feet. Had the car pulled up it would have capsized. The proper course was to teo ahead. / The Magistrate then passed the remarks referred to above. He dismissed the charge against Craig because of its trivial nature and as the facts were the same in the case against Duncan, the police withdrew the charge.