ROAD SAFETY

Greymouth Evening Star, 7 February 1939, Page 8

ROAD SAFETY

JUDGES AND PEDESTRIANS Three judges of the Appeal Court recently gave their views on correct behaviour at a pedestrian crossing, reports the “News Chronicle.” They were hearing an appeal which was a sequel to an accident at Ludgate Circus; and having visited the scene, they recounted their reactions ill court. This is what they said: — Lord Justice MacKinnon: It struck me that anyone who went on the crossing and did not look to the right, or failed to see an omnibus part of the way across the Circus, would obviously be negligent. Lord Justice Scott: My own practice is not to go on a crossing if anything is within what 1 assume to he 50 to 70 yards. Lord Justice MacKinnon: My own practice is to look to the right to see if anything is coming. Lord Justice du Parcq: Unless you are prepared to give a signal to oncoming traffic that you want to cross —if you merely adopt the practice of looking to see if there is anything coming and wait till there is no vehicle nearer than 50 to 70 yards—it would take a long time to get across the road. You might have to wait an hour! 1 Lord Justice Scott: You must take your courage in your hands and indiate that you are going to cross by putting up a stick or umbrella. Lord Justice du Parcq: That does take both courage and resolution.

Later Lord Justice Scott commented: This is a case of great public importance, and the question seems to be whether the boy stepped off on to the crossing at a time when the bus was so near that it had no reasonable chance of pulling up.

Lord Justice MacKinnon: Is not the question whether Mr. Justice Hilbery (who made the award in the King’s Bench) -was right in saying that, the effect of the Court of Appeal decision was that in no case can a half-witted pedestrian, who steps on to a crossing in front of a car, be held to blame? Lord Justice du Parcq: It people all acted reasonably there would be no difficulty. A motorist might, approach a crossing quickly if no one was there, but if there is, he has got to give the pedestrian an opportunity of crossing. Correcting a comment by counsel that pedestrians had a prior right to the road at crossings, Lord Justice Scott said: “You must not say they have a prior right. They have a prior right, if approaching traffic is not too near.”

The appeal was by London Passenger Transport Board against £225 damages to a Dagenham boy who was knocked down by a bus while crossing at the city end of Fleet Street. Mr. Justice Hilbery had held that under (lie traffic, regulations relating to pedestrian crossings, and a decision of the Court of Appeal, there could be no contributory negligence by the boy. Judgment was reserved.