ROAD ACCIDENTS

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 August 1946, Page 9

ROAD ACCIDENTS

REPORT BY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT 109 FATALITIES LAST YEAR The annual report of the Transport Denartment states that during the calendar year 1945 there were 109 fatal motor accidents and 2385 oihei accidents involving personal injury. As a result of these accidents 129 persons were killed and .3308 others injured. During 1944 there were 140 Persons killed and 26G7 injured m a total of 2097 accidents. This represents a further drop of 8 per cent in the number of persons killed, but an increase of 24 per cent in the numoei of persons reported as being injured. Those killed in 1945 included 68 occupants of motor-vehicles, 33 pedestrians, 15 riders of motor-cycles or pillion-riders and 13 cyclists. From January to July, 194.1, the number of casualties averaged 255 per month. In August, coincident, wnh the partial relaxation of petrol lestiiclions, the casualties reached 391. From August to December the monthly average was 329, which was 29 per cent higher than in the first seven months. ’ , . n Collisions between motor-vehicles comprised 30 per cent, of all accidents, collisions with cyclists 24 per cent, and with pedestrians 23 per cent. Other collisions —with railway trains and tram-cars, with fixed objects such, as telegraph poles, with animals and with horse-drawn vehicles, etc.--accounted for 12 per cent. Non-col-lisions, where the motor-vehicle left the road or overturned or a passenger fell from the vehicle, amounted to 11 per cent. Although not particularly numerous in comparison with other types of accidents, collisions with trains at level crossings resulted in a fatalitv in every fourth instance.' Nearly 72 per cent of all accidents and 55 per cent of all fatal accident!, were reported from the urban areas, and 42 per cent of all accidents and 30 per cent of all fatal accidents happened in the four main centres.