MOTORING

Hawera Star, Volume XLIX, 17 August 1929, Page 15

MOTORING

“GETTING WORSE.” & TORE OF THE MOTOR. A DEATH EVERY TWO DAY'S. Motor vehicle accidents in New Zealand last year accounted fox an average of one death every two days. A total of 176 deaths were caused by collisions or accidents to pedestrians, and twelve more fatalities were due to motor vehicles concerned in accidents with trams or trains. This seems a formidable figure, but in ratio to the number of vehicles in use it is actually lower than was experienced in most other j>arts of the world (com. ments the “New Zealand Herald”). Improved traffic regulation, safer roads and better safety features in automobile design might have been expected to result in a reduction of accidents, •but so far as New Zealand is concerned fatalities have increased faster during the last, three years than the number of vehicles in service. The increase is slight, but when human life is the forfeit, it is a situation which cannot be lightly regarded.

There were 189,329 cars, commercial vehicles and motor-cycles registered up to the end of 1925, and with an aggregate of 17G deaths, this means a fatality rate of 0.93 for every 1000 motors. In 1925 there were 10S traffic fatalities, and che year ended with 123,000 vehicles in service, the death rate thus toeing 0.89 per 1000. Such emphatic attention has been drawn to various safety factors during the last few years that one would expect improvements to be evident over even short periods. A great deal has been made of four-wheel brakes, and they have become universal during the last three years. Although there arc thousands of older ears in service, -quite one-third of the vehicles on the road to-day must have front-wheel brakes. Some comfort may too taken from the fact that the death rate per 1000 vehicles is much lower than that of Great. Britain, the United States or Australia. The death of nearly 25,000 persons a year through motor accidents in the United States seems appalling, Tout in proportion to the number of i vehicles in use .the rate is little higher : than in New Zealand; it is lower than that which prevails in Australia, and it is infinitely better than the position in Great Britain. America is usually considered the home of the reckless driver, but the fatality rate -per 1000 vehicles is only one-third of that, of Great Britain. America ha-s fourteen times the number of motors operated in -Great 'Britain, but only five times as many fatalities 'occur. The death Tate in Great Britain is higher'.to-dav than it was seven years ago. In 1921 (there wore 2.43 fatalities for every 1000 motors. The figure was the same in 1926, but for 1928 it stood at 3.06 deaths per 1000. In the United States the death rate has ranged about one .per 1000 since 1924 without improvement, tout it is at least an improvement (compared with earlier periods. In 1918 ithe rate in the United States was 1.54 per 1000 vehicles, and in 1917 it was as high as 1.78. The following statistics for 1928 afford an interesting comparison:—

■Motor Motor Deaths iper 1000 Veh. Faltalities. Veh. No. No. No. tr.s.A. ... 24,493,124 24.932 1.02 G. Britain 1,760,000 5,378 3.06 N.Z 189,329 176 .93 N.S.W. ... ■227.278 328 1.-44