MOTORIST’S VIEW

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 48, Issue 2922, 30 June 1939, Page 1

MOTORIST’S VIEW

ACCIDENT STATISTICS LEGISLATION ANTICIPATED PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS SOME FEATURES WELCOMED The attention of. a Gazette representative was drawn to-day to a motoring periodical which forecasts the action the Government is expected to take and it is noteworthy that certain unsaisfactory feaures as far as pedestrian crossings and cyclists are concerned are to be clarified. Points directly concerning motor vehicles are detailed as: The issuing of drivers’ licences by the Post Office; the registration of bicycles; the formation of Metropolitan Areas for ; traffic control; Government control in all areas other than borough over 6000 population; powers of arrest by traffic officers of drunken drivers; notification by motorists of change of address of garage; compulsory dipping of headlights; the carrying of marker lights by all vehicles- over ■ seven feet in width; the carrying of a blue light on all vehicles drawing trailers. Pedestrian Crossings So far as pedestrian crossings are concerned it is understood that finality has been reached following exhaustive inquiries, and comments from all automobile associations and local authorities. Specifications for marking pedestrian crossing-places will include: The present form and definition with the addition that they will require to be clearly distinguishable from 100 feet away by night and day; there must be black and white marked poles at each end of the crossings; the markings on poles or posts must be in 12inch bands, the marking to extend six feet high; these six-feet-high markings may be surmounted by a light, this detail being left to the local authority; where a thoroughfare is wide enough to demand it, safety refuges will be provided in the middle of the marked crossing place. More Or Less Expected In commenting on these proposals a Paeroa motorist remarked that the sections pertaining to motor vehicles were more or less to be.' expected in view of accident statistics but he regretted that all drivers had not paid more heed to the safety campaign so that regulative action would have , been unnecessary. He felt that motorists as a class must be the most regulated section of the community and while he admitted that this was probably due to the actions of motorists in the past he pointed out that prevention would have been far better remedy than the cure. He considered that the bulk of accidents were due to the actions of a comparatively small percentage of drivers who should have been put off the roads, not so much after accidents in which they might have been in•Tolved but before' they caused any serious damage. That, he took it,

had been the original intention behind

the appointment of traffic inspectors who had done remarkable work for the first year or so. The improvement in the behaviour of drivers on occasions such as race meetings and other big fixtures had been one tangible result of the inspectors’ work but it seemed to him that the system could have been carried a good deal further and; all the time of the inspectors put in on the roads.

He said that faults such as overtaking under dangerous circumstances, speed on road surfaces that were not fit for it, cutting of corners, the pig-headed refusal of some drivers to give way immediately to overtaking traffic, failure to dip lights at night and the selfishness of some drivers in failing to give the other man his* fair share of the road, were offences that should have been penalised more often and more severely. Licence Cancellation Courts in his view were too prone to inflict a small fine where offenders had not been involved in accidents when cancellation of licences for two f or three months would have had a I more salutary effect. He made it I clear that he was not in any way I criticising the inspectors who had done all that could- be expected in • view of the nature of their duties. I He welcomed the regulations in connection with pedestrian crossings. He had travelled extensively in the North Island and found that very few local authorities had marked crossings in such a way that they could be seen by a driver at a reasonable distance. Too many local bodies, in marking crossings, presumed that every motorist had the local knowledge possessed by the residents. At the same time he felt that something should be done to make the pedestrian conform to the regulations governing such crossings. It was definitely, unfair to place all the responsibility on the drivers. Then’ responsibility was to see that they gave way to people who were using the the crossings legitimately, not to be baulked and irritated by the actions of a certain type of person whose warped sense of humour caused him to see how much inconvenience he could cause motorists. Cyclists’ Offences It was certainly high time something were done to. make cyclists conform more strictly to traffic rules. Turning without signalling, swerving about instead of preserving a straight course, riding three and: four abreast, riding at night without lamps and reflectors and double ‘banking, were errors in the use of cycles that a short drive on any road would- reveal. At present it was difficult for inspectors and police to check these faults unless they had the means of following and catching offender’s but if cycles were registered the task of tracing offenders would be mad,e comparatively simple. If. all motorists were to be regulated because some acted inconsiderately then he could see no reason why some cyclists should have the free use of the •roads and fail to comply with even the simplest of the regulations governing the behaviour of other road users. ...