TOLL AT LEVEL CROSSINGS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LI, Issue 29, 5 January 1931, Page 6

TOLL AT LEVEL CROSSINGS.

31 DEATHS LAST YEAR

RECORD IN HISTORY OF RAIL-

Level crossing accidents in New Zea land during 1930 accounted for A deaths, and injury to 52 persons. The fatalities were more than double the total for 1929, and in the history of the railway system the year y death roll has never before exceeded 14. Ihe increase is out of proportion to any additions which might be expected with increasing motor vehicle usage. Tlie serious total of deaths last year was largely contributed to by two accidents each involving six deaths. At Hikurangi, North Auckland, on April 5, a train and motor bus met on a crossing, and six fatalities resulted. The other grave accident occurred at Sockburn, Christchurch, on June 16, when five occupants of a mo-tor-car and tlie driver of the locomo tive were killed.

Wellington province was not conspicuous for level crossing accidents in 1930. . • , One serious aocident was at the Mokotua railway station, near Invercargill, where a special train in which the Minister of Railways was travelling struck a motor-lorry containing two men and a little girl. One of the men was killed, and tlie girl died later from her injuries. There were two fatalities in Auckland, a pedestrian being killed at the Lloyd’s Avenue West crossing, Grey Lynn, on July 3, and another losing his life at the notorious Argyle Street crossing only five days later.

Apart from the two Auckland fatalities there were three other level crossing accidents near Auckland. A motorcyclist was injured through being struck by a train while he was crossing the railway line at May’s Road, To Papapa, and a child w'ho was hit at the Eden View crossing escaped without injury’. A motor-car was slightly damaged as a result of a collision at the Church Street crossing, Te Papapa, the driver being uninjured. There were also smashes at Hamilton, Te Kuiti, Putaruru, Whangarei, and Otorohanga.

Of the 31 deaths in 1930, 21 of the victims were drivers or passengers in motor-cars, trucks, or buses, six were pedestrians, two motor-cyclists, and two drivers of horse-drawn vehicles. There were 65 collisions at level-cross-ings between trains and vehicles, and there were some instances of remarkable escapes from wrecked vehicles.

THE OFFICIAL RECORD. Following is an official record of the killed and injured in level-crossing accidents in New Zealand since 1909:

Improved warning signs and signals were installed on crossings during 1928 and 1930. The process of crossing elimination is necessarily slow and common sense will always bo the only real safeguard' on the majority of crossings in New Zealand. Total elimination of the 2650 crossings in the k Dominion would cost a prohibitive sum which can be very approximately put at £10,000,000. Even the installation of flashing light signals on all crossings would cost about £670,000, with an annual bill of something like £7O 000 for maintenance.

1909 ... Killed. Injured ... 7 4 1910 ... ... 3 14 ' 1911 ... ... 4 8 1912 ... 4 6 1913 ... ... 13 11 1914 ... ... 5 10 1915 ... ... 4 9 1916 ... ... 5 10 1917 ... ... 6 11 1918 ... ... 4 17 1919 ... ... 5 17 1920 ... ... 4 19 1921 ... ... 4 19 1922 ... ... 14 31 1923 ... ... 9 32 1924 ... ... 13 98 1925 ... ... 11 80 1926 ... ... 14 40 1927 ... ... 13 31 1928 ... ... 14 47 1929 ... ... 14 36 1930 ... ... 31 52