FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 1938. Growing Motor Traffic

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 183, 5 August 1938, Page 6

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 1938. Growing Motor Traffic

No very pronounced, powers o£ observation are necessary to help the average New Zealander to arrive at the conclusion that the motor traffic in the Dominion is increasing by leaps and bounds. But when it is considered how small the local accident rate is compared with the statistics of other countries, New Zealanders would seem to have reason for the calm view.

As the Commissioner of Transport points out in his annual report, the development of the motor vehicle, especially in regard to its speed capabilities and its increasing use in skilled and unskilled hands, has created an almost world-wide accident problem of a magnitude comparable in its effect on the physical safety of people with the effects produced by modern warfare on a large scale. Forty years ago there were no more than 4000 petrol-driven vehicles on the road and to-day there are nearly 40,000,000. Last year the estimated world casualties on the road numbered nearly 2,250,000, including approximately 80,000 killed. It is interesting to note that in the United States, which has a very large total of cars and where drivers have a name for being, speedy, if not actually reckless, the number of deaths per 10,000 vehicles is only 13, as against Italy 61.4, Switzerland 49.1, Germany 42.4, Scotland 34.8, and England and Wales 24.0. On the same basis the Australian rate is 16.8 and the Canadian 10.5.

Of the countries mentioned, New Zealand takes the honours with the death rate of 8.8 per 10,000 vehicles, or 9.6 when all types of accidents are included. From the statistical viewpoint this is quite satisfactory; nevertheless, the Transport Department is justified in its endeavours to reduce last year’s depressing toll of 243 killed and 5091 injured. Some idea of the task facing the authorities may be gathered from the information that this year a record number of new motor vehicles appeared on the roads. Begistrations of cars numbered 29,8557, compared with 25,796 for 1936-37, the previous record, while registrations of commercial vehicles were 10,413, compared with 8999 for 1936-37, the previous record. The number of all classes of motor vehicle licenses at March 31 last was 280,327 —easily the highest total to date.

In spite of these rising figures there are signs that the road safety campaign organised by the council set up for that purpose is having a beneficial effect. A conrparison between the number of deaths from road accidents during the 19 months preceding and following the inauguration of the campaign in September, 1936, shows a drop in the figures per million gallons of petrol consumed of 3.31 to 2.65. Had the deaths in relation to the volume of traffic continued at the same rate after the campaign was instituted, the deaths would have been 433 instead of 346 for the 19 months ended last March.