Road Safety: Mr. Semple’s Aim

Northern Advocate, 31 August 1938, Page 10

Road Safety: Mr. Semple’s Aim

[Special to “Northern Advocate. WELLINGTON. This Day.

“We have kept 90 people out of their coffins and we are today the second highest motorised country in the world, and the country with the lowest motor fatality record.” said the Minister of Transport, the Hon. E. Semple, addressing the New Zealand Road Safety Council at its quarterly meeting yesterday. Mr. Semple quoted figures showing the number of deaths per 10,000 motor vehicles in New Zealand as 8.8, compared with 13 In the United States, 24.6 in England and Wales, 42.4 m Germany, and 61.4 in Italy. He said he had received congratulations from overseas on New Zealand’s record.

“Wo can show a 30 per cent, increase in motor traffic and the lowest death rate in the world,” he added. “We set out to do the job, and I think we have done it well, but we have not done as much as we can do in the future.”

Mr. Semple stressed the necessity of building roads suitable for modern transport, and pointed out that the roads of the past, although able to cope with traffic then, were unsatisfactory for modern transport. Mr. Semple referred to the proposals to construct “ribbon roads” as a necessary safety precaution, and said it was desirable to keep main highways in populated areas as free of the human element as possible. The same problem applied to stock, and the question of stock roads all over the Dominion was now being considered. Mr; Semple pointed out that there were at present outside the cities 53 traffic inspectors on the highways, but there would have to be more. Mr F. C. Spratt said that as it was the the last meeting, of the council before the election he thought the members should express appreciation of what Mr. Semple had done. He moved that the council record its high appreciation of the vision which the Minister had shown and the capacity he had displayed.