SAFETY FIRST

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 23 June 1936, Page 4

SAFETY FIRST

MINISTER OUTLINES LEGISLATION NEED FOR DRASTIC ACTION (United Press Association) CHRISTCHURCH, 22nd June. Details of the Government’s proposals to cope with the increasing density of motor traffic in the Dominion and to reduce road accidents to a minimum were explained by the Minister of Transport (the Hon. R. Semple) in an address to-night. Mr Semple classified the new safety legislation under the following heads: Unification of traffic laws into one simple code. Improving machinery for ensuring compliance with the law. Raising the standard of requirements for driving licenses. Heavier penalties for certain ■ offences. Improvement to roads by eliminating danger spots. Improving the mechanical condition of vehicles. Eliminating dangerous level crossings. . : Prohibiting “sweated” conditions for drivers. Education and propaganda in “safety first.” During the last seven years,- said Mr Semple, 1250 persons had been killed and 35,000 injured in motorvehicle accidents. Surely these figures were convincing evidence of the need for drastic action. 4 “During the last 13 ■ years,*’ he added, “casualties from motor accidents have been greater than those reported for the New Zealand expeditionary forces during the war, or, to put it another way, if you have four children, one of them is, according to the law of averages, predestined 4 to be killed or injured in a motor accident.”:. *• ', .! ‘Mr Semple said he saw- no reason why there should be a single death or injury from motor vehicles. Every accident arose from causes that were preventable. The increasing density of traffic on the roads would require a higher standard of skill for drivers, and it was proposed to overhaul the existing requirements for drivers.