TOLL OF THE ROADS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 24 January 1939, Page 4

TOLL OF THE ROADS

MORTALITY IN AUSTRALIA

AUTHORITIES ALARMED STRINGENT MEASURES CONTEMPLATED fL'nited I’res* Aweiatinnl WELLINGTON. This Day. Australian transport authorities are deeply concerned at the heavy toll of the roads in holiday time, according to Mr H.. H. Sterling. Wellington, who returned yesterday by the Awatea from Sydney. He said that the death and accident rate on the highways during the holidays had given the Australian authorities considerable cause for worry, and the New South Wales Minister of Transport. Lt.-Col. M. F. Bruxner. had deemed an active campaign necessary to counter highway fatalities. He wag now setting out to educate ell road J users, whether motorists or pedestrians, ! end to enforce more stringently than at ! present the code of highway regulaj tions. The ranks of the traffic officers and in particular of patrol squads had been greatly strengthened, and in the cities action was being taken to awaken in pedestrians a sense of their responsibility. A number of names had been taken by the police in cases of non-ob-servance by pedestrians of the traffic regulations. Another serious problem was that of the conversion of cars to the use of people other than their owners, and a special Bill was being framed for legislation to deal with this offence. I Mr Sterling said that he was in SydI ney on the day when the record temperalurc of 113.6 degrees had been es- ! tablished. The city was certainly burnt up. and the air was like a flame when one went out of doors, but it was a dry i heat, and he himself did not And it I particularly trying. It was less inoonj venient than one might expect, beI cause the air was remarkably dry. ; There were many days in Sydney : when conditions were more unpleasant, I the temperature being lower but the 1 humidity much greater. The country between Sydney and | Melbourne was parched with drought, ; and of course the bush fires had burnt ' up large tracts of country and caused j many deaths, widespread destruction | of property, and the complete annihilation of whole townships. The busij ness world was apprehensive as to tha 1 effects of the drought.