SAFETY IN THE STREETS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18943, 14 February 1925, Page 8

SAFETY IN THE STREETS.

The imposition of substantial fines has concluded two cases in which drivers oi motor-cars had been arraigned at the Supreme Court for manslaughter. It is evident that both charges presented difficulties to the juries and to the presiding Judge. In one instance lack of experience, and in the other, the decision to take a chance had led to the death of a pedestrian. Such circumstances would naturafly perplex a jury, and would present the Judge who had to mete out punishment with a difficult problem. I\lr. Justice Reed hesitated obviously before deciding that a heavy fine would be a sufficient penalty for the man whose offence was the more serious. His justification lay in the nature of the case and the strong recommendation of the jury. The motorist in question took a risk, with fatal results. It is by the consequences and not by the degree of recklessness or negligence that his case was distinguished from others—hundreds of others, according to the Judge's observations. The lesson of the case is not that vindictive punishment should be meted out to motorists responsible for the death of pedestrians, but that motorists wljo are caught taking chances and breaking by-laws should be dealt with severely enough to make them realise the gravity of the offence. Ho muc't h due to the careful driver as well as to the pedestrian public. Wh? i a Judge declares from the Bench that hundreds of cars are being driven about the city with the utmost carelessness, and that accidents arr; missed by fractions of an inch, it. is evident that more rigid administration of the law is needed, j If the authorities charged with the duty increase their vigilance, and | the Courts before which delinquents I appear refuse to regard breaches of | (Vf traffic regulations or disregard iof ordinary caution as trivial ofj fences, the conscientious driver will l ire safeguarded, and the reckless will |be restrained. Then there w>ll not i arise the painful necessity of adjudicating in manslaughter cases, for there will not be any. That should ! he the objective ; punishment of the 1 guilty cannot bring the dead to life.