MOTOR TRAFFIC

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22142, 22 June 1935, Page 13

MOTOR TRAFFIC

TOO MANY ACCIDENTS SYDNEY'S SPEED PROBLEM WARNING TO DRIVERS The Sydney police superintendent of traffic, Mr. J. R. Carter, stated recently that if drivers of motor vehicles did not exercise more care, so that the number of motoring accidents was kept i at a minimum, steps would be taken to control the situation before it got beyond the authorities. "I do not like speed limits," said : Mr. Carter, "but drivers must be made to realise that this killing and maiming of people cannot go on. If they do not realise this, it is up to us to take drastic action, and vre are already considering some means of dealing more effectively with them. We certainly will take active measures if the drivers do not do something themselves by way of co-operative action and consideration for the rights of others. "There is no doubt that the speed of motor-cars has increased considerably of late, and with better surfaced roads, and the higher power of cars, driving speeds regarded as excessive in the recent past, are now considered normal. We are not concerned about the city. Accidents in the city are rare, but when we get out into the suburbs, and the open country beyond, the accidents multiply. Co-operation Weeded "The matter has given us serious thought for a long time, but speed limits present difficulties. In some circumstances a speed of 30 or 35 miles an hour is reasonable, whereas in other circumstances it might be dangerous to drive at half that speed. Conditions govern the whole situation. Fix a speed limit, and you would have everybody driving up to that speed, with difficulties in the way of effectively checking it. "Personally, I think that more might be done by co-operation between motorists and the departments administering the law to make delinquent motorists realise that they are not driving with reasonable care. Much good work has been done in the pa.-t in this direction through the press. The speed of the motor-car has been increased by at least 30 per cent, but the,,mfental reactions of the drivers , have not been speeded up proportionately, with the result that in cases of emergency many drivers do not think quickly enough." Good Drivers' Lapses 'lt is a strange fact," said Mr. Carter, "that the largest proportion of our worst cases consists of persons who hare a really good driving record, but who appear to be subject to lapses which bring about accidents. During this week I dealt with three cases in which the speed and conditions of driving were absolutely dangerous, yet the driver in each case had not had any report against him for the last four years. • They were men with excellent records, yet indulged in furious driving or speeding. We have had serious accidents recorded in which men with excellent driving records were involved." Mr. Carter said that driving under the influence of liquor was not nearly so frequent as a few years ago. The police were stringent with such motorists.

The number of deaths in New South Wales due to motor accidents last year was 334. Of this number, 56 were caused by motor-cycles, and 278 by motor vehicles other than cycles. death-rato was 12.73 per 100.000 of the population, and 1.5 per 1000 of all motor vehicles registered. Of the 153 pedestrians killed, 60 per cent were either under 15 years or more than 65 years of age.