MOTOR-CYCLE RIDERS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22400, 22 April 1936, Page 17

MOTOR-CYCLE RIDERS

Sir, —To those of us who ride motor- j cycles it is most concerning to note j the shockingly rapid inciease in the j proportion of road accidents, fatal and ] otherwise. As a keen motor-cyclist with j considerable experience, I utterly fail j to see how the motor-cycle, when j properly controlled, can be the cause j of such deplorable fatalities as re- j corded in your columns during the ! last few days. Bather, is it not the i riders themselves who are responsible j for distorting the public opinion and otherwise condemning a means of i transport which can be, and definitely j should be, equally as safe as the mod- j ern motor-car? Let the unjust criticism i of the motor-cycle, therefore, be trans- | ferred from the machines to their riders —to those irresponsible maniacs and youngsters who have earned for the motor-cycle nothing but the wholehearted condemnation of the public. I firmly believe, sir, that: (a) By raising the age limit of applicants for motor-cycle driving licences, (b) by a more rigid enforcement of the traffic laws and by-laws, (c) and some definite legislation 'as to the condition of all machines in use, a considerable decrease in the number of these appalling tragedies would result, thus serving to bring the motor-cycle to a more favourable position in the public regard. Motor-Cyclist. ;