GRAVE MENACE TO SAFETY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 8192, 6 August 1912, Page 1

GRAVE MENACE TO SAFETY.

Thp.se words were used by legal ecun sol for the Wellington Tin in ways Union. Mr A. W. Blair, at the resumption yeb terday of tho inquest in connection * the death of Conductor Ambrose McKaj. who was killed bv falling ol> combination car \o. 42 in Willis street about ten days ago. The inquiry by the coroner. Di McArthur. S.M., resolved itself into an investigation of the degree of risk taken by conductors when working side-stop Tho city solicitor. Mr J. W. O’Shea, ■represented tho corporation. FORTY-SIX ACCIDENTS.

Mr Blair stated that since the adjournment tho previous Monday ho had handed to Air O’Shea o list of forty-six reported accidents to men employed on •ide-step cars. His contention, on behalf of the Tramways Union, was that the eido step exposed the men to grave danger, and that nono of these accidents would have occurred without it, the majority of the conductors strongly favoured tho Davey clause abolishing the side steps. Tho coroner: You say that this occident was caused through Conductor McKay having to go along tho side of a cur to collect fares? Mr Blair: Yes. We seriously suggest that if the cars had not been constructed in such a way os to necessitate conductors going along a narrow footboard to collect fares Conductor McKay would have been alive to-day. Their submission, ho said, was that the whole responsibility for the fatality rested upon the construction of the car. and, in order to avoid any similar accidents in future, they hoped to induce the coroner to find that this one was caused by the necessity referred to. The side step was on open and an unavoidable danger. They suggested that all cars should bo made In accordance with the Davey clause, having an aisle right through tho portion set apart for passengers. Tho evidence to be called would, he hoped, satisfy the coroner that 90 per cent, of conductors in tho Wellington tramway service had had some sort of an accident by way of a fall off the side running-boards. There were 130 men in, the .service, and-It would probably be difficult to find a dozen who had not fallen from a car. FOUR ELEMENTS OF DANGER. Tho danger consisted in four elements of defective construction of the cars. There was, first, the necessity of going along a very narrow footboard which afforded insecure footing in wet weather and subjected conductors to the risk of being struck by a passing vehicle. In the second place, tho only means of support a conductor had while taking fares was to jamb himself in the doorways by his elbows. He was thus rendered liable to bo thrown off by any sudden jolt. The gripe were tho third element of danger. On palace cars they were 4 feet 6 inches or more apart, far too long a stretch for medium-sized men like Mr O'Shea or himself. • "But a lawyer can grip anything,” remarked tho coroner. Mr Blair said tho grips wore not sc badly placed on tho combination cars, but there was a danger there also, as passengers who wore standing often obscured them from view-. Tho fourth source of danger was that in wot weather blinds were used in tho open parts of combination cars. These blinds covered the grips, and to get hold of them the conductor had to put his hand right inside the blind. This led to frequent accidents. CONDUCTORS FREQUENTLY FALL. Albert Ward, a motorman, was / recalled. Ho said ho had been in the serrice for about eight years and had been an officer of the Tramways Union for nearly as long. During hie eight years ns motorman, ho had worked with fifteen or twenty different conductors, hardly one of whom had not had a fall off the ear. Ho himself was driving at the time. The most serious accident was to a conductor who slipped off tho footboard and was dragged along for about fifty yards by his clothing. Another lime no loft a conductor hanging to a table-leg in Cuba street, caught by his cash bag. In some parts the streets were so narrow that if a motorman did • not watch his conductor very closely tho, latter would be swept oft six or eight times a day by passing vehicles, for the hubs of wheels overlapped tho running board. Another great danger was in tho overcrowding of cars. Questioned by Mr O'Shea, he said that tho little step on car 41 was only five inches wide. He would not deny it if he were told that the width of running boards was uniform —7j inches. Car 41 was regarded as a death-trap for motormen. as in tho case of a smash there would bo no chance of getting out. Ho did not know of any accident to car 42 prior to tho one now being inquired into, and was not nwaro that its width was six inches less than others in order to lessen tho probability of accidents to conductors. Mr O'Shea: Aro you aware that car d2 has been running for seven years and that no other accident has occurred on it?—No. _ Well, these cars are all passed by tho Government inspector before being used? --No, some arc run carrying passengers first and aro passed afterwards. The witness admitted that the safety of conductors depended very much on tho motormen, but bo said that often it was impossible to watch them properly. So far as tho running step was concerned, there was the same danger tm palace as on combination cars. SOME BAD SPILLS.

Another motorman. Harry H. Dunn, rto said ho had boon in tho service A bout seven and a half years, two of which were spent as a conductor, said ho had had two spills off tho running hoard of a combination car. The main danger lav in the fact that when a man was on the footboard he could not possibly stand upright and was forced to lean outwards. There was danger of a heavy jolt throwing him off his balance ' and also the risk of being struck by passing vehicles, or of being pushed off accidentally by a passenger’s elbow. He himself had bad a fall through grabbing at a I walking-tick hold alongside tho stanchion of a combination car by a

SIDE-STEP TRAMWAY CARS. HOW CONDUCTORS ARE EXPOSED TO DANGER. SHOULD THERE BE A CHANGE? . • i , l ft, n f jf itlio cars had not bcon constructed in such aw going along a narrow footboard to collect fares. Conductor -McKay would have been ahve to-day.

passenger. When tho blinds of combination cars were down there was no hold to be scon by a conductor. Two of the conductors with whom he had worked had had accidents off side-step In reply to Mr O'Shea, ho said that ho himself had had an accident off either car 41 or 43. It was impossible for a conductor to stand erect on the running board of cither of them. Ihe combination cars wero safer than palace curs, but not much. INSECURITY OF FOOTING.

John 11. Timrns, a conductor with five years' experience in the service, said lie had had several spills from side-step cars. Ho had been swept off tho running board by a dray, thrown off by a jolt, and injured in other ways —all due to the insecurity of the footing on the narrow side-step. Tho danger wa-s much accentuated when cars were overcrowded, as then tho grips could not bo seen. Samuel C. Mayall, another conductor, said he had been in the service a year and eight months, and in that time bad had three spills from palace cars—twice seriously. The narrowness of the running board was the catiso in each instance. His experience as to the risk of working on side-step cars was the same as that of previous’ witnesses. A DOZEN FALLS IN THREE YEARS. Reuben Parker, a motorman, said he had been a conductor for three years and had had about a dozen spills from side-step cars in that time—some of them serious. Ho agreed with the previous witnesses as to the danger of sidestep cars. He had been permanently incapacitated through missing tho grips on a car in the Kilbirnie tunnel. Sydney 11. Newstead said ho had had eighteen months' experience and two accidents from tho footboard of palaco cars. As a result of tho last accident bo was still under medical care. The Inst witness was Ernest A. Evans, who said he had been in the service for four and a half years, for three and a half .as a conductor, H© had had two falls off , the footboard l and on another occasion his foot had been knocked from under him by the bub of a w-hoel on a passing vehicle. He had also seen other-conductors thrown off cars. Many accidents were duo to tho side-steps getting slippeiy in wet weather and others were caused by overcrowding.

SUGGESTIONS OF CARELESSNESS. The city solicitor reminded the coroner that tho Wellington tramway system was a very difficult one to work owing to tho very narrow streets. It had been found that ’ the palace car was the most suitable for the traffic, especially at rush times. .It was submitted that if the utmost care were exercised by the men, accidents would, be very few, even on palace cars. Very many falls were caused by sheer carelessness of tho men themselves. Ho admitted that there was a certain amount of risk in the palace cars. Tho combination cars were really most satisfactory and on them the risk to tho men was reduced to a minimum, as only balf the car was worked from the side-step. Even Mr Blair would not contend seriously that these cars were dangerous. There were now in tho service sixty-nine cars of the side-step patterns, and the corporation was precluded hr law from building any more cars of that sort- It had been suggested that the aim of the present agitation was to prevent the repeal of the Davey clause. There was no intention of asking that tho clause, should be repealed, but the thing ho wished to guard against was that the coroner might return such a finding as to make it incumbent on the corporation to scrap all its side-step cars. The conditions of the traffic were such and wages were so high that the service had not been paying its way for years past, and if all these cars had to be remodelled the finances of the service would bo in a very serious position. Mr Blair: You would have had .6800 towards it if you had not killed these two men. Mr O’Shea: I don’t know how yon can suggest that the side-step killed tho other man. Mr Blair; Yes, I’ was wrong there. The coroner: He is side-stepping it! "PRACTICALLY NO RISK.” Mr O’Shea, urged that car 42 was tho safest car in the service. He submitted with confidence that the combination car was absolutely adapted and suitable for tho Wellington service and that there was practically no risk in it. There was admittedly some risk in the palace car, but-if the men would exercise as much caro as possible, the risk would be reduced to an almost negligible quantity. The men in tho service sometimes got excited over their real or imaginary risks and when they came to give evidence as on this occasion they rather stretched things. Ho asked the coroner to examine tho cars and equipment' before giving a verdict. Dr McArthur said that tho matter was of such importance that ho would certainly give some time and consideration to what ho was going to say about it. Ho would inspect the cars at the Newtown car-shod on Wednesday afternoon and his verdict would bo given later.