FATAL ACCIDENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23055, 4 December 1936, Page 7

FATAL ACCIDENTS

ROAD TOLL IN BRITAIN ANALYSIS OF CAUSES CARELESSNESS AND INATTENTION Many striking fact's were disclosed by a report on fatal road accidents in Great Britain in 1935, the outcome of a special inquiry instituted by the Minister of Transport®with the object of basing new safety measures on its conclusion. It analysed over 6300 accidents. The chief conclusions were as follows:—

Over 60 per cent, of the accidents happened on straight roads, or open road bends with good sight lines.

About 60 per cent, occurred under conditions of very light traffic. Sunday had the least accidents and Saturday the most. Cyclists and motor cyclists were, recorded as responsible for more accidents than any other class of drivers. Women drivers (including cyclists) involved in accidents formed less than 5 per cent, of the total. The most dangerous age for children is between five and seven. More than half the pedestrians killed while crossing the road were 60 years of age and over. Fifty-eight per cent, of the accidents occurred in daylight and nearly 79 per cent, in clear weather; 12.5 per cent, occurred in wet weather (rain, hail or snow) and only 2 per cent, in fog or mist. Of the 2324 accidents (37 per cent, of the total) during the hours of darkness, 856 were in areas not built up, and of these 74 occurred where street lighting was provided. From Monday to Friday the most dangerous hour is between 5 and 6 p.m., and the second most dangerous hour is between 10 and 11 p.m. On Saturdays and Sundays and on bank holidays more accidents occur in the latter hour than in any other. Accidents occurring between 11.30 p.m. and 7 a.m. (when the sounding of motor-horns is prohibited in built-up areas) totalled 373, compared with 387 in 1933. Causes attributed to pedestrians' fatal accidents included: —

Crossing carriageway apparently inattentive to traffic (845 accidents). Walking or running out from in front of or behind vehicle which masked movement (527 accidents). Running into carriageway from footpath (328 accidents). Stepping into carriageway without looking (185 accidents). Walking in camageway (not crossing), apparently inattentive to traffic (146 accidents). Cross-

ing carriageway recklessly (83 accidents). Boarding or alighting from a vehicle without due care (75 accidents). SPEED AS A FACTOR

Commenting on the report, the Birmingham Post stated:— "Two thousand five hundred and sixty-two pedestrians are killed and 83 per cent, of them are ' considered' by Chief Constables ' to have been the sole or main cause of the accidents in which they lost their lives '; but what degree of accuracy can be to any such estimate? More than 100 are blamed for 'hesitation while crossing the roadway.'

"But in how many cases was hesitation induced by the speed of the traffic or by the manner in which vehicles were being driven? Nobody can say; all one knows is that in each case the driver is naturally eager to exculpate himself; the pedestrian—being dead—can supply no other version of the matter; and police and coroner must rely upon the evidence available; which may or may not include useful information from reliable independent witnesses.

" Sixty-two per cent, of the accidents occurred on straight roads or on open road bends with good sight lines. Half of them took place in daylight, more than three-quarters of them in clear weather, and only 2 per cent, in fog or mist. " It is plain that in 1935 the fatal accidents were few;st when conditioriif were such as to call imperatively for limitation of speed, most numerous among drivers who, in so far as speed was concerned, seemed to have everything in their favour. We have not forgotten that most accidents are alleged to occur at speeds round about 15 miles per hour. Claims to this effect are commonly taken with a grain of salt.

"One need not be a temperance reformer to see significance in the fact that Saturday nights, between 10 and 11, provide more than their share of mishaps."