REDUCING ROAD DANGERS

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

REDUCING ROAD DANGERS

AN APPEAL TO MOTORISTS OBSERVANCE OF REGULATIONS PEDESTRIANS' ASSISTANCE SOUGHT By Mr P. J. Williams, President of the Automobile Association (Otago). The rapid increase in the use of motor vehicles throughout the Dominion demands increasing vigilance on the part of everyone in order to prevent the lamentable number of accidents that take place. At the present time New Zealand ranks second in the world in the number of vehicles per head of population, and with the number rapidly increasing it becomes essential on the part of every motor organisation to increase its efforts to ensure the safety of the road for all users. The work being undertaken, is annually becoming more intensive in character, and with the aid of the press we look forward to good results. Motorists must always remember that the roads will be as safe as each user makes them. They should take no risk, know the regulations thoroughly, act with courtesy, and * be always alert.

A great deal has been done

by the authorities in endeavouring to make the roads safe from an engineering point of view, and the Minister of Transport is doing his utmost by regulations to improve conditions. Now it is necessary to educate every user of the road as to his responsibility. The establishment of a National Safety Council, meeting regularly to discuss methods whereby accidents may be prevented, is a forward step, and all motorists hope that its final deliberations will be of inestimable

value in a safety first campaign. Personally, I am of opinion that accidents will be prevented to a great extent if every motorist makes himself familiar and acts in accordance with the regulations which from time to time are issued for his guidance. T desire to stress what in my opinion is a very essential movement—the education of children—so that in time every person will understand how to act and so prevent accidents. The institution of school patrols in the Otago district is one of the most worthy objects we have, and our association is extremely gratified to know that the matter is so enthusiastically taken up by the school authorities throughout the area. Our executive has spent a large amount of time and thought on this matter, and the thanks of all motorists are due to the Safety First Committee which is so enthusiastic in its work.

Motorists come in for a good deal of blame and criticism, but an analysis of the cause of accidents, which are carefully recorded by the Transport Department, shows that a large proportion of accidents is due to circumstances outside of their control. The figures show that in accidents in which pedestrians were involved two-thirds of the cases were due to the faults of the pedestrians, and the records in England for 1935 show that of the pedestrians killed 85 per cent, were themselves the cause of the accident.

Pedestrian traffic requires urgent attention. The everincreasing vehicular traffic demands the control of irresponsible pedestrians, who do not seem to realise the grave danger they incur to themselves and to others by aimlessly wandering off the footpath into the stream of fast-moving traffic. They should be forced to cross where the white lines are drawn, and the vehicular traffic should take especial care at these places. I hope the time will come when pedestrians will have the right-of-way. There is some gratification in the knowledge that, although New Zealand is second in the world in the use of motor vehicles per head of population, the accident ratio is the lowest. The accidents per 10,000 vehicles has been recorded as 6.6 in New Zealand, 12.3 in the United States of America, 31.7 in England and Wales, and 47.6 in Scotland.

- We must continue our exertions. New Zealand has already lead the world in some matters, and it should be our object to continue to hold our pride of place and to use every effort humanly possible still further to reduce our accident ratio.