ROAD SAFETY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27240, 17 November 1949, Page 6

ROAD SAFETY

CHILDREN IN ACCIDENTS QUESTION OF LIABILITY An interesting commentary on the recent suggestion made by the Prime Minister, Mr Fraser, tijat responsibility for accidents to young children should automatically devolve on the drivers concerned was provided by a report presented to yesterday’s meeting of the Ofago Education Board. The report showed that of the nine accidents involving children which had happened in the board’s area during the past term, the responsibility had been the motorist’s in only one instance. In this case, the car had overtaken a child riding a bicycle on a bridge and had struck the rear wheel of the cycle. In another case, full details concerning the accident were not given in the report, and the responsibility was not stated. In six instances the children had run out into the road unexpectedly and without taking due care. The final accident had involved two children riding a motor cycle, the unlicensed driver of the motor cycle being a boy of 14 and his pillion rider a smaller youngster. The report was presented in discussion of a letter from the Commissioner of Transport, Mr G. L. Laurenson, concerning road safety instruction in the schools.

October was the wettest month for many years in South Westland, and several stations recorded rainfalls of more than 40 inches, according to the observations on the weather issued by the Meteorological Office, Wellington. At Waiho, where the fall for the month was 45.93 inches, a total of 19.30 inches fell on one day, October 5. “ Such a high daily rainfall is rarely experienced in New Zealand,” said the. summary. Only four higher values were previously recorded for one day, the highest being 22 inches at Milford Sound on April 17, 1939.