DEATH ON THE ROAD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27577, 20 December 1950, Page 6

DEATH ON THE ROAD

There might be some cause for pride in the knowledge that New Zealand ranks second only to the United States in the ratio of motor vehicles to population, but there can be concern.. only at r the steadily growing number of accidents on our roads. In view of the fact that so much of the driving in this still sparsely populated country is done on roads that carry no great volume of traffic, the figure of 4092 motor vehicle accidents in a single year ‘(the 1949 record) becomes positively alarming. In these accidents 218 people were killed and. many more were injured, some beyond hope of being restored to health. In this present holiday season the dangers on the road will be intensified. Hundreds of motor- • ists will be driving on unfamiliar roads in cars of varying degrees of mechanical reliability, and thousands of pedestrians including children on holiday—will be encountered on city streets and country roads.< And since a percentage of both motorists and pedestrians are foolish, thoughtless or negligent, the need for care on the part of everyone cannot be too strongly emphasised. Statistics by the Transport Department show that most of the accidents last year were due to the disregard of the elementary rules for safety. Speeding was the cause of 375 accidents, failure to yield right of way to pedestrians or other traffic caused another 1055: driving on the wrong side of the road added another 443 to the total, intoxication another 59, and sheer inattention 418. Pedestrians involved in accidents were frequently the cause of their own suffering. No fewer than . 407 were injured while crossing - the road regardless of traffic, and 173 more were struck because they stepped into the road carelessly or from behind parked vehicles. The figures for victims in the lower age groups give urgency to the reiterated appeals for caution. Last year 190 children between the ages of 5 and 15 years, and another 83 between the ages of one and four years, were killed or injured on the roads. Twenty-four of these children were playing in the street when they were struck by " motor vehicles, and others owed their injury to their becoming confused by approaching traffic. The Transport Department has done good work in reducing the incidence of road tragedies to the present figure, but the number of accidents is still too great and the department is entitled to much more co-opera-tion from both pedestrians and motorists. There are still too many of both who require a sharp reminder of their responsibilities.