LONDON STREET PERILS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3859, 28 February 1928, Page 71

LONDON STREET PERILS.

LONDON, January 10. The number of traffic accidents.to school children in London in 1926 stands out as the most deplorable feature of any statistical record for the year. Mr G. H. Cater, education officer to the L.C.C., in his annual report, says: — “ It is three, times as dangerous for the London child to be out in the streets as it is for children in the rest of the country.” In the metropolitan police area in 1926 233 children under 15 were killed, 9520 injured • 9761, the combined total, was the highest on record. “ This yearly total,” says the report, ‘‘ is approaching the number of children in average attendance at all the elementary schools in a large county borough of the size of Wigan or Northampton ” After pointing out that “ safety first ” is constantly referred to in school lessons, the report proceeds: “ It is clear that the London child is subjected to a much greater risk of accident from traffic than children in other parts of the country. The total number of persons killed or injured in traffic accidents in London and Greater London in 1926 was 48,233; for

its re.it of Great Britain the total wa.s AMI.

“ if figures comparable to those for 1926 continue to be recorded, it will mean that one Londoner in 20 born in the future will meet with a traffic accident, and that every fourth or fifth family will be distressed in consequence.”