SAFETY ON THE ROADS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19805, 6 December 1938, Page 8

SAFETY ON THE ROADS

_ -*a> LESSONS BY LEAFLETS GOVERNMENT CAMPAIGN MEASURES IN GISBORNE The road-safety campaign was start ed in Gisborne yesterday, as in all: centres throughout the Dominion, the object of the Transport Department being to achieve a better understanding between and consequently greater safety -on the roads for the motorist, cyclist, and pedestrian. The basis of, the campaign will be the lessons taught by the leaflets in circulation, but traffic i officers are co-operating. During the last Christmas and New Year holiday period 38 persons were killed and 856 injured—2lß seriously - on the roads in New Zealand. The department states that there will be 25,000 more cars on the roads this holiday season, many of them being under' the control of inexperienced drivers, so that the accident risk wiii be greatly increased. in accordance with the request of thi department, the Gisborne. Borough traffic department has distributed several calico strips bearing safety slogans to be pinned on the tray sideboards of local body lorries and of the vehicles of members of the Poverty Bay Carriers' Association. Other forms of advertising distributed are small adhesive stickers for shop windows, notices in black and white to be displayed in buses, attractive small leaflets for pedestrians and schoolchildren, and posters and posterettes for display in offices and public buildings. Arrangements have been made rlso for screen advertisements in Gisborne theatres, and two street banners have been placed in position at the Bright and Grey street intersections of Gladstone road. Rules tor Safe Driving The following rules for safe driving have been prepared by the borough traffic inspector, Mr. T. G. Nowell:— Good manners and consideration for others are as essential on the roar! as elsewhere. Give all your attention to your driving, watch the road and keep alert. Never drive into a difficult situation. stop until it is safe to proceed. Always give clear and distinct traffic signals in good time. Obey traffic .signals, and keep on the correct side of the white traffic lines. Drive so that you can stop in half the clear distance ahead. Keep your car and yourself ready for emergencies; have your brakes, lights and steering examined regularly. At intersections give way to the vehicle on your right. If involved in an accident give all assistance necessary, and if anyoneis injured report to the nearest police station. When stationary place your car so as to cause as little obstruction as possible. Give Clear Signals A large number of accidents could be avoided if drivers could remember to give a clear signal of their intention to turn 30ft. before making a righthand turn. A number of drivers carelessly hang their hands out of the window, or over the door, and expect everyone to anticipate what they are going to do. This is only a careless habit, and a dangerous one. To those drivers who are inclined :o speed, it is asked that they think in feet per second rather than miles per hour. All drivers should keep a watch on the speedometer, and if driving at night in restricted areas keep the dashlight on. An easy .method of determining what speed in feet per second you are travelling at is to halve the miles per hour a«d add the half to the speed, such as 40 m.p.h., 20-half. 00ft. per second, or 30 m.p.h., 15-half. 45ft. per second. Braking of a Vehicle Careful tests have been made to find what period of time must be allowed for the driver of a vehicle to realise that an emergency has occurred, ond to apply the brake. These were conducted to represent normal conditions af driving as closely as possible, and have been confirmed by the Bureau of Standards. (1) The driver not expecting a test takes 1.02 seconds. (2) The driver alert expecting a test but not warned when takes .53sec. It will be seen that under ordinary driving a los; of lscc. must be expected, and even in traffic where the driver would be more alert,* the loss of time in applying the brake is likely to be at least .75sec. It must be remembered that at 30 miles an hour a car

travels at 44ft. per second, and the loss of time in applying the brake makes it all the more important that the brake should be efficient when it is applied. Even if your brakes have a high efficiency and you are faced with an emergency—you will find that it will take approximately 90ft. to pull up—that is your reaction time plus the stopping ability of your car. Very few drivers realise that last point and more attention should be given 'to what may be termed the most mis-used part of the car -the brakes.