Motor Massacre

Southland Times, Issue 19098, 14 July 1903, Page 4

Motor Massacre

WritiOir on 29th May, the London correspondent of the Lyttelton Times says ; We scarcely- know a3 y«t the full tale of the victims of the Paria-'Madrid motor race, which commenced at the French capital last Sunday, but tho facts al-> • reads* in our possession are sufficiently revolting. The race was merely an advertising dodge from beginning to entl, and it is beyond the comprehension of amy sane Briton how it came about that tho authorities in France and Spain not only allowed their main roads- to be osed for- the race, but apparently encouraged the prennobers by placing soldiery, road-onenders and others to guard the line of route -throughout. Thej, in face, blocked all the oitlinary traffic of then* main roads for hours, so thax a "couple of hundred naotoir ' cars could rush along at a speed that few express trains could rival.- The results were so horrible

that before hall \tTte; "distance '.between the two capitals iiaiT beeri. jusegotiated the authorities in -bo tii countries stepped

in and prohibited further racing. Mith cars tieariugr along at any speed irom 40 to 80 miles aii hour over, roads with which thoir drivers had little or no acquaintance, accidents were bound to occur, tvml the wonder, is ' that the death roll and the list of maimed and wounde:i is not greater. As far as can be gathered, the victims of the race number about 30, including nine killed, half-a-dozen seriously injured, and the rest are suffering from minor abrasions and bone breakages. '1 he apportronsuent of the blame for these miJhaps between tho officials who gave countenance to the race and, the speed maniacs who participated in it must be left to the individual reader, but the authorities must ' undoubtedly bear a large share of the blame. They issued all sorts of rules and regulations,* 1 but,' as was- inevitable, • failed to appoint - a- ; sufficient stall oi soldiery: and -the like tb; preserve . anything like order dyer the greater part of tlve selected route. . SoY iv addition, to tfca nocinar terrors of: .travellingi at Effeeds which jn'eant well nigh certain annihilation in case of -a break ;in anacliiii-. cry or a finall error in ■steering, the motorists had to face tbo aidded terrors of stray pedestrians, -bicyclists, and noncompeting motorists at every twist amd turn. 'And it must not be forgotten tha>t with ; ponderous vehicles flying - along at brief -intervals ou. a : sunscorched road, . ■; the majority of the competing Vaiiachiiivesi were simply travelling in a dust . stpsm, \vliicb prevented their drivers seeing far enough ahead to avoid any uuexpected obstacle; in fact,- it may be truly sn';.d. the race was more or less a mad, b. : iulf.>ld rush. The first car started at half-oast three on Sunday morning, and was followed at intervals of one minute by the remainiDg coiurietitors. There wove si-ver--«Z breiikdovrns *?a.rly in t fae^ .•-««;*% but. the first serious accident occurred to a

big Wolseley car, driven by Mr Porter. This overturned '.near Bonneval, ami took lire, its driver being -pinned underneath

and badly burned, whilst his companion

Mr Nixon, was thrown out and killed on the spot. At At>lis ; another car ran over R woman and bUletl her on the spot, and at Sillac. a car. .driven: by M. Tourand, ran over i cpnple.v of." soldiers and a, little Vchild,' killing all three, and the

car overturned, " with the result that M. Tourand was badly injured, and- his chafleur killed, At Moutjjuyon, some 30 miles frota! Ilordeaux 1 ,; a : car,- - driven by Mr Stead, ran into another competing motor and both were overturned, M«

Stead being badly injured and his iuachinist also. At Arveyres, M. Barrows' s car skidded over the pulped remains of ■a dojr. fcill«d .. by a • preceding car, and .was smashed to pieces against a tree, > the chaffeur beinpf; killed on the spot, M. Barrow suffering fracture of the pelvis, and. thigh. Near Poiters, M. llarcel Renault, when jjoing ..at an estimated pace of nearly 90 -'miles, an hour, failed to gauge a turn properly, and was flung into a ditch with fatal results. Minor ■ accidents, were too plentiful to record, but en passant it may be mentioned that the famous cyclist. Lesna. who was - competing on .a motor bicycle, had a fall which fractured his left knee and will undoubtedly bar him from the pl.ea- , sures of the path in future. When ihe news of the fatalities reached .P.i'ris and Madrid, public opinion very soon com~ polled the authorities to issue definite " stop-" : inessagesi!: but -it has. been, left for ther Prefect of Bordeaux to add . a touch ;of humour to the tragedy of the race. On Tiearinß of the decision of thp French Minister of the- Interior to . put an end to "fhe competition, he at once issued a decree prohibiting the it c ing - motors then in -the 'own froi:i being driven anywhere within his Jip:s<Hction.

He would not even allow tin;.' a to use 1 their own force to propel ibc-fi to - the railway station, 1 in" ordered - ; t]:.»t . all cars were: to be einblied of p.?! roi and " towed' by some iiuimal."" A : few •: ours earlier this individual T.ud e?Tusively ■welcomed the first arrivals »v tie" end

of the first stage of the race, the winner up to. that point ln-s:iyr M. Gabiiel. ■who, on a 40 horse-povver ;Mors c.ir, had covered the distance under 5£ hours;