TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 14, 7 April 1927, Page 10

TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS

CHRISTCHURCH ANALYSIS ELEVEN MONTHS’ RECORD (Sitecicil to THE SUN.') CHRISTCHURCH, Wednesday. An analysis of traffic accidents in this city, which yielded casualties to the Christchurch Hospital during the past 11 months, has been made by a SUN man. As a consequence, the pedestrian, motorist and push-cyclist, stand indicted by statistics in that period of 121 traffic accidents from some of which persons died. These were accidents which came under the notice of the hospital authorities. Hundreds of accidents are never heard of officially, as it is the law that only motor vehicle mishaps involving injury must be reported to the police. The übiquitous push-cyclist heads the way in his association with accidents of all sorts; for instance, 26 were injured by motor-cars. A further 24 cyclists brought about their own downfall by running into gutters, hitting posts or pedestrians, double-banking, and running over dogs. Several blamed broken forks when they had regained consciousness, one ran into a stationary motor-car, and a boy clung to a cart, let go, and was scooped up by a motor-car wing. Then the playful pedestrians, jaywalking mostly, were made casualties after being hit by hot radiators and non-skid tyres. Seventeen of these went to the hospital, half a dozen being boys who forgot the parental injunction not to play on the streets. Eight persons were hurt when motor-cycles collided with cars and other motor vehicles, seven persons were injured when cars skidded and overturned. Two out of three died, when cars hit posts. Seven motor-cycle riders fell, or were thrown from their machines, and two were hurt in mdtor-cycle collisions. Five persons were hurt through cars hitting trams; four when push-bikes hit trams; five when pedestrians got in front of trams; two when motorcycles and push-bikes met, and one pillion rider was hurt. One pedestrian was hurt by a motor-cycle, and two when traps and cars collided. One person was hurt when two push-bikes fought for supremacy of the road and one pedestrian let a car run over his foot. Dozens of persons in the last 11 months have been attended to by the out-patients’ department of the hospital for injuries received in traffic misunderstandings.