MOTORING.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume VII, Issue 2031, 18 August 1920, Page 2

MOTORING.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. FIXTURES. August 27—New Zealand Auto Cycle Union Annual Meeting at Wellington. October 10—Opening Hun Pioneer Sports (Hub, Waihora Park. Mr Albert J. Hoskins, secretary of the Waimate Automobile Association, has written to the South Island Motor Union, stating that the southern body, which has nearly 100 members, has decided to affiliate with the union. The " keep-to-the-left'• sign-post at the intersection of Cashel Street and Oxford Terrace undoubtedly proved its value throughout last week, and served to remind all but a few drivers in the long, daily procession to the races of the rule of the road. Amongst those which offended were cars with foreign number plates. It was noticeable, too, that visiting cars were carelessly ..left on the streets and in Cathedral Square at all kinds of angles. It is apparent that some drivers are very careless. For instance, one day last week, when ears ■were passing the Clarendon Hotel corner at a rate of about one per minute —to say nothing of trams, bicycles, carts, etc. —a car was deliberately pulled up abreast of another car at the Worcester Street entrance to the hotel. The corner is quite abrupt enough, and dangerous, without carelessness making it more difficult to negotiate. Polly of Pedestrians. The motorist is blamed for many things readily ascribable to the folly of the pedestrian. So long as people will walk obliquely across a thoroughfare, so long will accidents happen. This habit of pedestrians may be. observed in almost any busy street of the city at any time. The corner of Hereford Street and Colombo Street is a good vantage point. There may be seen every variety of traffic, from trams to bicycles, congested in a narrow alley, and pedestrians threading their way, in. out and about. Again, in Gloucester Street, when the Theatre Eoyal disgorges its hundreds, after an entertainment, .one may see the people wandering off along the street, leaving the traffic to attend to itself. If the public has no regard for its own safety, then why should the motorist be blamed ? Pedestrian and motorist must co-oper-ate; otherwise, with the steadily increasing volume of motor traffic, matters will come to a sorry pass for both. The children must be taught, in the schools, to cross thoroughfares intelligently. Wellington has been progressive enough to arrange a " safety -first'.' campaign. Why cannot Christehurch do likewise? Some time ago, something was said con-

cerning the need for disseminating literature, relating to ''safety first,'' in the Christchurch schools, and for promoting essays on the subject, but, apparently, nothing concrete has been •lone since. New Zealand Union.

The recent conference of the NewZealand Automobile Union, from all accounts, does not seem to have been u particularly happy affair. Otago and Canterbury have done the correct thing in deserting the 'Wellington body, which now fills the role of a very indignant parent. The "following report was made at the last meeting of the Canterbury Automobile Association "by its delegates at the conference:—"As directed, we attended the annual conference of the New Zealand Automobile Union, hell :h Wellington on Thursday, July 22. our instructions from your council being to watch Canterbury's interests, and to take no part in the interview with the Minister of Internal Affairs. We have to thank the delegates present for the consideration shown us, and especially'may we mention the action of the chairman, who. under very trying circumstances, carried through the conference with great tact and fairness; but we regret that we cannot say the same of the secretary, who, much to our surprise, is also an executive officer of the union, and, in consequence, held the power to speak all through the sitting, and it was very apparent to your delegates that from this quarter a tinge of ill-feeling towards Otago and Canterbury was in no way hidden. The several remits brought forward havev been fully ventilated in the newspapers of; the Dominion, and require no report from us. Acting under instructions 'from a telegram received from the president of the South Island union to Mr A. E. Ansel), which authorised the Otago and Canterbury delegates to represent the union at the deputation to the Min- -• ister, our position at the same was fully explained before the conference by Mr Ansell, who stated that in meeting the Minister the Otago and Canterbury delegates represented the South Island union only. This was agreed to, and the Minister was informed of same. Mr Ansell addressing him, after the chairman of the conference had first spoken, thus establishing the fact that the New Zealand union recognised the South Island union.-"' An Expanding Business. A few years ago the motor business was looked upon with distrust and suspicion by many people, and its perma-