ROAD SAFETY

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18617, 12 July 1930, Page 11

ROAD SAFETY

THE BRITISH CONGRESS. FACTORS IN ACCIDENTS^ The National Safety Congress in Britain this year was held at Liverpool. Speeches had a time limit, but were not controlled by the chairman’s bell. A robot was introduced, and control was by traffic lights. There was neither fear nor favour, green, amber, and red ensuring for every speaker a fair start and a clear finish. The Lord Mayor, of Liverpool (Mr Lawrence D. Hole) said the public did not realise that the remedy for the majority of accidents lay with themselves and that it was a failure of the human element which was responsible for almost every accident.

“Parliament can no more make us careful than it can make us rich, and public regulation, like public taxation, is apt to be an unsatisfying business both to others and ourselves. We have got to overhaul our own habits and adjust them to modern conditions.” Viscount Brentford said he had always been a friend of the reasonable motorist. Out of the 3,000,000 drivers now on the road there were occasional black sheep who brought discredit on the decent majority. The outstanding faults were haste and impatience. Misuse of speed was at the root of most accidents. “We read t<fo much about w’hat is wrongly described as the removal of all limits of speed when the present Road Traffic Bill becomes law. To my mind, this is a fault of perspective. What is proposed to be done is to set up a criterion, the adjustment of speed to the circumstances and not to the arbitrary rate irrespective of circumstances. Motorists, must not take this Bill as giving them a charter for unlimited speed. It is only a charter for safe speed and no driver need think that under this Bill he is going to have a licence to go at any speed regardless

of the safety and convenience of others.” Width of Roads. Sir Henry Maybury, advisor to the Minister of Transport, said the annual road bill of Great Britain may be taken now to represent an expenditure of £50,000,000, an amount which the circumstances would appear to justify. But the cost to members of the community of the want of consideration of some road users could hardly be measured in money, seeing that avoidable accidents must be responsible for the expenditure of many million pounds per year. The provision of 40ft roads was recommended where the population, and therefore the traffic, was considerable, and this should be reduced to 30ft and eventually to 20ft between the kerbs. Under certain climatic conditions road surfaces of whatever material they might be composed would be occasionally slippery and would, in spite of the exercise of the greatest care, cause some skidding. An experienced user of the road would, however, be watchful for such conditions, having regard to the weather existing at or preceding the time of travel.

“The roads are a great asset, and at the same time a great liability. It is obviously impossible test for efficiency, say, a million licensed drivers, because it by no means follows that the most efficient person is the one who shows the greatest consideration, and is the most careful for the welfare of himself and others. Moreover, a person may be reasonably efficient one day, and for some reason or other careless and inefficient on another.”

Flood-Lights Worth While. In the discussion the Chief Constable of Eastbourne asked if it were not a fact that speed was a contributory factor in all the accidents enumerated by Sir Henry Maybury. He replied that if the speed of travel were “reas-

onable” accidents would be fewer. To the delegate who asked what is the best material to use to make roads that would be good in all circumstances, Sir Henry said he would suggest “Brains.” Councillor Hankey (Bootle) asked if the greater use of flood lighting for thp illumination of main roads would nob tend to reduce accidents, owing to the number of vehicles with glaring headlights. “If we could have flood lighting on the main roads it would add enormously to safety,” said Sir Henry. “If you want an exemplification of good lighting, the next time you are in London have a look at the Victoria Embankment. Since the flood lighting has been installed the number of accidents has been sensibly reduced.” Lord Ponsonby - of Shulbrede said, “I have been a pedestrian since I was two years old and a motorist for the past 17 years, consequently I understand the exasperation of the pedestrian with the motorist, and the impatience of the motorist with the pedestrian. In the attitude of each to the other what is wanted is not conflict, bu co-opera-tion.”