“DEPLORABLE”

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20894, 25 November 1937, Page 6

“DEPLORABLE”

PUBLIC REGARD FOR CROSSINGS

NEED FOR EDUCATING PEDESTRIANS

“Deplorable” was how Inspector C. H. Newcome described the regard pedestrians showed towards the special crossings which had been provided in different parts of the town in the interests of public safety. Motorists, too, he added, had yet a long way to go before their observanc of the regulations regarding the crossings would pass question. The Borough Traffic Department, with the co-operation of the police, are at present carrying on a vigorous campaign to make pedestrians realise their responsibility, but they have been faced with a difficult task as very little regard is being shown for the crossings. “We are meeting with a stubborn public,” Inspector Newcome told a reporter of “The Timaru Herald.” When corrected, he added, some pedestrians had been insolent and appeared to be unable to understand why they should be spoken to. It was better for them to be educated into the use of the crossings and to observe the regulations than to be dealt with in the Court.

The officers had noticed, Inspector Newcome continued, that many pedestrians within a few steps of the crossing, chose to walk diagonally across the street and ignore the lines altogether. Others would start on a crossing and leave it half way. It was evident, he added, that unless more attention was paid to the use of the crossings, prosecutions would be necessary to set an example.