FATAL ACCIDENTS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLV, Issue 21185, 4 November 1938, Page 8

FATAL ACCIDENTS

Last Month’s Figures City Rate Increased By Telegraph—Press Association WELLINGTON. November 3. “Fourteen lives were lost on the roads last month compared with 20 during October of last year,” said the Minister of Transport (Hon. R. Semple) to-day. Notable features of the month’s accidents, the Minister said, were a very bad Labour Day week-end, when eight lives were lost, the wonderful road safety record of 19 days w'ithout a fatality, and the epidemic of drunken driving towards the end of the month. “Nine of the 12 fatal accidents occurred at night. ’’ said Mr Semple. “Three pedestrians was killed at night, and the only cyclist killed lost his life at night. There were five night collisions between motor vehicles, including one where the rider of a motor cycle was pushing his machine. Eight of the 14 deaths occurred during the Labour Day week-end. Tlie period between 6 pun. and 1 a.m. was the most dangerous during the month, two-thirds of the deaths occurring between these hours. An interesting feature of the month’s fatal accidents is that they reflect the improvement shown every month since July in the accident rate outside the large towns and cities. The fatal accident rate in the metropolitan and town areas has increased very seriously in proportion during this period. In October last year 15 deaths occurred in rural areas and five towns and cities. During this October, how’ever, deaths on rural roads have been reduced from 15 to six, but deaths in the cities and large towns increased from five to eight. Auckland led with three fatalities during the last three months. The fatal accident rate on rural roads has been halved.”