"HANG A FEW!”

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17350, 15 May 1924, Page 1

"HANG A FEW!”

JUDGE’S CRITICISM. DANGEROUS DRIVING DENOUNCED. (Special to (-he “ Star.”) WELLINGTON, May 11. “ In that case the sooner we hang a few drivers the better!” This was the statement of Mr Justice Stringer in the Supreme Court in the case in which John Andrew Fox, a taxi-driver, was charged with manslaughter W. Smile**, a witness', said that car drivers often passed Avithiii a few inches, sometimes two or three inches, of objects oil the road ahead of them. r QHey frequently did this when the object ahead was a vehicle moving in the same- direction as themseh'es. His Honor Mr Justice Stringer: Do you, as a professional driver, say that is a proper thing to do? Witness: A good driver should be able to do it. His Honor: Perhaps he should be able to do it. \Yhat we are asking is whether it is a reasonable thing to do ; Witness: If both vehicles are going in the same 'direction it is quite a safe thing. His Honor: It is not a safe thing, because"ue see that in this instance it has killed a man. Witness: In this case there was something protruding # from the cart: which the driver did not see. His Honor: Do you think that was 5 careful driving? Witness: I admit it was bad judgment, but it happens with every driver every dav.

His Honor: In that case the sooner Ave hang a few drivers the better.