PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELFARE

Wanganui Chronicle, 25 February 1947, Page 6

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELFARE

KEEP DEATH OFF THE ROADS (No. 4) (By Sir H. Alker Tripp, C 8.E., Assistant Comniissioner, Scotland Yard, London.) In any modern .scheme of town planning, a well-designed road plan is essential. Our present road ’systems are not well-designed. The measure of their defects is proclaimed by the fact that in the ten years immediately before the war, more than two million people "were killed or injured on the roads of Great Britain alone. THE TOWN PLANNER. In order to qualify himself for the type of planning required, lhe town planner must first of all realise what is causing these road casualties. The root cause is perfectly simple. Whereas the railways provided suitable tracks before high speeds were developed, no such provision \uas made for motor traffic. Speeds like those of the railways were developed on roads built merely for horse-drawn traffic. Take London, for example. All the road.-j, even Kingsway and Aldwych (two of the latest) were built in the horsetraffic era. In addition to that, the whole road system is like a railway without sidings. How would railways work if there were running lines only? All circulation ftould stop. Let us face the facts. The change from horse-drawn to motor traffic was a revolution; and nothing less than a corresponding revolution in roads and road-usage will suffice. This needed revolution is still awaited and can only be brought about by investing millions of money. TRAFFIC CIRCULATION. There are two aspects of the problem: circulation and safety. These can be taken separately. Forty years ago it was thought that London traffic was dense enough and needed more room. Compared with that period, the traffic has been doubled and

trebled; and road commissioners are finding exactly the same condition In all parts of the world. No one can put a quart in a pint pot. Our roads will carry so much, and no more. We have used traffic signals, one-way workings, and so on; but. the fact remains that in almost any town of a decent size, there are periods during the day or evening when the traffic Is often close upon saturation point. Two imperative reforms are needed. First, we must have accommodation for standing vehicles. In large cities like London, this accommodation will have to be provided under squares, under parks, under buildings, and on open sites wherever available. The parking spaces must be at frequent intervals: the accommodation must be on the spot where it is wanted. THROUGH TRAFFIC.

The second reform needed in most urban centres is in connection with the through traffic. This can only be kept on the move by an effective ring road system, either by elevated or sunk ring roads. We are not in favour of clover-leaf layouts at junctions. We want roads at separate levels, with simple roundabouts, crossed at separate levels by the major road and with connections between the major road and the roundabout by means of ramps. ROAD SAFETY. No one needs reminding of the fact that road casualties in every part ot the world are exceedingly high. Until about a dozen years ago it was assumed on all hands that dangerous driving was well-nigh the sole cause of casualties. That has now been proved to-be quite wrong. Strict analysis shows quite a different result. Dangerous and careless driving of a prosecution order is responsible for less than fifteen per cent of the total casualties. The vast majority of road accidents are due to the magnifying effect of vehicle-speed upon what, may be described as human errors, namely inattention or thoughtlessness, not only on the part of drivel's, but of pedestrians and pedal cyclists as well. Of these aggregate human errors, about one third are on the part of the drivers, one-third on the part of pedestrians, and one-fifth on the part of lhe pedal cyclist. However drastically motor drivers may be regulated, still two-thirds of the problem will remain virtually untouched. Human error is what, we are up against, and we have to plan in such a way as to counter it. (To he continued.)