ROAD ACCIDENTS.

Waikato Times, Volume 107, Issue 17995, 14 April 1930, Page 7

ROAD ACCIDENTS.

NEW ZEALAND FIGURES. THE MOTOR CYCLE’S SHAREAN ERRATIC QUANTITY. Loss of life by accident is one of the things tliat are being thoroughly investigated by organisations in practically every country is the world, particularly in America. People ■ are gradually waking up to the fact that a community may lose in a comparatively small number of years more lives from accidental causes than it lost in the whole of the Great War. Growing consciousness of this fact is making the community more alive every day to the need for a determined effort to track down the causes of accidents and to eliminate them. New Zealand is more fortunate than Great Britain. America, and most other countries, inasmuch as the number of fatal accidents caused through motor vehicles does not seem, over the last few years, to be greatly on the increase. The number of people in New Zealand so billed last year was 108. From the monthly figures which follow it will be'secn that there is a definite trend neither one way nor the other, and that last year’s monthly average (9) is the average, also, over the few additional months given at either end of last year’s sequence. Motor Vehicle Accidents. Month. No. lulled. December, 1928 7 January, 1929 -. 12 February, 1929 7 March, 1929 - 8 April, 1929 0 May, 1929 10 June, 1929 8 July, 1929 11 August, 1929 11 September, 1929 5 October, 1929 H November, 1929 —... 7 December, 1929 10 January, 1930 8 February, 1930 H These figures show what an erratic quantity the motor accident fatality rate is. All types of motor accidents are included in these figures. Pedestrians being struck by motor-cars or motor cycles, motor-cars colliding with each other or with motor cyclas, any form of motor vehicle whatever coming to grief by itself, either through skidding, going over a bank, or hitting an obstruction —all these cases are covered by the returns. One fact stands out, however, when a survey is made of the nature of these accidents. This is the increase in the number of fatal mishaps where motor cyclists are concerned. Whereas motor cyclists were rarely involved in fatal accidents at the beginning of the year, they are now well to the fore, and show indications or playing an even greater part in making up the totals. Monthly figures since January, 1929, are as follows: — Accidents in which Motor Cycles Were Involved. Month. No. lulled. January, 1929 1 .February, 1929 0 March, 1929 0 April, 1929 2 May, 1929 0 June, 1929 0 July, 1929 1 August, 1929 1 October, 1929 2 November, 1929 3 December, 1929 2 January, 1930 2 February, 1930 3 March, 1930 0 At the beginning of the scries it can be seen that months separate motor cycle fatalities, but as time goes on they turn into a regular monthly total, and" are at present increasing. Apart from mishaps where death for or more has been the result the number and frequency of really serious, but non-fatai, motor cycle accidents is stated to be increasing from month to month.