DANGEROUS HABIT

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 60, 30 March 1943, Page 5

DANGEROUS HABIT

RIDING ON ROAD PLANER

SCHOOL (i IRL INJURED

The general commotion and dust created by the progress, of the County Council road graders; on country roads has evidently constituted a good invitation to Maori school children to have a ride on the machines without the drivers knowledge. Reporting an incident of this nature to the. Council L. W. Terry, one of the grader drivers stated, that on March 1 last on the AwakeriTe Teko Road, three Maori children climbed on to the back of the planer, and one of the children had the top of her little finger severed. The other children said she had hold of the lift rope and her linger got between the pulley and, rope. A passing motorist took the child to the Whakatano Hospital. Cr Cawtc said that a similar case had been brought to his notice when a Maori child who had been riding unobserved on a P.W.D. machine had. fallen off and permanently inured his: hip. The parent of that child had been advised to claim, damages by his solicitor on the grounds that there was no printed, notice on the machine: warning}, children to keep off. The chairman said he failed to see how any such claim could succeed on those grounds and felt that the only thing the Council could do was warn the drivers. The clerk: Give them a good long stick. The Acting County. Engineer imported that all drivers had instructions to stop this practice. However children would persist in climbing on the planers when in motion and in the dust it was difficult always for, the driver to know if he. had a child riding on the back of the machine. Every precaution was being taken to stop the practice.