SAFETY ON ROADS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 48, 2 July 1947, Page 3

SAFETY ON ROADS

TIGHTENING UP OF RULES l HAZARDS RECOGNISED Recent tightening up on observation of transport regulations by inspectors of the Transport Department have been welcomed by the majority of motorists. The standard of driving seems to have deteriorated during the war years and something must be done with greater numbers of vehicles back on the roads to keep the accident rate down. Two factors have so far combined to keep speeds within reasonable limits, thus almost eliminating the risk from this angle. They are the continued existence of the national speed limit of 40 miles per hour and the shortage of' tyres. Whereas it was the common thing before the war for most owners of recent-model cars to travel at speeds in the vicinity of 50 miles per hour on open stretches of road, wartime observation -of the speed limit has created a habit which appears to be clinging. Of the accidents on the road today few are directly attributable to speed. Motorist Has Slipped In other directions, however, the motorist has slipped badly, and the efforts of the Transport Department to check the drift are commendable. Fewer cars on the roads during the war led to lower concentration by motorists and encouraged slipshod methods of driving—inadequate observation of other traffic, non-obser-vance of elementary rules of the road, failure to make signals and other faults.

The pedestrian also became rather less careful than before and failed to keep a proper lookout for his own safety. Small things in themselves, the items add up to a considerable factor of accident liability. A-vigorous advertising campaign by the Department coupled with vigilant patrols by its inspectors has done much to improve matters, but there is still room for a further vast improvement. Check on Car Lights One thing which has been of great benefit to law-abiding motorists during recent months has been the strict check kept on the lights of vehicles, which have been subject to test if suspected of being incorrectly adjusted, prosecution following if the suspicion has been proved to be well-founded. Warnings by traffic inspectors have also had the effect of making all but the most selfish drivers dip their headlights to oncoming traffic at night.

In the case of some fatal accidents the direct cause was the fact that the driver of one vehicle was dazzled by the lights of an approaching car. Not only are other motorists and their passengers endangered by the action of the selfish motorist who will not dip his lights, but also other road-users, cyclists and pedestrians. The man who will not dip his lights is the greatest single menace to safety on the roads.. Too Many Accidents New Zealand’s accident-rate, although considerably lower than most countries with a similar proportion of motor vehicles to population, is still unnecessarily high, 'although as yet the pre-war accident peak has not again been reached. This is due probably not so much to the fact that motorists are taking more care than they did in 1938, but because the condition of their vehicles and tyres keeps them within reasonable bounds on the road, whether they constantly flout the traffic regulations or not. The time is coming, though apparently distant, when the cars on New Zealand roads will again be fairly new and the roads themselves in good shape; it is to be hoped that by that time the tactics by the Transport Department will have led to the existence of a' more law-abiding and courteous motoring public with a lower degree of accident liability than at present.