Does “New Look” Tend To Raise Road Death Rate?

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 4, 6 October 1948, Page 5

Does “New Look” Tend To Raise Road Death Rate?

The “New Look” in women’s clothes has started a controversy among road safety students. A prominent American road safety man says that -as hemlines go down, women’s death rate ' as pedestrians is likely to go up. Car drivers, he says, are used to seeing feminine legs clad in light stockings. . Even when walking, ladies frequently get tangled in their own garments, and there have been numerous reports of serious accidents to women stumbling over hemlines when boarding or leaving public conveyances. The N.R.M.A., on the other hand, reports that there have been many accidents in Sydney officially credited to the cause “driver’s attention diverted,” actually due to the wandering of a male driver’s eyes towards an attractive female. Longer skirts may (or may not) solve that problem. A voluminous skirt is no help in driving a car, for it may prevent, quick, efficient and safe operation of brake, clutch and accelerator. N The N.R.M.A. adds that, as it seems that the “New Look” is on the. 'way out, the problem is not likely to be solved.