DROWNING KILLS MORE PEOPLE THAN ROAD ACCIDENTS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 15, Issue 6, 6 March 1950, Page 5

DROWNING KILLS MORE PEOPLE THAN ROAD ACCIDENTS

From November of last year to January of this year 54 people were killed on roads throughout New Zealand and 42 drowned, according to figures supplied to the Beacon by the Department of Internal Affairs. For the month of January alone deaths by drowning totalled l 4 and equalled the number of people who lost their lives in road accidents. Appalling Figures

These appalling figures show more than any' other way how great is the drowning danger in the summer. For instance in January, 1949, 19 people were drowned, eight more than the number killed on the road. This shows that although road accidents are the cause of more accidental deaths in this country than anything else through the year drowning equals and often passes, it during the swimming months. This is proved in the Department’s figures for the three months November to January for the last three years. From November 1947 to January 1948 54 people were drowned and 36 killed on the road. For the same period next summer the figures were 42 and 41, while for this last period they were 42 and 54. Taking the total for the November, December and January period for those years, 138 people died through drowning and 131 through road accidents. These are alarming figures and although the mathematican often make his figures lie the Department in this case has produced only plain facts.

According to the Department’s findings more people are drowned in the age group from 20 to 30. In this last three months period ten people in that group were drowned. Next comes the five and under and 15 to 20 with eight each. Of all the people drowned then, 16 were in rivers and seven each in lakes and open sea. Learn To Swim

Supplying the figures the Department has emphasised the importance of learning to swim properly. At the same time urging every care when bathing irrespective of how good a swimmer may be. - Although summer is obviously giving way to autumn there will be much swimming in the Bay of Plenty for some time yet and again the Department and life saying clubs are appealing for swimmers to watch themselves whenever they center the water.