OUT OF HAND.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 18659, 7 April 1926, Page 8

OUT OF HAND.

AUCKLAND STREET TRAFFIC INADEQUACY OF CONTROL. {SFKCUL TO "THK PBEBB."} AUCKLAND, April 6. Any unbiassed, unprejudiced, reasonable mind most concede that street conditions in Auckland have become chaotic. Notwithstanding by-laws and regulations, the traffic is more or less out of hand. The change from horse to motor transport has been too rapid for the steady development of control. Proof is partly to be found in the daily record of accidents. Accidents are inevitable, of course, but the price that the community is paying m JU« and limb for the new vehicle that is everything from a great asset to a wonderful toy is far too high. There are rush hours when a'stranger from a Utopian planet would imagine that auction of drivers had become possessed—a minority fighting with frensied impatience for the right to rush ahead, the remainder endeavouring to lime the anxiety they feel over the irresponsible behaviour of others, ana pedestrians, often foolhardy, skipping to and from safety zones at great personal risk. Our'stranger could not be blamed if he formed a wrong idea or the sanity of the community. There can be no control without compulsion, and so far there has not been enough compulsion to fix strict "Safety First" principles in the mind of every motor driver. It is not suggested for a moment that the majority of drivers are at fcult. The majority drive with care and with every regard for the safety of other vehicles and of pedestrains, but the minority or irresponsibles is sufficiently large to pause the chaos.

Most Dangerous Vehicles. The chief offenders seem to be drivers of buses and heavy commercial vehicles. The knowledge that if a collision occurs their vehicle is not likely to be the unlucky one, is partly the cause of their readiness to take risks. Another factor is that usually they themselves will not be the losers should their lorries be damaged, and in' the case of buses a factor is the competition among themselves and with the ti;ams. These rushing, hooting juggernauts destroy the confidence of cararivers, in whom personal ownership is a strong curb on the inclination to speed, and so the confusion is spread. Then there is the occasional driver who shows the effect or intoxicating liquor, and adds to the trouble. . In scores of busy places, the inadequacy of control is evident. The present measure of control is exercised partly by the police and partly by the Citv Council officials, but there is a crying need for a much more comprar hensivo system'. As it is, the full force of the city's traffic department is not engaged where it is most wanted, because'of the calls in regard to motor licensing and, the like. If the prbblem is to be tackled, and jt must be tackled, control methods wjfl have to movo much faster than they have done. An independent • traffic board has been suggested, but whatever form the control authority takes', the crux of the matter will be its powers, and their exercise. Some sharp lessons will have to be taught before the large proportion of offending drivers realise that their license to drive t also im« poses upon theni the obligation to have some, regard for the rights, of other road users.