TRAM MEN'S RISKS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1519, 15 August 1912, Page 7

TRAM MEN'S RISKS.

N DANGERS OF FOOT-BOARDS. J DEPUTATION TO MINISTER. 1 . ' ■ ■ ■ ' ~ ■ ■ ' V ACTIVE SUPPORT PROMISED. , • ) ■,::."• . ■ • / ..,'•■ .-■■•■ '■• ■■•■ •. • .-■ ; ■ ■ / The dangers of footboards on tramcars j .V-ere represented to tho Minister for Pub- / lie, Works .(the Hon. W. Eraser) by a ,' deputation from'the Wellington Tramways Union yesterday. The deputation was introduced by Mr. T. H. Davey, M.P., and Messrs. L. M. Isitt, M.P., and G. 'Witty, jUJP.i accompanied it. Mr. Davey said.that the deputation had come mainly regarding tho conductors being obliged to run risks in collicting fares from tho footboard. In Wellington recently, a man had been killed and there- had been many other accidents, of them serious. Two sessions ago ■: lie bad moved in the House that footooarus, should be done away with, and that at least ten;jer cent, of the cars , saould be altered .each year to make it possible tor men to collect fares irorn :the inside. Ho claimed that he' was aiever,; his utterances about labour,, but , ha .maintained; , that tiio cost w .-..converting cars—a reasonable percentage, of th?m. each ye'un-snpuld not stand in the way ol n.retorm to prevent men ben,*; killea. • . Mr; Wv<C. Nopt,-secretary of the Tram-' ways Union, said the. -deputation wished j ■■■J?'- dr M V ' the attention of the Minister to ■Vox 90, a new car supposed to bo con- , : -Bti-nctcfl under the Davey clause. It ap .peared now that tho car did not conform >nththo clause.'. as"" laid \ down by last' iarliainent: There was an aisle through •the body -of the car; but there was no xloonray from, the .conductor's platform, and the conductor had to get down off Ms platform'on to the board' to,get round . into' the.: car. The danger was scarcely lessened-at all, and- they considered that' the footboard^-should. !»• done away with.ISot all >the accidents occurring wero ever reported. -The conductors in Wellington ■were ,1 smart, active lot-of nien, and a , conductor wlio fell very often .picked himself up without hurt. In all, i 6 accidents had been reported to , tho .Department,, and-many of .them had been of a .serious ■nature. . '■■ '■'.-.". ■ . .! 'Mr.'-W. T. ■ Young, an . ex-secretary of :tho union, said he had happened to travel Itin Cm- 90 the first night' it was in traffic. 'And'h.e added that tho car was in traffic ..- before it.was passed by the Public Worfe' ■Department. As a matte* , .of fact, the ear :had been on. the Brooklyn hill on' inesday luidergoing tests .bv the' Department in order that it might bo passed.'. ' The car was not constructed in accordance with the spirit and intention of the Darey clause, although .strictly in accordance with the letter of it.. On the even- . .ing that ho travelled: on the car the passageway .was -absolutely blocked, up with passengers; ■ arid absolutely.. useless to ■ the -conductor. He • suggested that there Dβ a passage riglit. through the car, and that it should.be kept clear-of passengers., {There'should at. least be.only a limited '.number <;f strap-hangers in each car. ,I n I Auckland, where 1 ! the . cars were muchlarger, the company was never alllowed ■•■■-.to", 'exceed the .'-maximum, number . cf.-'-strhp-hangci's, • but in ■ .Wellington/the- municipal- authorities the..cars nrith passengers worse than J sheep ;were : '.pa-cked .on , board Ship. It was-not a fair thitis:'for-the man who had .to collect the', fares'., Th« corporation arglied; that: it would cost. or. per car to make'the.chango compulsory un- ; tier the;:Daver;olause,'and'that it : would ' also". mean.'a.- lcfSenin!; 'of the- passenger, accommodation ■■in.' ( the, ; .,car., He had a Fcheme'whereby-,each> cai-'could be conveniently altered Ut a' cost of •'.J!35—he was not puttinjfrthat scheme into the 'suggestion box at preseut. Tliere was not a•vav in , the service that ■ cqrild not'be al-.»ered-virithout interfering -ifith the per.'manent" waj%'and-'still--retam"tte! -jsamo .passenger, accommodation... He 'hoped flie Minister •wolfVlJ'proteithSHlijfr-life'iifi.aiDat' Thos" tianecessarj 'risk'.' ; '< SiCpptj'sing'fl t 1 fIM cost c£3oo to alter every car; a'human lifo was.of more:valitsto.tlie State than He offered the further suggestion'that all noTT-'fe-amwaj'ic'arriage.r^hoiild J bb ihspei;- , ted'by. the Government and liciensVd each' -.vear, , that;all tram-cars should' bo con-' ■ . Btructed;sq as to enclose the sides, with ■no ronning board on the'outside, with an Jial?'. through the cav- from one «nd to the 6ther, and-with the fihtry exclusively ■ from the- end, and with. tliD exit exclusively from ; the motorman's rad.' , ~i IT - i-,Jlils;ii nwtorman/.draw attention to the dangerous position of tlio automatic switch or circuit breaker on car' DO. it.-iras .too near the' motormau's head, ■and he was liable to severe burns in case ■ rf a WovrH)iit,-•,Ke...said.that the respons- , Jbihty for thejdanger.of '.the foot-board leu on the motbrman as -well- as the con-ductor,-because the motorman had to take care that the conductor en the foot-board was not iniurejl in -'pasntig a cart. This mmetimes necessitated tiro motorman tak- > iKf s■' m \ °1V the r s d '- itt front . and f^co^ue^ 6 Was inorea^ ..The Hon. W, Traser: It is unnecessaTy to expatiate ,pn the danger to conductor's .collecting-; fares from the foot-board I J&- 1 ,S aAm licensed: to ■S|^ e^^SSiiad Mr. : J. Timms,.conductor, said it was , useless for the union' to 'approach the tramTvay authorities. Some of the men had Twen carpeted for havin? given cvi rtence when the last Bill unto con He..stated.,also that S wet weather conductors, hampered by vet ferV lia W c . fo. accident. S^Tca^asl^S had watched conductors. out TT'wei * thers. shaving cart-wheels br inches Be <■ th , € and ?£ n hlm, w.TOuld try to rem- tt Pdy the trouble. Moves in this direction ' 1 -M • Clllt - s ' , - but hc ™uld make all ' i ST'^V 5 to , the ■PosSbilit. 0 r remoyiEg all existing, dangers; . He could ] ' rat that he-would alter all the c because.the.law would not permit him « mippo t 6 '. VT ° V K ° nU ha ™ ' I »»'«rti™ "