The Dominion WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1926. EDUCATING THE RECKLESS MOTORIST

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 57, 1 December 1926, Page 10

The Dominion WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1926. EDUCATING THE RECKLESS MOTORIST

Frequent complaints have reached us of late of the dangerous driving of a certain class of motorist in the city. There appears to be no real effort to bring these offenders to book. They round corners at high speeds, dash along streets on the outskirts at a reckless rate, and, judging by the rarity of their appearance in Court, are practically immune from punishment. _ The record of motoring accidents throughout the Dominion also appears to be increasing in volume. Each day’s issue of the daily paper records a chapter of accidents, a large percentage of which can be traced back to careless or reckless speeding. Except in given sections of roadway there is no serious attempt to check the motorist who disregards his own welfare and that of fellow-motorists and the public generally by his recklessness. Nor has any systematic attempt on an appropriate scale been made to institute an education campaign. Yet the matter is of sufficient importance to warrant serious attention. What can be done in the way of awakening motorists to the risks of careless or reckless driving has been well illustrated by the Railway Department. Following on a somewhat startling' scries of accidents at railway level crossings, the Railway Department was subjected to attacks in the Press on account of what some considered to be its callous attitude towards accidents of this kind. . . ' The impracticability of eliminatmg all the crossings was early pointed out. The large number—approximating 3000—considered in conjunction with the cost of eliminating a single crossing, made the sum required for total elimination so great as to be beyond the region of practical politics. The Department, however, decided to assist in the endeavour to reduce as far as possible the likelihood of accidents, and, for this purpose, it was felt that the best means was an intensive publicity campaign to warn the public of the dangers when approaching railway level crossings. To this end very effective coloured posters were prepared and distributed through the motor associations to the proprietors of motor vehicles, and a heavy distribution of stickers suitable for putting in cars to serve as perpetual reminders of the dangers existing in connection with these crossings was made to the holders of all motor vehicle licenses. Following this, a very effective newspaper advertising campaign has been carried out in the metropolitan Press of the Dominion where, by slogans and graphic warnings, everything possible has been done to make the risks, which are inevitably associated with the crossing of a railway track, ever present in the minds of those who travel by road. Although the figures in connection with level-crossing accidents are not yet complete, there is, we are informed, evidence that a substanial reduction in the number of accidents at level crossings has resulted from the enterprise of the Department in initiating the campaign. Taking the accidents at level crossings for this year up to the middle of October, and allowing at the same proportion for the rest of the year, the completed figures show a reduction of 3.3 per cent, in the gross total of accidents at level crossings for 1926. compared with 1925. Practically the same ratio of reduction is shown in the figures for fatalities at level crossings. The figures bear testimony to the effectiveness of educative campaigns of this nature carried out on the right lines. What the Railway Department has done can be done in other directions. It is worthy of note, and a tribute to those responsible for the efforts of the Railway Department, that in America the goal aimed at was a 35 per cent, reduction in the number of railway crossing accidents in five years, whereas here a similar reduction has been recorded in less than twelve months.