TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 102, 2 May 1930, Page 10

TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS

NEED FOR STATISTICS

OF REAL VALUE

THE BEST PREVENTION

Reference has been made hi two previous Particles dealing with the seriousness o£ the motor fatality and accident problem in New Zealand to the attention'paid in overseas countries to the collection and investigation of statistics, a development dictated by the necessity of having hard facts, not opinions, no matter how expert, to go upon when seeking means to meet the danger, rising rapidly year by year. London's street accident records go back with fairly full detail to . 1912, but. the detailed recording of all street accidents was apparently not undertaken till about 1921. New Zealand has so far made no practical attempt to obtain and utilise other.than the barest facts of but less than a tenth of. serious motoring acci: dents. No data regarding cases of injury is available, and the facts as;to fatalities aYe so sparse that the sound-. ■ness of an analysis of the figures is of doubtful usefulness. That New • Zcjiland's accident toll has now reached such a figure that much more -than this casual statistical survey is essential is evident on a consideration of the Dominion fatality ' rate with that of the City of London—the New Zealand rate is one death to-every 7916 people, the London City rate one death to every 7292 people. : • • MOST EFFECTIVE PREVENTION. "The most effective way of preventing accidents, " states the 1929 report of the London and Home • Counties' Traffic Advisory Committee, previously referred to, "is to lay before all concerned the fullest information as toiow they happen. In order to obtain this information a detailed analysis is essential with regard to all-accidents, as every accident is clearly a potential risk to life or limb.'.' That sentence applies as directly to this Dominion as to the City of Loridon, and until it is given a practical application endeavours to . ascertain "the most effectivo way of preventing accidents" are likely to be largely fruitless. • . ' ;' It is, of;course, a hopeless business to quote a series of deductions from the analysed • figures of English cities or even: of Great Britain and to suggest that the lessons there learned Have an application to New Zealand, for conditions are, entirely > different. As a matter of fact, however, that is precisely, what has .been done more/than once. For instance, it was mentioned in an official report recently that pedestrians were, responsible in the Old Country for 35 per cent, of motor fatalities, and" the pedestrian in•' New Zealand was, by that section of motorists who are primarily motorists, supposed to hang his head in shame for-his owji stupidity. Actually tho English figuro is tremendously, loaded by the pedestrian accident rate -in' crowded, busy cities. ' ..." '■■■>-, TOWN RISKS, COUNTRY RISKS. , Tho respective average risks of town streets and country roads are entirely unknown in the Dominion. It appears highly probable that it- is upon open roads that New Zealand's bad record is being built up, but no scrutiny of the few figures at present kept can confirm that opinion, let alone show the way for a reduction of the risks that produce that result. Only recently a remarkable triple capsizing took place at one bend, of a Wellington district main road. Why? ' Was this a case of serious road danger, or did three drivers, by .coincidence, . exceed safe speed "having regard to all the circumstances"? ...A great many fatalities occurred, last year through motor vehicles capsizing over banks —were roads.br. drivers at fault? Others resulted from skidding— tho figures do not say how many—some at bends, .probably more on; straight runs (unless hero, too, English statistics have no bearing), cutting-in led to more, and plain-speed, combined with stupid recklessness, for more again. Doesnot a real need exist for a system of .traffic supervision outside city and borough boundaries which will at least deter the reckless driver with, the thought that he is likely to be pulled up before an accident occurs rather than that he can get away with anything that >he . can get away, with? Where are the more serious' dangers and in what way may they be, met to reduce, as far as possible, a climbing, accident, and death-rate following upon increasing and, at present, practically uncontrolled motor traffic 1 Tho few figures now collected give no reasonably definite answers .to these and other similar questions. ,\ .. , As a matter of fact, a great, part of the: data upon which such an analysis could bo made has been collected by the police for some years past, in that particulars: of most .serious, accidents, though probably not all, are noted in police files, but these facts have (apparently never been made available to the Statistician, and in any case would call for a vast amount of preliminary investigation before being made suitable for analysis. Records of, past accidents arc therefore buried for all time, but by the drawing, up of future reports, in duplicate or triplicate, ■in a form ageed upon between the Police Department and the Government Statistician, this information would, without imposing any unduo additional work upon the police, be made available for informative and preventive purposes as well as for purely police ■ purposes. In other'words, tho systematical preparation of accident reports would serve at'once for the preparation of ."cases' and for tho prevention of moro cases, which is equallya police duty.: ; ■'