ROAD SAFETY

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 118, 22 May 1939, Page 10

ROAD SAFETY

BRITISH PROPOSALS

FROM HOUSE OF LORDS COMMITTEE

APPLICATION IN N.Z.

The universal problem of lessening the daily road toll has been given the attention of a Select Committee of the ! House of Lords, whose report 'ias now j reached New Zealand. The committee i prefaced its report with the hope "that this report will not share the fate of the reports of several Departmental committees of which they heard in evidence, and merely find a resting place in the pigeonholes of Whitehall." Whether that be so or not, the report is already being investigated in New Zealand, for, said the Minister of Transport (the Hon. R. Semple) today, several of the proposals made by the committee are of particular interest to New Zealand. The following are some of the main recommendations of the committee: — The highway code should be revised and given the ful! force of law, and be presented in three separate forms for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians. The principle of a speed limit must be retained, but should not be unnecessarily imposed; restricted areas should be reduced in number and extent. A department of propaganda should be formed and the Treasury should make a substantial grant for the purpose. The police should carry on an extensive campaign of advice and assistance, rather than of prosecution. Prosecutions for offences in which there is no element of danger should be reduced to a minimum. TAKING OF ALCOHOL. A warning against alcohol, even in moderate quantities,' should receive prominence in the highway code. Courts should treat drivers who were under the influence of drink when an accident occurred with exemplary severity. Licences should be automatically endorsed or suspended oh conviction for driving under the influence of drink. Blood tests for alcohol should be recognised. BENEFITS UNDER INSURANCE POLICIES. The committee made radical recomI mendations in respect of the motorist I and insurance, for it proposed: No benefit under an insurance policy should accrue to persons convicted of grave road offences in respect of injury sustained by him or the vehicle driven by him. assuming it to be his property. . j Further, the committee recommended that accident-prone drivers should be disqualified and that insurance companies should refuse to insure accidentprone drivers. Persons who failed to disclose to insurance companies their previous relations with other1 companies should.be severely punished. Pedal cyclists should be registered, : and should carry number plates, and ! cyclists should be compulsorily ;insured against third-party risks. Other recommendations as to cyclists were that children under 10 years of age should be forbidden to cycle on the public roads; proficiency badges should be issued to children by the local authority empowering them to cycle on a public road. Cyclists should ibe compelled to report all accidents in which they are involvedRed rear lamps should be compulsory on all cycles. Several steps for tightening up the administration of the law and the issue of licences were put forward. ROAD IMPROVEMENT. The committee recommended that "a vastly accelerated programme" of road construction and improvement should be undertaken. Every local authority should keep traffic accident maps and victims of accidents should be given a right of action against road authorities for failure to exercise necessary road repairs. Dual carriageways should be constructed wherever possible. Where minor roads cross major roads they should be staggered; circular islands or roundabouts should be constructed at i all main cross roads. Only pedestrian crossings controlled by traffic signals and compulsory pedestrian signal lights should be placed on unrestricted roads; alterJ natively ramped bridges or subways should be constructed. Where a pedestrian is involved in an accident while using a carriageway beside which there is an adequate footpath his conduct in so doing should afford prima facie evidence of carelessness. The onus of proving negligence should be on a pedestrian who |is involved in an accident while crossing the street near but not on a crossing. Pedestrian crossing beacons should be illuminated at night and the crossings should, where feasible, be provided with at least one island rest; where a street is wide enough for four lanes there should be three island rests. Adequate parking grounds must be provided within central areas. Leaving a car on the wrong side of the street at night should be ah offence. Street lighting should be made uniform.. Red and green lights for advertising purposes in close proximity to the carriageway should be prohibited unless approved by the highway authoi rity.