A Dangerous Corner

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20119, 13 December 1939, Page 14

A Dangerous Corner

Sir,—As a resident of Waerenga-a-hika, for the past four and a half years, and one who has had the doubtful pleasure of living in close proximity to the Waerenga-a-hika Hotel corner, I should like to draw the attention of the authorities, and also that of the motoring public, to the number of serious accidents that have happened at this dangerous intersection on our main highway.

During my residence in the locality nothing has been done to lessen the danger, even though a number of badly-injured people have been taken to hospital as a result of the toofrequent accidents that' happen through cars becoming out of control both going and Coming, and colliding with power or telephone poles. In the last four years there have been two bad collisions with telephone poles on the town side of the corner, with serious injury to the occupants of the cars, and on the country side of the corner we had the distressing accident on Sunday morning, whilst some time ago a motor-cyclist ran off the bitumen into the gravel, skidded, and took the whole side of the wooden fence with him in his crash, which resulted in his being severely burned. Cars out of control, possibly through taking the turn too fast, have piled in

the drains, and as to “near” accidents, they are legion! Undoubtedly the long, smooth, flat roads tempt speed; Bushmere road is not straight with the main highway on the cross intersection; the bitumen is all to one side of the road at the corner, and a car coming out from town and taking the bend on its correct side must leave the bitumen and run into the gravel, skidding being inevitable on the turn unless travelling slowly. Every day screaming tyres and brakes tell their own tale. Warning signs placed on poles at the approaches both ways would be a help and possibly obviate a fatality. I hope that something will be devised and immediately done to lessen the danger to the unwary and so save suffering and perhaps life.

WAERENGA-A-HIKA RESIDENT.