Speed Caused Most of 19 Road Deaths in March

Grey River Argus, 3 April 1948, Page 7

Speed Caused Most of 19 Road Deaths in March

F.A. WELLINGTON, April 2. Nineteen people died as the result of. accidents during March, a reduction of live compared with March of last year, said the Minister of Transport, the Hon. F. Hackett, to-day. Eight of those killed were pedestrians, seven were drivers or passengers in motor vehicles, three were motor cyclists, and one a cyclist. Private cars were involved in ten fatal accidents, trucks in six, taxis in two, and a motor cycle collided with a pedestrian.

Jn every case where the driver or passenger of a motor vehicle was killed, it was as a result of the vehicle running off the road and capsizing, or, in one case, colliding with a power pole, said Mr Hackett, who added this seemed to indicate that the vehicles were travelling at speeds too fast for the conditions, a major cause of traffic accidents. Mr Hackett added that, according to reports from the Transport Department’s traffic staff, driving over the Easter week-end was, on the average, of good standard. Nevertheless there were six fatal accidents over that period.