THOUSANDS OF CASES

Hokitika Guardian, 15 October 1930, Page 3

THOUSANDS OF CASES

CLOGGING THE COURTS. MOTOR ACCIDENT CAUSES ANALYSED. AYELLINGTON, October 13. The motor accident is a problem which, in the opinion of tlie New Zealand Transport Department, has not received the attention it deserves in the Dominion, foi: there is a fatality list of nearly two hundred annually, representing an economic loss in lit® alone of £200,000,: besides personal injury and loss of property. The Department’s report exhaustively analyses the accidents and gives important conclusions. Convictions last year for traffic offences totalled 16,767, of which onethird were for breaches of the lighting by-law. The list, howevei’, included 3291 convictions for negligent or dangerous driving in motor vehiMes and 418 for drunkenness while in charges of a motor vehicle. The report suggests that the totals given fail to represent all breaches of tip? law, as few are caught, and there is reason to believe that outside the principal towns enforcement is either cursory or entirely lacking.

CONAHCTTONS. “The convictions for traffic offences in 1929 (1.6,767) represent no less than 36 per cent of the total convictions during the year and a rate of 11.40 per thousand of the mean population,” states are report. “These -figures are impressive. They show how the Magistrate’s Courts have been flooded with traffic offences, and indicate the inconvenience to the courts and the motorists involved, particularly where the offence is of a trivial nature. They raise the question whether it is worth while employing a complicated and expensive judicial system in many of these trivial cases. This problem has Von met in certain States of the United States of America, by standardising fines for minor offences, enabling the culprit to pay the fine to the traffic bureau without court action if he so elects. In point of economv, this principle has much in its favour.” New Zealand’s annual motor death roll during five years was 10.20 deaths per 100,000 of population, but rose to 12.1 in the last two years. Great Britain’s rate is 11.7. As all inquest reports are forwarded to the Transport Department/ it has worked out many important conclusions. HOURS OF ACCIDENT. From 4 p.m. till 7 p.m. is Die most dangerous period. Saturday, with 25. and Sunday, with 26, are the days with most fatalities. The hig proportion of motor-cycle deaths, considering the number proportionately to other vehicles, should, says the report, be a warning to motorcyclists. Dusk, considering its short duration, is evidently the, most dangerous driving time. LOCATION. North Island—Auckland City and environs 29, AYellington City and environs 16, other towns 20, country 57. South Island—Christchurch City an.l environs 13, Dunedin City and envir ms 4, other towns 8, country 25. The large proportion occurring in the country bears out the remarks in the report about the general lack of traffic control outside the towns.