CORRESPONDENCE TRAFFIC CONTROL.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 136, 9 May 1940, Page 8

CORRESPONDENCE

TRAFFIC CONTROL.

‘ I ■ , '■ V : ;■ V (To the Editor.) Sir, —Now that the dark nights arc upon us, I would urgently draw the attention of the authorities to the need for greater vigilance in respect to erring cyclists—probably the worst disciplined lot in the whole of New Zealand. The most dangerous practice amongst cyclists is riding at night without a light ot any sort. In addition to this, they, are constantly to be found riding on the footpaths. (I have been nearly knocked down on several occasions as a result of this offence.) Then there is the cyclist who will persist in cutting corners at top speed; some of them do this over crossings, totally ignoring the traffic lights. Another error committed by cyclists is passing traffic—usually other cyclists —on the inside. Another dangerous practice which can be seen every day is “riding without hands.” I actually saw a youth riding a bicycle the other day reading a newspaper! Figures compiled by the Transport Department show that the greater number of accidents in which' cyclists are involved happen between the hours of five and six p. i11., and that 44 jxer cent, of all accidents to cyclists are entirely the fault of the cyclists. To deal with the cyclist menace, I would suggest that the council organise a night patrol. A good many of the things I complain of occur in the lessfrequented parts of the town where there is no supervision. A visiting motorist who wrote to the “Standard” last night voiced the opinion that this town is as bad in regard to traffic control as he was told it was, and. perhaps a bit worse. The question is, when is the council going to wake up and give the people the protection they are entitled to P Evidently our bad name has spread beyond the confines of the city itself. The crossings _ are still unsatisfactory. People, especially elderly people, still get confused with the lights. Seeing that the loudspeaker has never yet been used —and not likely to be —I again make the suggestion that a sign, “Wait for the green light,” be painted on- the footpaths. The whole trouble in this city for years past, and it still exists to-day, is that the council is terrified to death lest some prominent ratepayer is fined for a breach of the traffic regulations. Surely to goodness it is better to enforce, the law, giving protection to rich and poor alike, than to have people injured just to protect a privileged few. Our traffic problems will .never be solved until we do one of two things: (1) Appoint a traffic officer with full control who will give his whole time to the job; ox- (2) hand the whole job over to the police to enforce the law.—l (mi, etc., CITIZEN. Palmerston North, 8/5/40.