MOTORISTS’ BETE NOIRE

Shannon News, 1 June 1923, Page 2

MOTORISTS’ BETE NOIRE

PALM FOR LORRY DRIVER

PEDESTRIANS A GOOD SECOND

The trials and tribulations that beset motorists were discussed more in sorrow than in anger at a meeting held to form an Automobile Association in Wanganui. The lorry driver—at least the type of lorry driver who callously sticks to the crown of the road and ignores a motorist who* endeavours to pass—was criticised well and forcibly, and one member expressed the opinim that nothing short of prosecutions would make some of the lorry drivers realise that roads did not exist solely for their benefit.

Another member commented upon the practice of loading lorries so that there was an overhang of a couple of feet on each side, which meant en additional four feet of the road occupied.

According to views expressed ai the gathering, pedestrians—the e’ass < f pedestrians who wander in the middle of the road instead of keeping to the footpaths—were awarded second prize as the motorists’ bane. One member remarked that in some' countries pedestrians who sorted cut the middle of the road as the most desirable spot for a stroll were Halve to prosecution for obstructing the traffic.

One member particularly condemned the had practice of pedestrians making ,a diagonal crossing at intersections of streets, while another expressed the opinion that cyclists should he compelled to carry red lights at the back.

Finally one member related a misfortune he met with when, in trying to pas s some travelling stock. “I am not, a farmer,” he said, “and I don’t, know what to call it, hut it was someing between a cow and a calf, .and it sat down on the mudguard.” “What sort of a. car were you driving ” inquired a sympathetic listener. “A good car,” was the reply. “It was a Ford.’