ROAD MISHAPS

Shannon News, 17 February 1928, Page 1

ROAD MISHAPS

ANALYSIS OF CAUSE. PKJJESTRIANS WHO ASK FOR TROUBLE. I think every motorist would do well to scciu-e and retain for reference a copy of Lieutenant-Colonel Packard's admirable paper, "A Review of Road Accidents: Frequency, Cause, and prevention," read at the recent Public Works, Roads and Transport Congress, held at Olympia (says a motoring: writer). It is a fascinating and illuminating booklet of reference, which has furnished me with many a half-hour of interest and instruction. There are in it hard facts —scores, hundreds of them. It is easy and well to preach "Safety first," but ber e we see exactly where "Unsafety first"' has wrought the trouble, and know exactly what to avoid. Take, for instance, his analysis of the causes of G 25 fatal motoring accidents that occurred in Great Britain in two months only, June and July of last year. They are figures forthcoming from coroners' inquests. I Human Element.

■lt is interesting to learn that faults in thy vehicles, such as defective equipment, lights, and so forth, are responsible for only 3.2 per cent, of these fatal accidents. It is the human element that is chiefly at fault, and I would like to remind ray readers that fatal accidents which might have been avoided by drivers are as many as 36 per cent of the whole, while pedestrians have caused 34 per cent. All sorts of reasons are given to

show how pedestrians brought about the fatalities. The chief are careless crossing of the roads-, steping off foot-

paths, children running out heedlessly and so forth. Nothing but home and school education will train up the rising generation to a proper sense of road care. What about the driving, however, in which the ordinary motorist is keenly interested in? There can be no excuse for the two greatest sins proved against the drivers involved in tragedies. Here are the crimes:— Per cent. Excessive speed 12.9 Inattention ••• 6.2 Carelessness at load junctions 4.3 On the wrong side 3.6 Cutting-in 2 - 5 • Failure to sound hoi-n ... 1.8 Inexperience 1 -^ Pillion—lost control 1.2 Miscellaneous 2 -2 Road Hogs. The old question of "What is or what is not excessive speed?" is naturally bound to arise, but Lieutenant Colonel Pickard has cut the ground from under the feet of road hogs, who are always full of excuses, by tabulating under this head only cases of excessive speed "having regard to all circumtsances."

I am with him in the opinion he expresses that "one or two road hogs caught and cxcmplarily punished will do more to clear the road of dangerous driving than thousands of prosecutions for minor technical offences (Unaccompanied by danger."

He advocates a small force of experienced mobile traffic police, with ample traffic knowledge, tact, and discrimination, to deal with these people. Excessive speed and reckless driving will, however, have to be more strictly defined . The 20 m.p.h. limit does not meet the situation, as everybody knowa '-■ .. ■ ; ?