Motorists Say —

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 18, 12 April 1927, Page 11

Motorists Say

CONTROL ALL ROAD USERS

Fifty per cent, of car accidents involving pedestrians are the fault of the pedestrians, who go free and often make a successful claim for damages. ,

A little consideration will show how anomalous it is that motor drivers should be controlled by a series of laws and regulations, while there is not a single one for the pedestrian. A foot-passenger can do no wrong. He may by his foolishness or carelessness endanger his own life and that of others, but by doing so he will not infringe any municipal or national regulation, and will not incur any legal responsibility. A LOCAL EXAMPLE Not so long ago a woman started to cross Queen Street

diagonally, passing behind a moving tramcar and cutting ahead of another travelling in the opposite direction, evidently expecting to find the hidden zone on the far side of the second tramcar free for her passage. But a motor-car was travelling in the same direction as the tramcar and overtaking it. To save the woman the motorist swerved and hit another motor-car standing at the kerb, risking injury to the occupants of his own and the other vehicle. The woman, who had escaped miraculously, who had dislocated traffic and had caused a loss of certainly not less than £ 10 to the car owners, was allowed to walk away unmolested, although she had broken every possible traffic rule. If and when suggestions for the eradication of “jay walking”are proposed for adoption, we expect they will cause a considerable outcry from pedestrians who prefer their own free-and-easy and dangerous methods. Yet these ideas are really practical, and would simplify the lot of drivers and add immeasurably to the safety of the general public. Too often, instead of seeking to bring about an all-round improvement, those who have influence endeavour to put all the responsibility on the shoulders of the motorist. It is necessary that reasonable traffic regulations should control all who use the streets. In a paper read before a recent conference at Manchester the reader claimed for tar. as a road material, remarkable anti-skidding properties. Surfaces in which it was used as a binder, he stated, gave a sureness of grip to all kinds of traffic, which was seldom achieved by any other waterproofing method. Other advantages were its economy and ease of working in construction and repair, and its durability und freedom from dust.

Professor Leru, of the natural science division of the University of Michigan, has been commissioned by Mr. Henry Ford, to make a survey of the Amazon River region with the view of selecting the best sites for rubber plantations which Mr. Ford proposes to establish in Brazil. America is much concerned because Great Britain has for some years controlled the rubber market of the world.

When very small screws have to be replaced it is often difficult to start them with the fingers. Electricians and watchmakers get over the difficult with forceps or magnetised screw-* drivers. Neither of these, however, is likely to be available in the toolbox, but. the difficulty can be got over as a general rule by covering the tip of the screwdriver with thick grease, to which the screw will adhere while it is being started.

I Have a friend who is an ardent motorist, yet he never strains my patience with recitals of the wonderful and incredible performances of his He is very reticent in that resject—almost taciturn, in fact. He doesn’t crow about how many pedestrians he nearly scared the wits out of in one day—not that he thinks the pedestrian has no wits either. o reiterated claim of this and that hill taken in high, or of perfect engine performance, or of extended miles on minute portions of fuel. None of this sort of stuff ever falls from his lips.

At least, not now. An unfeeling magistrate recently relieved him of his driver’s licence for six months.