SPEED BEFORE SAFETY

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 107, 27 July 1927, Page 16

SPEED BEFORE SAFETY

“SCENES” AT CARLAW PARK INCONSIDERATE MOTORISTS “Disgraceful” is the way conscientious motorists describe the rush of cars away from the Canada v. New Zealand Soccer match at Carlaw Park on Saturday. r PHE “scene” at the junction of Stanley Street and the Domain Drive as the huge crowd began to flock away has been the subject of complaints lodged with the Auckland Automobile Association. The A.A.A. for years past has been endeavouring to educate the motoring public in the rudimentary rules of “Safety First” driving. Many of the drivers were recognised as motorists of at least several years’ standing, so that the display was not due to ignorance, but to impatience and intolerance. Cars which had been parked on the wet grass on the side of the Domain Drive were backed out, often skidding sharply into the dense crowd walking away from the match. To complete the confusion other drivers were endeavouring to force a passage through the pedestrians, who had to walk on one side because of cars which had been left standing on the actual roadway. Even worse was the scene on the hill between Stanley Street and Grafton Road. The lower corner was continually “cut” at speed, and cars dashed up the hill sometimes four abreast, dodging round on the wrong side or cutting in ahead in an endeavour to save a fraction of a second. Cars stalled on the steep slope and backed down on others following. An onlooker, an old time motorist, used to extending the courtesies of the road, described the scene as disgraceful. Many numbers were taken and the help of the traffic department of the Auckland City Council is being sought to prevent a repetition after any big matches.