5,000 KILLED EACH YEAR

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 537, 14 December 1928, Page 9

5,000 KILLED EACH YEAR

GRIM TOLL OF MOTOR PRIVATE BILL IN LORDS (Australian and N.Z. Press Association) (United Service) LONDON, Wednesday. In the House of Lords to-day Viscount Cecil moved the second reading of the Road Vehicles Bill, the object of which is to reduce accidents. The Bill provides that driving licences shall be granted only after an examination in skill and physical fitness, that drivers must insure against third party risks, and that a licence shall be suspended automatically in the event of the holder’s conviction on a charge of dangerous or incompetent driving. Lord Cecil d€*scribed the present position as incredibly serious. He said 5,000 persons were killed and 150,000 were injured every year in road accidents. The dangers of the road were an outrage on humanity and a disgrace to civilisation. Lord Denman, a former GovernorGeneral of Australia, moved the rejection. Ho said he agreed with the necessity for stiffening the law', but motoring bodies held that the Bill would increase the number of accidents. The Marquess of Londonderry, on behalf of the Government, said everyone agreed that a motor Bill was necessary, but the regulations must be sympathetic, and must not hinder a young and flourishing industry. As a Royal Commission was considering the points raised by Lord Cecil, the Government considered it undesirable to legislate until the commission had made its report.