N.Z.’S TRAFFIC PROBLEM

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 967, 9 May 1930, Page 8

N.Z.’S TRAFFIC PROBLEM

INCREASING NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS CONFERENCE TO BE HEID Press Association WELLINGTON, Thursday. “The public will not stand the increasing toll of accidents for ever,’’ said the Chief Justice, Sir Michael Myers, yesterday at Palmerston North, when urging caution on motorists. Speaking yesterday in similar veir, the Minister of Transport, the Hon. W. A. Veitch, said: “It is unnecessary ai this juncture to emphasise the mounting toll of life and property due to motor accidents. The newspapers remind us daily of the loss of human life and the damage to property, while our own knowledge indicates the great amount of human suffering that foU lows every serious accident. “The problem appears to be worldwide. Every country that has adopted motor transport to a*iy great extent has had to face a heavy loss in capital, human and economic. The officers of the Transport Department have been directing attention to the prevention of accidents since the inception of the department. The protection of life and property is the dominating principle in the administration of the traffic regulations. It has, however, been felt for some time that the accident problem should be submitted to more scientific treatment than is the case at present. “It is proposed, therefore, to convene a conference of interested parties to go into the question and, inter alia, to establish a comprehensive and reliable system of statistics which should yield complete information on every aspect of the problem.” Enforcement was as important as the law' said the Minister, and must be considered. Regulations, enforcement and penalty must, under a proper system, be brought into line.