“Taranaki Central Press” MONDAY, MAY 17, 1937. ROAD ACCIDENT CAUSES

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 435, 17 May 1937, Page 4

“Taranaki Central Press” MONDAY, MAY 17, 1937. ROAD ACCIDENT CAUSES

"We find that some 50 per cent, of the accidents happen on straight roads,” said Captain Hudson, Parliamentary Secretary to the British Minister of Transport, speaking in the House of Commons on the result produced by an analysis of I 00,000 road accidents. “This makes one rather wonder whether faulty construe tion of roads is the most important of the factors dealing with road accidents, or something else which is causing the serious number of accidents we continue to have.

“Taking the main causes of accidents, some 33 per cent, are caused by motors, some 28 per cent, by pedestrians, and some 26 per cent, by cyclists. Incidentally, last month’s figures which show that 321 persons were killed on unrestricted as against 140 on restricted roads, reveal how unwise it would be to rely on the speed limit alone for preventing road accidents.

“In the case of restricted roads only 2 per cent, proved fatal, as against 4 per cent, on the unrestricted roads, which, of course, proves that people, if I may put it that way are bit harder on the unrestricted roads and, therefore, the percentage of fatal accidents is greater. But lam making that point only to show that we cannot rely on the speed limit alone to bring about a large reduction of accidents."