A DANGEROUS PRACTICE.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 January 1920, Page 4

A DANGEROUS PRACTICE.

HANGING BEHIND MOTOR LORRIES. PROHIBITORY BY-LAW TO BE ENFORCED. The New Plymouth Borough Engineer (Mr. W. H. Cook) has written to the Town Clerk calling attention to the all too common, yet dangerous, practice of children hanging on to the back of the borough motor lorry. In the course of his letter Mr- Cook says:— "Recently I followed the lorry and three children were hanging on. Two let go early enough to prevent injury to themselves and maintain their balance when alighting upon the road, but the third hung on too long and upon leaving hold- the hoy rolled over and over diagonally towards the water table bruising his face badly. In another case a lad's face was severely cut open, hi neither of these cases was the driver aware of anything of the sort happening: in fact he learned of both of the cases cited only by chance the following day. Grave danger exists in such cases of children being run over by passing vehicles, and in the event of a fatality, when perhaps the unfortunate driver has not witnesses, he may be held responsible, although quite ignorant of what actually took place," Tn a footnote to the letter the Town Clerk (Mr. F. T. Bellringer) says: "The above practice is an ofl'enco against Borough By-Laws, punishable by a fine not exceeding £2O, The Borough Inspector will be instructed bv the Council to enforce the by-law in future."