CARE ON THE ROADS.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 August 1922, Page 4

CARE ON THE ROADS.

DUTY OF VEHICLE DRIVERS., A MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE. By Teleer»i>h.—Press Association. Auckland, Last Night. “It is a very unfortunate thing if juries are going to take one attitude to a half-caste Maori driving a brokendown -horse and cart along the road and 1 another to a gentleman who speeds in a motor-car along a highway. That, to rny mind, is deplorable,” said Mr. Justice Stringer at the .Supreme Court in considering sentence on Mutti Meremana, found guilty of manslaughter arising out of a collision on April 15 at Thames between a motor and a cart driven by him, and resulting in the death of Howell Richard Robert Williams. Counsel for the prisoner hoped His Honor would give due weight to the strong recommendation to mercy returned by the jury. Hi® Honor paused perceptibly and then appealed to Mr. Meredith (Crown Prosecutor) as to what could be said on the other side. “Unfortunately,” said Mr. Meredith, “there had been recently a considerable loss of ’life through road accidents, particularly in the Auckland district.” His Honor: n ln my experience case® exhibiting much greater negligence than that shown in this case have resulted, in acquital® by juries.” Mr. Meredith submitted it was necessary to take some notice of these occurrences, so that some respect might be paid to human life by the users of the highways. In passing sentence of three months’ imprisonment, His Honor said it was necessary in the public interest that persons using vehicles at any time on the highways should be impressed with the duty cast upon them iby the law to exercise reasonable care. In this particular case there was a far lees degree of serious negligence than in other cases he had heard in which the accused had been acquitted by juries. In this case it was difficult to decide who was the more negligent, whether the driver without lights who failed to see the motor with lights, or the motorist with lights who did not see the cart without lights. It was probably a combination of negligence on the part of both drivers. If accused were in a position to pay a heavy fine he would inflict it. He ■would take into consideration the recommendation of i the jury to mercy and. also the fact that Meremana was under the influence of liquor to a certain extent, and sentence him to a short term of imprisonment as a lesson to him and ethers of the imperative duty to exercise care on the roads.