THE HONGKONG
MY PLAN TO REDUCE ROAD RISKS.
By Sir Malcolm Campbell
to
TELEGRAPH. MOTORING
Road Hogs
I have given the subject a great deal of thought, and, with a con- alderable experience of all kinds of vehicles from the bicycle to the fast motor-car, I do not think that directed repressive legislation against any one class of traffic will help. We already have that, and et nccidents increase. My post-bag this week has been only the motorist but every other
What, now, are the fault to be laid at the door of the drivers of a heavy one, and most of the letters elus of rond user.
of have been provoked by my remarka We cannot go into this blindly.wheeled vehicles? We must last week on the subject of rond Any new laws which may emerge necessity take the motorist ürst accidents.
must be the result of careful and endeavour to discover his Most of my correspondents are, thought by people who know ali basic faults, why he commits them, in the main, in agreement with the the conditions, and who will bring and how they are to be eliminated. their task not only expert There is one class of motorist views I then expressed, and cape- clally with the standpoint that re-knowledge, but a completely un-whe errs because he has no con- unsideration for other users of the sponsibility for road accidents biassed mind-if anyone in
road. Fortunately, he and she, must be regarded as a matter of biassed in this matter.
The body I have Visualised for there are female rond hogs as general rather than specific con- cern. That is to say, if we are to might be a permanent committee well as males in a very small should be given reduce the numbers of such neel of the Safety Firat Council, but minority. He dents, it will only be through the what I fear is that questions of very short shrift Indeed. I should of general safety, with which we are have no complaint if a third con- whole-hearted co-operation
he almost viction for really dangerous driv- every class of read-user and not not concerned would through imposing more and more bound to obtrude themselves and log carried with it an automatic the restictions upon the motorist only, obscure the main issue of safety permanent cancellation of
First of all, I should like to re-en the roads, which is all such a driving licence. fer to a letter I have received from body should consider. That does the National Safety First Council, not alter the fact that some such with particular reference to my holy is necessary if the problems
Rond User's are to be solved,
whole
ה
DI to consider the
suggestion Lengue
seek a remedy.
SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY, JULY 9, 1932.
It
The learner is generally almost ultra-cautious to begin with. is when he begins to consider him self an able driver that his want of experience is apt to be a dan- ger to himself and to others. It is at that stage that he should think' of "Safey First.".
Here we have a clear case of the value of eduction as against re-;
You cannot legislate pression.
as I will call the "novice-expert," him, into carefulness, but you can educate him unless he has the makings of a road-hog, and in that case you can deal with him.
Dangerous Neglect
What I do regard as a very ser- lous danger is the type of car owner who persistently neglects hla cara, allowing it to degenerate into something which is a definite danger. I am tired of hearing "failure of the brakes" given as the explanation of a minor neel- dent. The brakes on a modern car do act if they are properly maintained, and there is a prima facie case of criminal negligence against a person who uses this ex- cute,
Another explanation that is some- times given for an accident is that Nina gear falled. U steering times out of ten the cause is some- the thing different, but even in tenth case the steering gear has no business to fall. It shows want of proper care in maintemince, and Ese in it the source of more ac-
Dangers of Inexperience Doubtless it will be asked: Why not cancel the licence on the first conviction for dangerous conduct? In eeking for the causes of The answer is that what may be question of road neridents and to vident which we must do before considered dangerous driving by we can begin to consider remedies witness may not in fact be I think the first thing we have to dangerous at all, and I think that The council, of its secretary, appears to think that more the do is to recognise frankly and fear before you can stamp a person as
a habitually useful work which has been done itely that, unfortunate as it may bring by it and that there is really so, be it is impossible ever to elimin-driver there should be a certaincidents than are ever traced to it. need for any other organisation to ale altogether the toll of the rond. amount of deal with the matter.
dangerous
cumulative evidence. ramat bape for perfection. In any case, I do not think the real but we can travel some way along road-hog presents many difficul- I had not forgotten the council the road to it if we tackle the pro-ties. He can well be dealt with when I made my suggestion. 1blem in earnest, which, I submit, Lander existing laws. realise that it has dope an enor jus have not done hitherto. mous amount of good work, and I look to it to continue along its present lines of working for the enuse of safety in everything.
New Code Needed
Causes of Trouble
<i
It should be an offence to drive; car which is not at least 85 per cent, elrient. More accidents, i believe, happened because of avoid- able defects in curs than through A great deal of the trouble is carrless driving. I should not ob- enused
the by
Inexperienced ject to seeing the law tightened upi driver, though I am inclined to in this respect.. What are the causes of rond ae- | doubt whether he is responsible There is before the House of eident? First. I would put varej for all that is laid to his charge. Lords HOW Lord Buckmaster's less driving, including every class have never been involved in a Road Traffic Bill, which seeks to of wheeled vehicle, and careless road accident in which personal place all the responsibility for e- Its educative progranda has cer¦riding by cyclists and moter-injury was suffered by anybody cidents on the driver until the lat tainly accomplished much, and I|evelists. Second, careless walking, concerned. Yet, in common with ter can clear himself. To my mind. agree that its work has been ef- Third, dangerous road surfaces, everybody else, I had my own, the Bill contributes nothing to the fectively done and has resulted in All these can be subulivided- the period of learning.
cause of anfety. Here again all a higher degree of safety, not only first almost indefinitely into very i We all know dozens of motorists the attention is directed at the per- on the roads of the country, but varied denil.
whose record is equally clean.
son and the vehicle is left out also in industry and even in the
Let us examine our first pro-None of these was involved in sor-calculation, home.
his The league I have suggested position, which may-and say ions accident while gaining My reason for suggesting that a
may advisedly-be found on close experience, so why should things would take into account not only completely
he different now? new organisation
the motorist but the eyells and the should be formed to concern inquiry to be the most prolific source of accident. It is passible
Modern Cars Safer
pedestrian, since both of these con- self with highway matters is that that a close analysis by such a
tribute to the dangers of the high- I consider the terms of reference.
There is a partial answer. know, so as to say, of the Safety First body as 1 have suggested would had that the higher percentage of
In the days when we who way. It may well be that the in- nate conservatism of the British Council, are too wide to permit it accidents is caused by the careless are now old stagers in motoring to concentrate sufficiently upon this one problem of safety on the pedestrain. We do not know, and were learning the ropes, there was people may defeat the plan. The cannot know until we have a tri-nothing like the volume of traffic non-motoring scetions of the com- I am not criticising the council.bunal which will sift every record on the roads there is to-day, and munity may decline to agree I entirely agree with the policy of ed accident and arrive at the bed-n the meantime not only has that any all-embracing scheme of trattic regulation. In tiut case we must educating people to be careful at rock facts,
face the appalling prospect of the all times and in all circumstances, Without that information I hold
continuance of the present toll of but I am here concerned only with the view that it is the faults of
Undoubtedly, the roads are far the ronds. I do not however, think the question of road accidents and those in charge of wheeled trattle more dangerous now for the novice 80 poorly of our national contnon |
be the problem of reducing their which cause the major number of driver, but against that can
accidents. I that is so, why is it, said that modern cars, numbers and their seriousness.
though A complete recasting of high-and how are the conditions to be faster, are also safer. Balancing way legislation must be contem-improved? By restrictive legis the factors ag unst each other, I plated and the new code will havelation, or by education, or by a think there is probably very little to bring within its purview not combination of both"
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10
The third contributory factor fu! road accidents is dangerous surfag. ing, of which there is far too much.
know-and so dues every mator, ist of stretches of main road! which after a shower of rain are! veritable death traps for every kind of traffic. This is a matter for the road surveyors of the dis- tricts concerned, though I do not agree that the precise methods of surfacing busy roads should be left to the indivual or even to the local
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authority. They should be laid character of the road surface, would down by the Ministry of Transport,carry with it at least civil, in cer- which should have power to enforce tain cases even criminal, Hability against the body or person respon- adherence to its specifications,
sible for the maintenance of the road surface.
Skidless Roads
There
are plenty of materials and methods which ensure a skid- leus rond in any weather, and it should be enacted that after a cer- tain date any accident involving in. jury to persons, traceable to the
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THE RELIABILITY OF Recently
BUICK CARS.
a Minnesota fa forwarded Home photogr showing the all around ០៨ was making of his Buick, ab about the age of retirement the average car. It was bla f Buick. He used it he said, to out stumps, pull over trees a for identification. It haut his grain binder, "a B
for П four
Continued from Page 2
It cannot be done to-morrow, or even the next day, but one of the and drove it over to the proving tasks of my new organisation would grounds certainly be to examine thoroughly proved to be a 1912 model rond-foot binder
A wagon body had been hitch." He had cloaned up a this question of responsibility for ster.
itacre field of oats in six hour the ronds and to recommend legis-built in behind the seats so lation to deal with it.
feculd be used to haul produce.
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