XN000022-1984-08-07 — Page 3

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 7, 1984

HE SAID THAT ALL ROADS FROM AUGUST 25 WILL BE SUBJECT TO A D-KILOMETRE AN HOUR SPEED LIMIT UNLESS THERE ARE SIGNS INDICATING

-IGHER OR LOWER LIMIT.

BUT WHEN THE NEW LEGISLATION IS INTRODUCED ON AUGUST 25, A BLANKET SPEED OF 50 KILOMETRES AN HOUR FOR ALL ROADS WILL COME INTO EFFECT FOR THREE DAYS.

''DURING THIS THREE-DAY PERIOD ALL EXISTING SPEED SIGNS WILL

'' MR MCCOSH SAID. BE REMOVED AND REPLACED BY THE NEW METRIC SIGNS,'

UNDER THE NEW LEGISLATION, 70 KILOMETRES (43 MPH) IS THE HIGHEST SPEED PERMITTED AND ONLY ON ROADS WITH SIGNS INDICATING THIS, HE ADDED.

INTRODUCED AT THE SAME TIME WILL BE THE NEW DRIVING OFFENCE POINTS SYSTEM UNDER WHICH CERTAIN OFFENCES, INCLUDING SPEEDING, CROSSING DOUBLE WHITE LINES AND FAILING TO COMPLY WITH TRAFFIC SIGNALS, ALL OF WHICH REFLECT BAD DRIVING AND ARE ACCIDENT CAUSATION FACTORS, WILL ATTRACT PENALTY POINTS.

TURNING TO TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS FOR THE SECOND QUARTER OF THIS YEAR, MR MCCOSH SAID HE WAS PLEASED TO NOTE A CONTINUAL DECREASE FOR THE EIGHTH CONSECUTIVE QUARTER.

THE NUMBER OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS FOR THE PERIOD WAS 4 054, REPRESENTING A 5.6 PER CENT DROP OVER THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.

CASUALTIES FOR THE QUARTER AGAINST THE SAME PERIOD IN 1983 DROPPED FROM 5 828 TO 5 477, A DECREASE OF SIX PER CENT OVERALL.

THE MOST MARKED AND WELCOME DECREASE WAS IN THE SERIOUS CATEGORY WITH A 21.4 PER CENT DROP IN ACCIDENTS AND A 24.4 PER CENT DROP IN CASUALTIES, MR MCCOSH NOTED.

BUT THE NUMBER OF FATAL ACCIDENTS HAS INCREASED BY THREE TO THE MOST SIGNIFICANT INCREASE WAS IN KOWLOON WITH 13 MORE ACCIDENTS AND 15 MORE FATALITIES.

80.

THE PEDESTRIAN REMAINED MOST AT RISK AMONG OTHER ROAD USERS. THEY MADE UP 33.8 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL CASUALTIES AND 67.1 PER CENT OF THE FATALITIES, MR MCCOSH REPORTED.

REFERRING TO CASUALTIES BY AGE GROUP, HE SAID THE 20-30 YEARS RECORDED THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE AT 35.4 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL.

MR MCCOSH NOTED THAT DRIVERS WERE NOT DRIVING WITH DUE CARE AND CONSIDERATION FOR OTHER ROAD USERS.

ESPECIALLY

''DRIVERS MUST MAKE ALLOWANCE FOR THE PEDESTRIAN, THE ELDERLY AT THE KERBSIDE THEIR MOVEMENTS ARE NOT ALWAYS PREDICTABLE AND SOMETIMES THE IR REACTIONS ARE SLOW. LESS AGGRESSION AND MORE CONSIDERATION SHOULD BE THE ORDER OF THE DAY.''

/ON WEARING