1932-03-29 — Page 12

WOMAN AT THE WHEEL.

MORE CAUTIOUS

THAN MAN.

HONG KONG DAILY PRESS TUESDAY, MARCH 29+ 193

SPARKS

FROM THE PLUGS

10 per cent, of all "escapes.".

After a day's motoring, get into talk with motorists whose memory of details there is no reason to

WHY NOT COLOURED ROAD doubt, and you will doubtions, hear of many "osenpes?, in a journey of 100 miles.

SURFACES?

BY CHILTERN

Women drivers, in England who ways the subject of criticism by men drivora. The hackneyed criti- cism is to say that: "When they are good they are very very good, and when they are had they are horrid."

now number obout 300,000 răą al-

What most of the critics forget is that the majority of women drivers nowadays have been brought up with machines and their average knowledge of driving and rond sense is as high as that of men.

The main complaint against wa men motoriste would appear to be their lack of caution. But ars they' less cautious than any other class

'STOP ROAD WAR."

chuse damage to life, limb, or pros perty. While Baution' is dumanded from main road drivers as well as from those emerging from a side RAIL CHIEFS SEE. MINISTER

OF TRANSPORT. road into of across & main road, it is obvious that the side road user

is the more likely of the two OCLAIM THAT COMPETITION IS encounter the traffic stronın.

This may not absolve the main road" user from approaching junc One notable fact in my motoring|tions with caution, "but the common- experience during the past few senso of the position should make wooks is that the most incautious the side road user realise he should driving occurs in any day between be the "mors prudent.

7 a,m, and' 9 am, and 4 p.m." to" 7

p.m.-at the beginning and the end of the day's work.

This applies to town, suburban and country roads alike, it seems ridiculous to say so, but in Lop- don, its suburbs and the country surrounding Thursday sooms to be the day for carelessness and lapses of judgment and concentration. If a record of all accidente on every day of the week in the London Metropolitan district could be kept I am sure Thursday would be found to be the worst day for motor damage to property and injury to!

Bad Relection.

person.

.1

of driver My daily road experi Some things need serious atten- ence leads me to the view that they tion if safer motoring, is to be deve are more cautious than men. If loped. One is the way in which an one takes the total number of acci- many car and van drivers emerge dents reported in which men are from side streets and lanes into involved and also, the number of main roads; another is the had re narrow escapes most drivers have flection of light from the car"tamps dnu duy, then the position calls on our ronds at night. for no bouquet for the men,

Narrow Escapes. Last summer the weekly journal, "The Motor," printed letters anr- rating "narrow ascapes," told with exceptional frankness, and gave a percentage table showing that in- cautious driving Was responsible for

Though the Highway Code (sup- posed to have been rent by "every driver, and learnt by him lays it down that to give way to traffic on the main road when emerging from side road is imperatve, it some as though some perverse influence wore impelling more and more motorists to ignoro this advice.

The law impose on all the duty to exorcise care where failure might

I

作

Black Surfaces.

No

ronda must come.

UNFAIR.

The British railway companies have told the Government that they are face to face with a crisis.

The cause of the crisis is the farco and over-increasing competi

Chiefs of the four railways inter-. jewad. Mr. P. J. Pybua, Minister of Transport, and urged him to take

1.

BORED DOG IN THE CAR.

OWNER NOT LIABLE FOR "FANTASTIC" RISKS.

The Law Lords have decided that n' moterias, who left an Airedale dog for an hour unattended in a car was not guilty of negligence.

MOTORIST ASKS TO BE SUMMONED.

POLICE CAUTION THAT

WAS RESENTED,

A motorist was summoned at Croydon at his own request.

Mr. Arthur H. Pena, & banker, "of Wilton-eroscent, W., received a Gletter from the Cimmissioner of Police that he had been reported for

When a pedestrian (Mr. O. Fardon, of Wembley) was passing, the dog broke the small Sin. window at the rear of the car and a splinter entered Mr. Fardon's aye, destroy ing the sight.

WAA

to the House of Lords.

alleged careless driving, and that although no further stops would be taken, the matter would have to be

takan into account should ho bo

In regard to night driving I betion of road transport, which is lieve that the dangers of black causing the railways huge loss of surfaced roads will increase

business.

In the King's Bench Division he again reportedi much that white, yellow, brown or red-surfaced The present blacksurfaced road in

awarded £2,000 damages Mr. Pena replied that as he can. against Mr. and Mrs. Harcourtsidered there was not the slightest dry weather absords more than half

Rivington, of Langham-street, W. ground for the allegation, he desired the power of cur's light. Lamps surfaces completely. When the sur-

The Appeal Court reversed this de the proceedings to go on." He was action. uf 100 watts do not illuminate the

Lord Churchill (Great Western)cision, and Mr. Fardon appealed faces are wet illumination is only led the deputation and was accom-

I therefore summoned. Lord Dunedis, giving judgment, With the lamps of the average car

It was stated that he overtook two about 30 per cent. of the normal.

panied by Sir Herbert Walker said the dog had no vicious propen-cars on a narrow road where there it is almost impossible, on thou-(Southern)," Sir Josiah Stamp. sities. The owners "stayed a long.

was a bend As he failed to slacken sands of miles of road, to pick out (L.M.S.), and dir Rulpa Wedgwooded the dog had jumped about in apead he was pulled up by a con- any dark object, and as most people wear dark clothes in

(L.N.E). winter the, danger, is obvious.

The Miniator asked that certain What colour means to night drivstatistics should be prepared by the ing is seen by every motorist who railway companies in conjunction passes from a dark-surfaced, un-

with his own officials and promised that on receipt of these further con

No one could be expected to fore- sideration would be given to the

Bog that the dog might hit the matter.

window at such an angle that a The Government, I gather; spices of glass, would be projected not prepared to initiate action, into the eye of a passer-by There was no neglected duty which could although it would consider sup- be fastened on the defendants: porting any more. made by the. railways themselves for a corTBO- tion of the position.

gritted road to a gritted road. On the gritted road illumination is doubled and every object is clear. I bave not heard any reason why we should not have white, yellow, Such enloured surfaces mean groat brown or even pink-surfaced ronds.

or safety all round.

Much of the incautious night dri ving I attribute to the needless mud-slinging by rear wheels, plas tering the windscreens and lamp lenses of the car behing with thick mud,

This is a matter which should have been ramedied, long ago by makers. To retain adequate visibi lity, though double wipers are t ted, is difficult, and in many cosas: the risk is preferred to the troubles of getting out in the "rain to clean. the screen.

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The railway companies' case may be summarised thus

We, paying large sums in rates and taxation, are having to face the competition of road transport, ". which pays nothing like the amount, either towards the upkeep. bf roads or in any other form of taxation. This amounts to die. rimination against the railways and in favour of road transport., We ask that the Government shall take some action to equalise the burden.

The case for road transport is, briefly:-

We pay our fair shares of the cost of roads, through Road Fund licences, and we have also to pay petrol tax. There should be no Government action which would result in the stifling, of a modern and efficient form of transport, "either of goods or passengers.

The railways argue that wharsas: the year ended March 31, -1920- (the latest complete figures avail able), local authorities, spent about £57,500,000 on roads, only £17,000,000 came from grants from the Road Fund that is from motor licences-- the remaining £40,500,000 coming from local rates. A further £2,000,- 000 went on policing and signalling the rouds, all of this coming from the local rates,

Taxpayers and the Boada,

In the nine years to. 1920 the sum spent on roads was £400,000,000, of which Laa9,000,000 fell on local Tatcs,

Over the same period motor users paid £14,000,000 in patrol duty, but none of this, according to the rail- way companies, went to pay for ronds.

It is further contended that the use of the roads for purposes other than mechanical transport are neg ligible in prosent conditions from the point of view of highways ex penditure..

The railways claim that rare- payers--including themselves--||| should be relieved of their:con=" tributions towards local rates for the purposes" of maintaining the roads, and that the total : cost- should be transferred, to` · road:: #users, socording to the wear and :steur dansed by their rakiales 20 de Thon is to justice, they claim" in foreing local ratepayers to pay for transport which bears no Talk ́tion, to local' needs..

The whole problem - may be

brought to the attention of Patha ment in the near future.

time away, and before they roturn-

the car and broken a window.

Dogs got bored just as human stable, and a car rem into bin car beings did, and the hark was the from behind. dog's ordinary expletive. The dog. Mr. Penn said that he had been might have been irritated by pass-driving for 25 years without any era-by who spoke to him in "way that a well-bred dog would consider previous offence or accident. an insult.

He

had not even been checked in, any way by the police. When the road was clear 200 or more yards ahead, he began to overtake a car, but a constable stepped out into the road and signalled to him to stop. He Persons were required by law to did this quickly, and he attributed guard against reasonable prob the collision that followed to the abilities, but were not bound" to guard against fantastic possibilities. constable's unjustified interferencs The appen! must be dismissed with The Bench commented on the con-

costs.

Lords Warrington, Atkin, Mac-eting evidences and diamliped the millan and Thankerton agreed. Case,

The “A¡À? View, A representative of the Auto mobile Association" said :-“ Thế? system which has been followed for some time past by the Commissioner of Police of auing warnings, in- stead of summonses, in what are considered to be miner infringe- manta, has worked admirably. :

"On the whole the motorista pre fer receiving a onutionary lotter

and oscope a prosecution when they feel that they may have offended

genuinely.

47

<1 Of course, there are disadvan

tages in all systeme, and when a

motorist feels he has not been at fault, it is best for him to contest the complaint,"

A Scotland Yard official stated:---- The system has boon in force for two years. Most motorists prefer it The Croydon case will be given attention with regard to the cons finuance of the system."

ATTEMPT TO CLIMB PIZ FORA

GERMAN ENGINEER KILLED

IN AN AVALANCHE,

St. Moritz, March 71.-A Gorman engineer, from Munich was killed to-day when a party of three who started to climb the Piz Fors, a 11,000-feet peak in the Engadine valley, were overwhelmed by an avalanche..

The other two men of the party mselves managed to extricate them

and return to sabety."

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