Sessional_Paper_1946 — Page 75

71

Not only is there no general desire for a change in the Rule of the Road but, up to date, any press references that have appeared have been adverse to a change. The following is a leading article in the Hong Kong Sunday Herald of July 21st last:

"If no stronger reason can be advanced for a change in the rule of the road from left to right in Hong Kong than the opening of the Canton- Kowloon Highway, it is not easy to believe that the suggestion will command any considerable support. The vast majority of motor vehicles in the Colony (ignoring the jeeps) are built with the right hand drive designed for the left-of-the-road rules, and unless it is desired to discourage the importation of British cars, it may be hoped that this state of affairs will continue. This applies to omnibuses as well as private cars. At the same time, the Tramway Company would be put to considerable cost and inconvenience to meet the change while the adjustment of pedestrian traffic sense (in a community which has little anyhow) would call for a protracted publicity campaign. Several road corners would require to be realigned. All of this would be worth while if convincing reasons could be adduced in favour of the change-over. We fail to find them in the amount of traffic normally to be expected over the Canton-Kowloon Highway. A Lotice-board on the Kowloon side of the border announcing the Drive On The Left rule for the benefit of incoming traffic should surely suffice to meet any foreseeable difficulty.'

JJ

Regarding the 80 forward-control motor buses ordered by the Kowloon Motor Bus Company, the Manager of that Company has stated that to change these Tilling-Stevens forward-control buses over to left hand drive is impossible. Surely it is not suggested that the Kowloon public should be asked to wait until 1948 (see section 7 of the majority report) before the Kowloon Bus Company takes delivery of their 80 new buses.

To revert to the Tramways, not only is the Company but all responsible citizens must be seriously perturbed at the overloading of the tramcars and the lack of discipline on the part of a large number of a certain rough class who now defy motormen and con- ductors and insist on boarding overcrowded vehicles.

The Tramway Company (through two contractors) now believe it possible to get suitable material for providing iron gates for both sides of the third class platform. These gates would prevent step riding.

This work, in addition to the gradual provision of heavy cowls to prevent bumper riding, is now being put in hand at a cost of $1,000 per car.

Surely this is not a time to ask that Company to superimpose on this work the much greater task of converting its rolling stock to the right-hand rule of the road.

This is a course which, to us, appears untenable and hopeless. We believe that the majority of people in the Colony would consider a reversal of our rule of the road as wholly unnecessary and unjustified.

We are, Sir,

Yours faithfully,

L. C. F. BELLAMY.

C. B. ROBERTSON.

Page 75Page 76