Mr. Hore-Belisha's silence zones will be a risky experi- ment,
at first at any rate, and 11.30 is to my mind too early for the silence-period. By midnight the theatre traffic has pretty much dispersed and that extra half-hour would make all the difference. Headlight-flashes can only replace hooters effectively on a dark road, not in brilliantly-lighted Central London. A certain amount of hooter-warning is essential for safety while narrow streets, e.g., St. Martin's Lane, are still crowded both with cars and with pedestrians. And what is to be done about the pedestrian who suddenly steps off a pavement under an arc-light with his backAo oncoming traffic? The headlights would have no effect in such a case. • It is not reasonable to ask cars to crawl because they must not hoot. In the suburbs, where silence is much more needed than in Central London, the new plan will be more practicable. * * *
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