The deplorable statistics of road-accidents in December point to one
instructive conclusion. Though the number of adult pedestrians killed was 746 in December, 1939, as against 321 in December, 1938, an increase of over 230 per cent., the number of adult cyclists killed was, curiously enough, precisely the same in each month, viz., 116. That is a striking fact, for there were almost certainly more bicycles on the road in December, 1939, than in December, 1938, since many former motorists now propel them- selves. Proportionately, therefore, cyclists have fared not worse, but better, in December, 1939, than in 1938. This can only mean one thing, that since cyclists are now compelled to carry rear lamps, as they were not a year ago, the black-out has involved them in none of the extra risks to which pedestrians are subject. One moral of that is that pedestrians should be required to illuminate themselves, like cyclists, by carrying torches.
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