THE TOLL OF THE ROADS
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]
Sul,—No one is better qualified to advise what should be done to make the roads safe than Lord Brentford, but to one who has driven a motor three hundred miles per week for the last twenty years in one of the most thickly-populated districts of this country, the fact that he with his knowledge attributes the heavy casualty list to speed and inconsideration of drivers comes as a surprise.
During my twenty years of motoring I have had three
accidents, which except for a merciful Providence should have proved fatal to the other party : (I) I was passing a stationary tramcar at 7 m.p.h. when a boy on a bicycle, who had ridden up a side street, suddenly appeared across my bow from behind the tram. The fact that I was able to pull my car up in its own length did not prevent the boy from disappearing under my radiator and coming out behind between the back wheels of my car, having suffered no more serious damage than the total destruction of his bicycle. (2) I was driving dead slow along a main street in a large town when a woman carrying a large parcel stepped off the pavement, slipped up in the gutter and butted the radiator of my car. Nothing but the large parcel and a high crowned hat saved her life. (3) A motor cyclist approaching me on a wet road skidded and upset, and he and his machine slid several yards along the road and crashed into me ; but by a quick swerve I was able to avert a more serious accident than two burst tyres which were struck by some part of his machine.
In neither of these cases was speed the cause of the accident, nor could I be accused of inconsiderateness. I have narrowly escaped serious accidents on several other occasions, but I can remember no instances when speed or inconsideration was the cause of the trouble, though I drive at 50-60 m.p.h. when circumstances permit.
Accidents invariably arise from the unexpected happening,
e.g., a child suddenly running out of a house abutting on the road, a cyclist without a rear light or suddenly changing direction, a motor 'bus stopping to pick up passengers without warning, a nervous driver, perhaps a beginner, dis- organizing the natural flow of traffic by an error of judgement, or the painstaking and cautious slow driver who is always making difficulties for himself and others owing to inability to react quickly to a situation as it arises.
Surely the first step to make the roads safer is to tabulate and publish the causes of all accidents in each year under definite headings, viz., the number of accidents due to speed, inconsiderate driving, motor 'buses and tramcars, cyclists, fog, skidding, unskilful driving and want of reasonable pre- cautions on the part of pedestrians and children, &c. Such figures would condemn where condemnation is deserved : they would be a guide and a warning to the motoring and non-motoring public alike, and they would provide informa- tion on which well-considered steps could be taken in the
interest of safety.—I am, Sir, &c., J. H. PARDOE. Fill House, Cawthorne, Barnsley.
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