Neglect of the Highway . Code An examination of the latest
statistics of road accidents shows, according to the Ministry of Transport, that most of them could have been avoided if the principles of the new Highway Code had been obeyed, Hundreds of thousands of motorists, cyclists and pedestrians are still unaware of or indifferent to the fact that their right to drive potentially dangerous vehicles along the road, or to ride or walk on roads used by such vehicles, is subject to conditions to which they must conform in the public interest. The new order to halt on approach- ing a main road may be inconvenient, but it must be obeyed. Traffic in certain circumstances may seem to be unduly slowed down—but the rules are designed to save life, and complaints by motorists that they are put to some inconvenience by the Ministry's regulations will, unless the restrictions become grandmotherly, evoke scant sympathy. The efforts that have been made to stop the intolerable carnage -have not produced much result. They would have if the Highway Code, now made available to everyone, had been strictly observed. Hundreds of deaths and injuries would have been avoided. If the Code continues to be disregarded, only one course will be open to the authorities—to tighten up the means of instituting proceedings against offenders and to stiffen the penalties until the public learns how to behave. But it is still possible to achieve road-safety by other means.
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