MOTORISTS AND PEDESTRIANS
Sta,—Your paragraph concerning the " Record Road Carnage " ends with a recommendation that the carnage should be miti- gated by compelling pedestrians to carry torches in the black- out. It does not occur to you that the other causers of the carnage should be called on to make any contribution to safety. Consider red rear lights for bicycles. The legal prescription of them has led a car-driver to justify the running-down of a cyclist who did not carry such a light. The judge ruled against the car-driver and gave the cyclist damages. But the case illustrates the common assumption of the car-driver that he is not expected to adjust his speed to his lights. Indeed, the authorities do not expect that. There has been no compulsory revision of time-schedules for omni- buses, goods-carriers, &c., in the black hours. There has been little exhortation, still less any compulsion, for any motor- vehicle to avoid travel in those hours. No doubt, inconveni- ence would be caused by-banishing from the roads during the black-out all cars which could not plead necessity, and by making those which travel then adjust their speeds to their
lights. But have not enough lives been lost? Even exhorta- tion, without compulsion, would effect something. Surely, thousands of decent car-drivers would respond. So far, the authorities have encouraged them to believe that the record carnage is the other fellow's fault. Remember that the negli- gent pedestrian or cyclist is apt to kill himself, the negligent motorist apt to kill someone else. In the statistics for 1936-37 about 35 per cent. of the deaths on the roads were attributed to the faults of " drivers," 38 per cent. to pedestrians, and 16 per cent. to cyclists. About 8 out of the 38 per cent. of pedestrians were children under seven, irresponsible. Is it not time for the " drivers " (including motor-cyclists and the drivers of all kinds of motor-vehicles) to make some effort? Would not the revision of time-schedules be a good beginning?
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