FT. —40.

Pedestrian and cyclist accidents at night were much more frequent during the winter months than in the summer. In the months from April to October there were 344 pedestrian casualties at night as compared with 266 during daylight, and in the months of June and July 124 pedestrians were killed or injured at night and only 66 in the daytime. An analysis of the 113 pedestrian night accidents during these two months reveals the following facts : — (i) One such accident proved fatal for every seven where some one was injured. (ii) In 91. cases the pedestrian was crossing the roadway —in 73 instances without exercising due care. (iii) In 16 instances the pedestrian was intoxicated. (iv) In 70 cases the main fault lay with the pedestrian, in 37 cases with the motorist, and in 6 cases dazzling lights were blamed. There were, in addition, 74 other contributory causes consisting also of faults on the part of the motorist, pedestrians, and vehicle lights. (v) Inattentive driving by the motorist was his most frequent fault contributing to the accidents. The weather was wet at the time of 42 of the 113 accidents. The bicyclist does not use the roads after dark to as great an extent as the pedestrian, but, nevertheless, throughout the year nearly 30 per cent, of the cyclists involved in accidents were injured during the hours of darkness. From April to July 163 cyclist casualties occurred at night and 232 in the daytime. Figure 7 shows the numbers of pedestrians and cyclists killed or injured at night each month as compared with the monthly daylight figures. Generally the severity of accidents is greater at night than during daylight. In the daytime there was 1. fatal accident for 23 non-fatal, but at night every fifteenth accident proved fatal. Although only 36 per cent, of all accidents happened at night, over 47 per cent, of the fatal accidents occurred at dusk or dark. The proportion of night accidents is very similar in town and country areas, as evinced by Table H.

Table H.—Classification of Accidents in Built-up and other Areas according to Light Conditions.

The following measures suggest themselves as being vital for improving conditions of safety at night (i) Provision of a modern highway lighting system on rural highways carrying a considerable volume of night traffic. (ii) Improvement of the standard of street lighting in the cities and other towns. (iii) Proper adjustment, maintenance, and control of headlights on motor-vehicles. (iv) Exercise of greater care on the part of motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists alike (a) Motorists should drive at a reduced speed to allow for the great reduction in visibility at night. (b) The pedestrian should remember that the motorist often cannot see him and should make allowance accordingly. For his own protection it is desirable that light-coloured clothing be worn at night by a pedestrian. A light-coloured overcoat (or stockings) will reveal the presence of a pedestrian under conditions where one clad in darker clothes would be quite invisible to the driver of a motor-vehicle. (c) The cyclist, as well as riding with greater care, should ensure that his bicycle is fitted with an efficient reflector and the regulation white mudguard. As an addition to the reflector a red-tail light is recommended. Also, just as the pedestrian may improve his chances of being seen by the wise choice of light-coloured clothing, so may the cyclist.

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Number of Accidents. Light Condition. Built-up Areas. Areas not Built up. All Areas. Fatal " fata": Tota] " Fatal ' | fata"'. TotaL Katal - Sj I Total. Daylight .. .. . .. 51 1,732 1,783 67 931 998 118 2,663 2,781 Dusk .. .. .. 3 117 120 9 52 61 12 169 181 Dark .. .. .. 48 877 925 47 449 496 95 1,326 1,421 Tota l •• •• •• 102 2,726 2,828 123 1,432 1,555 225 4,158 4,383