Dipped Headlamps Save Lives
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A FTER DARK road deaths in .1—k Birmingham during the . five-month winter period of that city's dipped-headlamp campaign showed a 49 per cent reduction over the figures for the corresponding period the previous winter. This is one of the striking results in the full interim report of the experiment issued on Monday by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, who is forwarding a copy to the Minister of Transport " confident in the belief that the use of dipped headlights on a national scale woted show a substantial reduction in accid.:nts at night
In acknowledging the report, Mr. Marplcs said that he was particularly glad to see the reduction of accidents but would not commit himself to a national experiment; he would await with interest the outcome of further studies being carried out by the Road Research Laboratory, It is understood that the report of these studies is not expected until the end of August—which leaves little time for organizing the suggested nation-wide experiment next winter.
When it is considered that the Birmingham experiment was on a voluntary basis organized by the local authorities in co-operation with the police and local bodies, the results are the more remarkable. They show an after-dark record of: 138 fewer accidents .,. —16.9% 19 fewer killed ... ...
84 fewer injured ... —8.5% 16 fewer pedestrians killed —55-0% 28 fewer pedestrians injured —9-2% That external factors (notably the weather) were not a major factor in Birmingham's excellent results is borne out by comparisons with four other big provincial cities where normal after-dark conditions obtained. H.C.H.