£250 FOR "SAFER MOTORING" SUGGESTIONS.
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Motor Drivers Invited to Contribute Practical Proposals for Diminishing Road Dangers.
HAT IS THE most practical method of• increasing the safety of motoring and making the use of the highway less risky for all who use it for business or private affairs? '
Dozens of ideas in answer. to this question leap to the mind. The motor driver who has been confronted with another vehicle which is endeavouring to pass some obstruction on a sharp curve,"those who have been jeopardized by." blind " corners and cross-roads, th.e driver dazzled by brilliant headlights, or nightly harassed by having to overtake cyclists improvided with warning red lights ; all who use the streets of the towns or highways of the country will hardly have failed to have noted some point or other, the observance of which would render the roads safer for all.
. We invite motor drivers to submit Proposals for dealing, in their widest application, with the increasing risks of the road, and, so as to encourage the production as quickly .as possible of -practical suggestions, awards totalling 2250 are offered jointly by . The Commercial Motor and it associated journals, The Motor, The Light Car and Oyelecar, and MOtbr Cycling. • There is no limit to the scope of the suggestions that can be put -forward. Improvements in motor vehicles themselves, various signalling devices, the protection of traffic at cr6ss-roads, or blind " turnings, legislation dealing with the reckless, the incompetent and the careless • road uSer—all manner of practical suggestions will be carefully considered.
Merit of Idea. the Basis of Our Award.
We appreciate that it. is improbable that one single suggestion will solve the many complex problems involved, and the sum offered will, therefore, be. apportioned in awards of varying amount, according • to the merit of the contributions to this subject received, in the following manner :— 10 awards of 210 each ... =L100 15 ditto £5 each .. 75 25 ditto Li each ... = 25 100 ditto 10s. each ... = 50 150 awards to the total value of £250 It will thus be seen that there are 150 awards offered for the most practical suggestions for overcoming or diminishing the risks of the road. It should be made clear that the awards will be based on the merit of the ideas submitted and not upon their literary character.
Suggestions should be sent in at once. Letters or postcards must be addressed to the Editor of The Commercial Motor, 7-15, Rosehery Avenue, London, E.C.1, plainly marked, "Hill/MAYS SAFETY:" No responsibility is taken for the safe receipt of suggestions, nor can any correspondence be entered into regarding them, whilst the decision of the Editors of The Commercial Motor and its associated journals in apportioning the awards .must be taken as final and as a condition of. the offer.
To Bring Out Ideas Lying Dormant,
The proprietors of The Commercial Motor and its assoriated journals are deeply interested in the many B26
vital matters arising oat of the great development in motoring and its still further expansion. Whether or not the dangers of the road are being exaggerated, they feel that there are many brilliant ideas lying dormant which, if produced and acted upon, might conceivably diminish the risks and add to the comfort, pleasure, convenience and safety of all who use the roads and streets During the past few weeks many charges have been -brought against motorists, and a number of schemes put forward to check or to stop the reckless, the drunk or the incompetent driver, and to diminish the growing number of road accidents_ Few of these proposals will bear close examination, because better central of traffic in view of the rapid expansion of motoring is a very difficult subject and one that has to be studied from .many different .angles. Most of the suggestions, so far, have come from non motorists, and the most revolutionary, often • reactionary, are from people who are prejudiced against motoring. It is conceivable that the most practical schemes will be evolved by motor drivers themselves, because of their wide knowledge of the highways, of the traffic upon them, and of the _habits, customs, foibles and weaknesses of the average road user. Drivers of London General omnibuses, regarded as the finest drivers in the World, should be able, out of their wide experience, to contribute many valuable suggestions. We would submit that it is up to all motor drivers to show in what way the Safety of all users of the highway could be enhanced.
Rapid Adoption of New Ideas Possible.
If, as a result of the present agitation, a Government inquiry were instituted to see in what way the use of the roads could be freed of some of its risks, much of the evidence would have to come from motorists, and it is conceivable that some sound proposals would then be put forward. There is no need to wait for the appointment of a Departmental Committee, with all its attendant delays, if such proposals can be brought to light now. There is one very good reason why practical suggestions should be forthcoming at once, and that is, the impending introduction, so soon as Parliament reassembles, of the long-projected Bill repealing The Motor Car Act of 1903, and introducing entirely new legislation governing the use of motor vehicles.
It is probable that the title of the Bill to be introduced will be d comprehensive one, whilst its provisions will not be • confined to the use of motor vehicles, because it is important to consider all typesof traffic.. The questions to be solved, therefore, are very wide ones, and it should be borne in mind by those who have ideas to bring forward that there are not only the sins of the motorist to be provided against (and we think it will be agreed that the vast majority are law-abiding and considerate), but also the proverbial carelessness of the pedestrian, the incompetence of some cyclists, the dangers produced by the planning of the roads, and those set up by the Constant variation in the speeds of different classes of traffic.
Now, let us see if motor drivers themselves can suggest solutions of the many vital problems involved.