The Quick -- And The Dead

Have you ever heard the story of the motorist who classified pedestrians thus: "With me there are only two kinds, the quick and the dead". Well, fortunately in Nelson, there are some "quick" but just as unfortunately, there have been some dead and too many injured - three deaths and 57 injured between 1957 and 1961. Pedestrian injuries and fatalities are worse in many other parts of the Dominion and for that reason the Transport Department is at present conducting a campaign for greater pedestrian safety. We felt the campaign locally could be given a boost by explaining, through pics, the rights of pedestrians and the bad habits some have. Most of the pics were shot at the Bridge and Trafalgar Streets intersection, a place where the city council has decided to install lights. These should be of benefit at peak hours, controlling traffic and pedestrians a-like and releasing traffic officers for patrol duties.

The intersection under control with both pedestrian and vehicular traffic moving smoothly

No control, and chaos. Nine pedestrians in this picture are actually breaking traffic rules by using the crossings (or parts of them) when vehicular traffic has the right of way.

Our two models from the Transport Department, Bert Spivey and Judith Goodman show what not to do on a crossing - stop and have a chat

Here they are again stepping on to a crossing when approaching traffic has the right of way. Behind them a woman with a child is using the crossing when she has no right.

In this case a woman pedestrian exceeded her rights on the crossing by proceeding over the centre line when the van had the right-of-way.

Thank goodness we see little of this - Judith walks diagonally from corner to corner

Many people have the mistaken idea that once they are on a pedestrian crossing, they have exclusive rights to the full width of the crossing. Others think they can step on to a pedestrian crossing in the face of oncoming traffic and have the right-of-way. They have not.

It's dangerous to step on to the road from between parked vehicles, particularly for a woman wheeling a pram.

The jay walker, the pedestrian who crosses a road on the diagonal - a dangerous practice.

Senior Traffic Officer Stuart Kay points to spots in Nelson where pedestrian fatalities and injuries have occurred. Worst spot is the Bridge and Trafalgar Streets intersection.

Another offence - crossing the road within 60ft of a pedestrian crossing.

A pedestrian without a footpath to walk on should always wear something white, or carry a newspaper, and walk on the same side of the road as oncoming traffic at night.

The wrong way - a pedestrian with back to traffic and dressed in dark clothes is very hard to see from a moving car

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The Nelson Photo News

No 21 : July 21, 1962

The Quick -- And The Dead