Easter Holiday (Road Accidents) (Hansard, 3 June 1965)

§ Mr. Tom Fraser

I am issuing today the results of the preliminary analysis of the 99 accidents resulting in the 109 deaths reported over the Easter holiday. This is of course only a small proportion of the total number of accidents over Easter, but I think these preliminary figures emphasise some of the exceptional holiday dangers in a situation that is of great concern all the year round.

The most striking and disturbing feature is that, of the 65 users of motor vehicles who were killed, 40, or nearly two-thirds, were young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years. In all, 45 out of the 109 killed were in this age group. These are much higher proportions than the year as a whole.

Eighteen of these young people were killed on motor-cycles or scooters, twelve in cars, and ten in goods vehicles. In all, thirteen people were killed in goods vehicles, mostly passengers. This, too, is a higher proportion than for the year as a whole, and suggests particular hazards in the use of goods vehicles for pleasure trips.

Nearly half of the 109 deaths occurred during darkness, as many as 39 of them between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.

Thirty-nine pedestrians were killed—fewer in relation to total deaths than in the year as a whole. But of these, three-quarters were either children under 15 or old people.

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Another significant fact is that 24 of the vehicle users were killed in accidents in which only their own vehicle was involved—twice the normal proportion. Half of these accidents occurred after 10 o'clock at night.

Many different factors are responsible for road accidents at holidays, as at other times, but I think the indications from this preliminary analysis of the Easter record point to special dangers at holiday weekends. These are associated with the larger numbers of inexperienced and of young drivers on the road, and to the need for conscious extra care on the part of all road users, particularly after dark.