Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Thames (NZ): Court's Corner traffic

With all the talk of the 'new' road rules, one is left to ponder the rules of old. How did the horses, carts and bicylces manage? The postcard below shows a lady ambling across the road, did the man on the bike have to slow down..would road rage have eventuated had the lady cyclist slowed in her pace. A quieter time, when maybe these things did not matter....

The papers contain many reports of accidents containing horses, and horse and carts. Such as 3/11/1919, when a cart with two men, suddenly swerved across the Parawai Road in to a telegraph pole. Both men were thankfully unharmed.
In 1894, Mr & Mrs COWLING and their infant child had a narrow escape from a buggy accident. Remembering that roads and bridges were often in a poor condition, although traffic was not an issue - the challenging conditions often were.

Thames Star 24/3/1894