BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
“The Roads and the Problem of Their Safety.” By Sir Malcolm Campbell, M.B.E. (Hutchinson & (‘o. , 3/6). Road problems are a matter of vital importance and at the present-time, in particular, great attention is being given to this subject by authorities and motoring bodies in this country, largely on account of the excellent road-schemes undertaken of recent years by Germany and Italy. Our new Minister of Transport, Mr. Leslie Burgin, is himself a motorist in a practical sense, which we believe his predecessor, Mr. Hore-Belisha, was not, and this, coupled with the fact that the money for road reconstruction is apparently available, as it should be, may result in a reduction of road accidents and relief of road-congestion in the not too distant future. Mr. Burgin, is, we understand, covering some 1,000 miles per week in the course of investigating our system of trunk roads, which shows his appreciation for the need of practical examination of road problems. Sir Malcolm Campbell’s book, “The Roads and The Problem of Their Safety,” published by Hutchinson and Co., will interest everyone who is concerned with the great National problem. This book starts from the development of the road since the eighteenth century, with particular reference to the post-war motoring era. Thereafter follow chapters on every aspect of this immensely complex subject. Traffic control, town-planning, congestion, accident education and prevention, the motorist’s, cyclist’s and pedestrian’s responsibilities, traffic police and police courts, signs and sign-posting, Ministry of Transport work and possibilities, highway construction, car construction for safety—these and many other aspects are dealt with by Sir Malcolm—himself a long-distance driver of extremely fast sports-cars—in a fashion so easily readable that what might seem a dry subject becomes so absorbing a study that one puts down one’s book with reluctance. Apart from its interest, it contains some excellent reference statements and figures. There are 264 pages and nine Ministry
of Transport illustrations. Readers of MOTOR SPORT cover big mileages per annum and find traffic delays more than usually tiresome and perusal of this book will not only be of more than passing Interest, but it3 may hold out distinct hope of more Utopian conditions under Mr. Burgin.