To the Editor of the "Norta-Cama Datty News."
Srr,—Complaints against motor car chauffeurs are continually appearing in your correspondence columns. As an owner driver, I should like to air a little grouse at other forms of traffic, but I do so in a spirit of constructive criticism and not of prejudice.
First the trams:—they are so crowded that the passengers, both foreign and Chinese, cling' precariously round the entrance steps, their backs protruding beyond the side of the car as much as two feet.
The passengers dash madly from the pavement to board the tram when it is in full motion, and (Chinese particularly), with suicidal disregard for their own safety or for the wretched motorist who may be forced to swerve and involve himself and others in a serious accident.
This applies equally to leaving the tram car; passengers, (again Chinese particularly) drop off the tram whilst it is in fast motion, with conspicuous lack of skill and with no precaution or warning, and _its a toss up whether they are going base over apex on danding or not.
The remedy for this would be to have American style trams, when the doors are shut by the conductor (he pulls a simple lever) before the tram starts, and are only opened by him when it comes to the stopping-place: this system absolutely prevents boarding or leaving a tram car in motion, or gross overerowding.
Second the ricsha:—It is for-hidden in certain areas for motor cars to pass one another. In the name of reason, apply the same rules to ricshas: these at present run in serra-file, taking up much more of the road than the largest motorcar. The inside man swerves, the others, to avoid locking wheels, do ditto, and there is constant and unholy confusion and danger accordingly. Again, the point constable gives the signal for you to pass a crossing, under his arm dart two or three belated ricshas. The policeman's signal, if trustingly obeyed, would be a source of danger and not of safety. This is emphatically not _a grouse against the police, who in my opinion are amazingly efficient for their numbers and difficulties in dealing with traffic, but there is no doubt that the ricsha coolie should be disciplined better, his license made more difficult to get by examination in simple trafic laws and more easily permanently cancelled for breaches of same. Private ricshas owned by foreigners ara the worst offenders, and I have hooted behind these without the slightest effect when the coolie has been running in the middle of the road because of the better surface there, leaving no room for me to pass with safety to my car or to the ricsha, (The Bund between the Nanking
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.