# Popular Mechanics/Volume 49/Issue 1/The Most Dangerous Hour

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By RUSSELL M. ARUNDEL
The clocks of a thousand cities chime five each afternoon. Stores and offices pour out millions of tired, homeward-bound workers, and in the crowded streets children start one final hour of play before dinner. America's most dangerous hour has arrived.
Ambulance drivers inspect their mounts to see that everything is in readiness; hospital attendants give the operating rooms a final look-over, and in garages, the wrecking cars are wheeled to the front. For the next sixty minutes the bulk of the day's traffic accidents will happen. More lives will be snuffed out, more people will be injured, and more automobiles destroyed than in any other hour of the day—more in fact than in several of the early morning hours combined.
Some place between the Atlantic and the Pacific, some one is being killed or injured in a traffic accident at the rate of one victim every forty-two seconds of the day. But when the statistics are plotted, the chart shows that, instead of an even distribution of deaths and injuries, they reach their peak in that one crowded hour, when senses have been dulled by a hard day's work, and reach their minimum just before dawn when most people are home in bed.
Three times as many casualties resulting from highway accidents occur in a single year in the United States than were suffered by the American forces during their entire participation in the World war. During 1926, approximately 25,302 persons were killed and 759,060 were seriously injured in these accidents. An estimate issued by the American Roadbuilders' association lists the principal causes as inattention; children playing in the street; speeding; adult jay-walking and violation of the traffic laws. Of the total number of accidents occurring last year approximately 11,183 were caused by motorists: 10,805 were the result of improper conduct on the part of pedestrians and 3,314 were caused principally by physical conditions.
Research has uncovered many peculiar facts in regard to the causes and results of highway accidents. The knowledge of these facts has given national organizations interested in the public-safety movement a basis upon which to work and is expected to bring a noticeable reduction in accident casualties within a few years. Paramount among the conclusions that have been drawn from statistics collected from various rural districts and municipalities are:
That the largest number of accidents occur between five and six in the after- ​noon, when business men and workers are returning hurriedly to their homes. At this period of the day, congestion on the streets and highways is at its height.
That the accidents involving pedestrians are increasing at a rate much greater than the rate of increase of other types of accidents. In Massachusetts, collisions between automobiles have actually decreased, while the calamities involving pedestrians have nearly doubled since 1921. This seems to indicate that the American motorist is becoming adept in the art of dodging other vehicles but is unable to cope with the problem of foot traffic.
Less than five per cent of all accidents are the result of faulty mechanism of vehicles or improperly designed roads and streets. The human machine is responsible for the remaining ninety-five per cent of the accident total. Carelessness and incompetency have been found to be the chief traits of the human machine resulting in disaster.
The annual death of 7,000 children of school age has caused an intensive research into the causes of these youthful mortalities. It has been found that more than twice as many children between the ages of six and twelve are killed than in any other similar group of years between one month and 70 years.
While the total number of accidents resulting from recklessness by intoxicated ​drivers is small as compared with total accidents reported, they more often result in mortalities. Drastic legislation in nearly every state has brought the number of deaths from this source to a considerably lower level than in the year 1921.
A great mass of data has been collected by organizations investigating highway accidents to show that the outstanding single mental condition giving rise to casualties is fatigue which, in turn, causes carelessness, recklessness and a general decline in the ability of a driver or pedestrian to act speedily and accurately.
In the child problem, general inattentiveness has been found the chief cause of fatalities and injuries. The child at play is a bundle of trembling nerves and, in the joy of the game, is almost unconscious of any world but his own. He may run into the street and, being there, continue his pleasant pastime without regard to the motorist.
Thoughtlessness and poor judgment are the cause of more than forty per cent of all accidents. These classifications include jay-walking. inattention, confusion, inexperience and recklessness. Various national organizations inter ​ested in the highway-safety problem have outlined a series of objectives which are now being put under way, as follows:
The Train Won This Race; at Right Is a Chart Showing the Ages of Highway-Accident Victims
First, the education and regulation of pedestrian traffic, as well as motor-vehicle traffic.
Second, the adoption of a standard code of motor-vehicle laws in every state of the union.
Third, education in safety and accident prevention will be incorporated in the schools, both public and private.
Fourth, motorists will be asked to protect the design and materials of their automobiles by periodic adjustment and replacement.
Fifth, a comprehensive program of street widening and the elimination of grade crossings will be carried out throughout the nation.
"Co-operation of motorist and pedestrian in behalf of public safety can save thousands of lives during the next few years," according to the report of the American Roadbuilders association.
"Ninety-five per cent of all accidents are the result of failure of the human machine, rather than faulty mechanism or engineering. No amount of rules and regulations will eliminate these accidents unless they are embodied as a portion of the simple code of courtesy and caution."
TRIGGER GUARD FOR SHOTGUNS PREVENTS BRUISED FINGERS
With All the Fingers inside the Trigger Guard, the Gunner Is Less Likely to Suffer Injuries
Taking some of the bumps out of shotgun shooting is the function of an improved trigger guard recently introduced. It permits inserting the entire hand within the frame so that when firing a double-barreled gun, the recoil is not likely to bruise the second finger, an injury frequently experienced with the usual piece if it is not held sufficiently tight.
DOUGHNUTS COOKED AT TABLE IN ELECTRIC MOLD
Doughnut Mold in Operation: Serving Breakfast from the Electric Grill, and Close View of the Triangular Doughnuts
Fresh, hot "triangle" doughnuts at the breakfast table, cooked as they are needed, are now possible in an electric mold of aluminum. It is operated from a lighting socket in much the same way as a waffle iron and can also be used for baking muffins and small cakes. Another table convenience is an aluminum griddle for cooking eggs, and frying bacon, ham or hot cakes. It has a roomy cover for keeping the food warm and, since no grease is required, may be employed at the table while eating. Both articles are of attractive appearance with a decorative base and high polish. The ware is of cast aluminum, and one can cook without water in other utensils of the same material, so none of the beneficial ingredients of the foods are lost.
SEWAGE GAS FUEL DRIVES ELECTRIC GENERATOR
Large sums of money are spent to get rid of sewage, but in the Birmingham district, England, the material is utilized, at one disposal station, to furnish gas for operating an engine that drives an electric generator. The gas comes from the bacteria that are active in the waste. It is collected in concrete containers which float on the surface of some of the receiving tanks, and is then piped away for use in an internal-combustion engine. It is said that more than enough is obtained to operate the 150-horsepower engine at the plant with highly satisfactory financial results. The gas, as it arrives at the engine, has no offensive odor.
CURVED STREET-TRAFFIC GUIDE SAVES EXTRA POLICE
For Traffic Regulation in Curved Street: the Center Guide Tells if There's Anything around Corner
Three policemen were formerly required to regulate traffic in a London street, but since the installation of a special signal device, only one has been needed. The unit is operated by a control at the center of the street and shows, at either end, whether the course is clear for more traffic, thus saving communication of the "all-clear" signal by hand. The device has proved so successful that it is planned to install it at other places where suitable.
BLANKETING THE SKY WITH A CURTAIN OF DEATH
GLIDER STEERED BY MOTORS TO CROSS ATLANTIC
Model of Glider for Rapid Trips across the Atlantic; the Craft Is to Have Three Motors and They Will Steer It
Tests with a small model furnished engineers data for the construction of a hydroglider to cross the Atlantic from France. The craft was designed to be steered by speeding up or slowing down one of the three motors instead of by the usual guiding gear. Each engine develops 500 horsepower. The ship is supported on the water by two pontoons, each more than seventy feet long.
GLARE SHADE FOR AUTO MIRROR AIDS SAFER DRIVING
Disturbing reflections from headlights in the rear-view auto mirror are quickly stopped simply by pulling a little roller shade over the glass. It is made of transparent material, so that it does not curtail the service of the mirror and is attached to a spring roller so that it quickly rolls up again when the little hooks that hold it to the edge are released. The curtain can be adjusted in a second with one hand, is made to fit different sizes of mirrors and can be attached in a minute or two. A similar aid for the driver has been introduced in a windshield shade on a roller so that it can be pulled down, when needed, or kept out of the way.
AIR DRIERS SPEED OUTPUT OF MONEY
Thousands of pounds of air are blown into big cabinets at the bureau of printing and engraving, where sheets of paper money are hung up to allow the ink to dry. The driers look like big safes and are kept locked during the process. From 150 to 200 are in constant use, and the large sheets of $5, $20 and $100 bills are placed on racks, where they are "baked" for three hours.
PLUG IN CEILING-LIGHT SOCKET AIDS IN CLEANING LAMPS
The task of cleaning electric-light fixtures hung from the ceiling, has been simplified with a separable plug and hook-connecting unit, permitting the quick detachment of the fixture and its readjustment with a minimum of trouble. The plug is a simple adaptation of the usual type, and the hook supports the weight of the fixture. The janitor can easily remove globe, bulb and all, clean them in a convenient working position and return them with less labor and less likelihood of breakage.
¶ Highways built by the ancient Romans were from eleven to fifteen feet wide.