Los Angeles herald., 1906-10-29
REDUCE KILLINGS
ON CAR ROUTES
ACCIDENT COMMISSION WORK
BEARING FRUIT
Ordinances Proposed Are In Nature Of
Precautionary Measures-New
City official to Watch
Motormen Proposed
VICTIMS OF CARS
IN OTER CITIES


3 Los Angeles county, with its @
@ 100000 population and street car @
Q mileage Of 651, and a total of los @
@ million passengers carried, shows @
@ seventy-five fatal accidents for the q
Q year ending September l. 1906 @
@ Boston, population 100000, car o
9 rylng 450,000,000 on cars, had thir- @
@ teen fatal accidents in 1904 and @
. twenty seven in 1905. The state of @
9 Massachusetts,, with 100000 popu- @
@ lation, now network of trolley @
@ lines that carry over 600,000,000 g
- people annually, had ninety-two @
@ deaths in 1904 and eighty-f1ve in @
@ 1906, @
@ Chicago with 100000, and the @
@ worst street car equipment In the @
@ country. killed 109 last year It's @
q total of carried exceeds 100000 900. @
@ OF those killed, however only one @
(. was the result of a collision, and @
g 65 per cent were people run down 9
@ on crowded streets. @
@ Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, @
o in which Pittsburg is located, has @
@ 100000. 1t killed eighty last year. 9
@ The whole of Pennsylvania, with O
@ 100000 people, and 1859 miles of @
@ trolley, carrying S54,00O,000 people @
o annually, killed 217 last year. o
@ Connecticut, with million popu- @
@ lation and 800 miles of lines, car @
@ rying 103,000000 passengers, killed @
o fifty-one @
o Rhode Island population 800, 900, @
o with 346 miles of track, killed only @
o sixteen. 1t carried 62,000,O0O @
800 @ o o o @ ~~@~~%@% %
With the city attorneys office pre-
pairing ordinances looking toward OBJ
servance of safeguards to prevent ac-
cidents on trolley and steam railroads
Inquiries have arisen concerning the
number of casualties in and near Los
Angeles.
Reports on file with the commission
on railway accidents, whose report in
spired the new ordinances, show that
of the seventy-five fatal accidents oc-
curing in this vicinity during the
twelve months from September 1, 1905,
to September 1, 1906, forty-eight took
place in Los Angeles and twenty-seven
in the county outside the city.
The division among the various roads
Is as follows: Los Angeles railway, "a;
Los Angeles-Pacif1c, 8; Interurban, 5;
Pacific Electric, 20; Redondo, 2; Joint,
etc., accidents, 6; total, rs.
There were altogether entered 44S
accidents, all of which were sufficiently
serious to call for newspaper COM
ment.
Nature of Accidents
The exact nature of the 443 accidents
is shown, by the following schedule:
Passengers alighting, S2; passengers
boarding, 81; striking pedestrians, 1O1;
striking vehicles, 105; striking autos, IL;
striking cycles, 30; miscellaneous and
unknown, 43; collisions at steam cross
ings, 2; collisions at electric car cross
ings, 4; rear-end collisions, 4; miscel-
laneous collisions, 18; total. 443.
The rlatIIre Of tha fatal q ocoidantc &c
as follows: Passengers alighting, q;
passengers boarding, 4; striking pered-
trians, 38; striking vehicles, 5; striking
autos, 3; striking cycles, g. miscellan-
eous and unknown, IL; collision steam
crossing, 8; collision electric car cross
ings. 8; collision head-on, l.; miscellan-
eous collisions 2; total, rs.
Public Inspector
Much interest seems to be centered
on the proposition to create new city
officer to be chief of transportation
whose duty 1t will be to inspect car
lines in the interest of the public and to
watch their operations under the laws.
Regarding this feature a member of
the commission said yesterday:
1--WE believe that such an officer, If
honest and efficient, could be of great
service to the municipality.
HE should not be an elective officer
but should be appointed, as the city
engineer now is.
.'The city Of Chicago has now such a
department, and although it is badly
crippled by the litigation and general
confusion that surrounds the whole
railroad problem in Chicago, it accom-
plishes vast amount of work. The
report for the month of June, 1906, for
example, shows the following cases
Rcted upon: Dusty right of way, n;
bad pavement on right Of way, 81; dan
gerous rails, T. no, or wrong signs on
cars, 10; no fiagman at crossings, 1; de-
fective tenders, 48; unsanitary cars, II;
damaged cars, l.; exceeding speed pass
ing schools, 2, etc.
"Sooner or later the need for such a
city officer will be recognized, and he
will be appointed; but this commission
desires to go on record recommending
that this plan be adopted forthwith"