Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-14
The Automobile Bill,

The House has passed its bill regulating
the speed of automobiles In the District 1t
is the Sims bill. without the absurd Sims
penalty clause, that sent a second offense
violator TO jail without any Ifs and ands.
The bin as passed. In general way, fol-
lows the police regulations as to speed, the
maximum allowance being twelve miles an
hour. The penalty clause provides for the
first offense a fine of from five TO fifty dol
lars; for the second offense within one year
a fine of from ten to one hundred dollars or
imprisonment from five to thirty days; for
the third offense within one year q fine OF
from fifty to two hundred and fifty dollars,
or Imprisonment In the workhouse from
thirty days to six months.
The automobillsts themselves are vitality
interested IN securing proper speed regula-
lions. as they recognize fully that the reck-
less driver Is the greatest menace to the
future of the horseless carriage. and the
great mass of owners here have been en-
tfrely willing to have proper regulations
enacted, with proper penalties for infrac-
lions. This Is the attitude also of citizens
who do not own automobiles This class
recognize fully that the automobile has come
to stay and the desire, therefore, is to do
the right thing by both the driver and the
non-drlver. From this standpoint probably
the only fair criticisms that could be made
of the House bill is the lack of discretion
1t affords the court In the matter of penal
ties. For a third offense the court could
not do less than fine the offender fifty dol
lars, and yet the infraction may have been
of the most technical character. On the
other hand the court could not go higher
than a fine of fifty dollars for the first of
Tense. while the, violation may have been
q most dangerous one. The practical propo.
sition would seem to be to provide rea-
sonable minimum fine and a good stifr max
imum fine, with the alternative always OF
Imprisonment and the revocation by the
Commissioners of the license Then let the
punishment At the crime.
Possibly another legitimate criticism would
apply to the clause limiting the speed across
streets. on which there are no railway
tracks, TO eight miles an hour. Such a pro-
vision would either be impossible of en-
forcement or would limit the maximum
speed to eight miles an hour instead of
twelve. If enforced It would bring hundreds
of technical cases into court.
Because Congress finds 1t necessary to
pass an automobile bill It must not be as
sumed that the Automobiles in Washing
ton are given to reckless and dangerous
driving. The necessity only arose from the
fact that under police regulations 1t was
impossible to infiict imprisonment In cases
of extreme a nature that that was the
only adequate penalty. AS a matter OF
fact, the figures, as furnished to Congress
by the Commissioners, show very good
condition in this city. There were during
1908, 246 arrests for speed violations. This
Is not bad showing in view OF the fact
that the great mass OF them We're merely
technical violations, as shown by the low
fines given and of the fact that there are
nearly two thousand automobiles in the
District certainly half of them on the
streets every day. Practically all OF the
violators did so only once, showing again
that the infractions We're largely technical.
Only fifteen persons were twice arrested.
only four three times and only two four
times