Los Angeles herald., 1910-01-16
CHAUFFEUR AS A
PROBLEM DISCUSSED
VIEWS ON HOW TO PROTECT
PUBLIC
Consensus Of Opinion Is That the
Most Effective Method Would
Lie in Examina-
tion

The New York World has been dis
| cusslng the regulation of automobile
traffic with, as it puts it, "a view of
determining what form would best
protect the public from incompetent
and reckless chauffeurs, and at the
same time be fair TO careful motorists,
and to learn from experienced drivers
what should be the essential qualitica-
tions Of man running a car in New
York.
No pretense was made to cover all
the phases of automobile legislation,
simply one of the most important
points, it says. What precaution could
be taken to safeguard life endangered
by the reckless driving of motor cars
gaining this end? The consensus of
opinion was that the most effective
system of regulation would be the ex-
animation and licensing of all persons
who drive motor vehicles, irrespective
of their social status. The present sys-
! TEN of issuing Chauffeurs' licenses was
| condemned unanimously; it is regarded
by autoists in general as a farce, an
encouragement to the ignorant and in
| capable Ito drive an automobile when
| there was nothing else to do
The men whose opinions were OBJ
| tanned are Lewis Strang, Al Poole,
| Ralph De Palma, Frank LesCault, Joe
Tracy and George Robertson. Follow
ing are the replies beginning with that
| of George Robertson:
! THE one effective way of checking
| the wholesale manning and killing of
| people in the streets by reckless and
| inefficient auto drivers is the creation
| of q, state commission or board to take
complete charge of the licensing of
chauffeurs, and by the term chauf-
feurs l mean all persons who operate
| mOtor-driven vehicles. There should
be no discrimination between owner
and hired driver.
''Such board could have branches
in all the cities in the state where
| prospective chauffeurs could be exam
ined as to their fitness. And this eX-
animation should be rigid, patterned
| after the civil service. The law should
be amended so as to compel every can
didate to go through a rigid test not
only as TO his knowledge of automo-
| bile engines, but as to his skill in
! guiding a car under all conditions.
while no one expects a chauffeur to
qualify as a mechanical engineer be-
| fore a license is issued to him, he
should be compelled TO show an ele-
mentary knowledge of gasoline engines,
at least their principle, which is the
same in all, and a knowledge of the
brake and clutch system on his car
Iue next reply is LIOlu 1dlpl Oe
| Palma, who says:
Should Qualify in Mechanics
Il can see only one solution, and
that is a comprehensive examination
of the applicant for a Chauffeur's Ii
| cense. The state should establish a
bureau, with branches in all the big
cities having authority over a group
Of the surrounding towns. Every per-
son operating a motor-driven vehicle
should be made to qualify, first, as to
| his knowledge of simple mechanics
that is, he should know a spark plug
from a magnetic, and lots of chauffeurs
don't; second, and the most important,
| probably, of all requirements, he
should have to demonstrate his abili-
ties as a driver in the streets. A great
! per cent of automobile driving is done
within the city limits, and that is
where the most severe test should be
made.
1.-THE road test is, of course, about
the most important requirement. A
chauffeur should have to prove that he
has judgment of speed and distance;
| that he will stop when he ought to and