Los Angeles herald., 1910-01-08
ACCIDENT REPORTS
ARE EXAGGERATED
AUTOMOBILE INCIDENTS MADE
SPECTACULAR
Speed of Sixty Miles an Hour Ac-
credited to Machine Whose --
Factory Rating Is
Much Less

Why should every newspaper report
of an accident contain the information
(sic) that the car was going sixty miles
an hour; that it was a "huge racing
monster" or a powerful touring car,
or that "was tearing down the road
entirely out of the drivers control, or
that the steering gear was jammed?
asks the Buffalo Motorist.
1t seems as though the automobile
had now become sufficiently a part or
our daily life for even the ubiquitous
and all-wise newspaper reporters to
take a little trouble for the sake of
getting a genuine information on the
subject of automobiles in general and
of the accident in particular. In the
first place, there are very few cars,
indeed, travelling on the road today
capable of a speed of sixty miles an
hour, even under the best conditions
This is not exactly in accordance with
the various advertisements so often
published by the dealers in automo-
biles. but it is a fact, nevertheless.
Many cars are made which, when they
are taken out by a factory tester in the
prime of condition and with everything
lust right, will do better than sixty
miles an hour to a certainty, but
after that car goes into the user S
hands and is numbered with all sorts
of heavy extras and attachments, car
ries a wind shield and top, gets little
carbon within its cylinders, has even
the slightest lack of adjustment in car
bureter or ignition, imperceptible in
ordinary running, that car will hardly
do better than forty-five or fifty miles
an hour. In addition to that, it must
be remembered that the majority of
accidents happen when road conditions
or surrounding traffic are such that
the driver has no thought of attempt
ing his top speed, and he is very like
ly driving at a moderate pace.
The number of tracing monsters"
which go tearing around our roads is
so small as to be practically disre-
garded, and it is fairly safe conclu-
sion to say that. barring an actual au-
tomobile race on the road or on the
track, there are no accidents on the
road from the terrible racing mon
sters," and if the facts were analyzed,
you would probably read that the ac-
cident occurred to a comparatively in
significant two-cylinder touring car of
low horsepower at a popular price.
AS to losing control of the car and
smashing up because of the jammed
steering geer, this is an exceedingly
rare occurrence. PefhapS one OF the
most distinguishing features of an
automobile is the complete control un-
der which it can be held as compared
with any other kind of vehicle, and in
stances of failure of the steering gear
are so rare as to be hardly worth men
tioning. We do not deny that it often
happens that the man holding the
steering gear loses control of himself,
or steers the car SO badly that an acci-
dent happens, but this is not to be
blamed to the mechanism.
A more frequent cause of accident is
trying to take a corner at too high a
speed or skidding on slippery road,
or catching the wheels in deep ruts,
or losing power of direction in deep
sand.
Probably 80 per cent of all accidents
which occur should not be attributed
to faulty mechanism, but to careless
ness or error of judgment on the part
of both the drivers and other users of
the highway. We realize that it makes
better newspaper story to paint the
accident in as glaring colors as pos
sible, but it is not considered essential
to a proper description of a railroad
accident or other similar accidents to
exaggerate or distort the facts, and
we only ask fair play toward the motor
vehicle.