Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1912-02-06


Post by Colonel William ID. Sohier of
the Massachusetts Highway Commits
sion. This commission regulates and
supervises street and road traffic of
all kinds, investigates every accident,
and where driver is at fault, can
punish him by revoking his license.
Its figures are carefully compiled, and
II is bent on driving off the Massachu-
sets roads the drunken, reckless and
careless operators of motor vehicles,
whose bad behavior reflects on all
automobile owners and endangers life
This renders all the more interesting
the fact that Colonel Sohler draws
conclusions which are on the whole
creditable to the drivers of automo-
biles. Particularly is this true when
the relative number of injuries in
ilictcd by trolley cars and automobiles
If considered. Thus, in Boston, in the
year ending November 80, 1910, there
we're fifty people killed and 1922 in
jured by traffic accidents. or these,
automobiles killed 10 and injured $50,
while horse drawn vehicles killed IL
and injured $50. The trolley cars
were the most deadly, for they ended
the lives of 90 and injured no less
than 1883.
Taking the number Of miles travel
cd by motor cars testimatcd on year.
ly basis of 5000 miles, and by trolleys,
the comparison is even more favor
able to the, motor, for, as Colonel So
hicr proves, II travels over 100000
miles before causing a fatal accident, !"
100000 miles travelled by trolley cars
There is one accident, serious or 9TH
erwisc. to every 10000 miles covered
by trolleys, and but one TO every 29O,-
900 miles travelled by automobiles.
Taking the number of accidents to
persons not In an automobile, but
caused by motor cars, this new We
hicle is again seen to be far less dang
erous than the trolley, although that
travels on fixed rails at compare
lively slow rate of speed. II appears
that the motor cars run between seven
and eight times as far rs does the troll
ley car before iniuring any one using
the highways. Thus, the number of
miles Travelled per trolley car injury
is 45,755 to 3i7.6l9 for the motor We
hiclc. When, in addition to the fixed
! location of the trolloys, there is con-
sidcrcd' the slight opportunity for
reckless driving by motormen and the
safeguards against intoxication with
which they are surrounded, the won
/ der at these figures grows. OF course,
the fact that trolleys so often operate
! in. crowded streets must be taken in
to consideration.
Taking the whole state of Massa'
chusetts for the years 1909 and 1910
Colonel Sohier presents the following
table covering all accidents due tc
automobiles:
1909. 1910
Total number killed ..... "a u
! Total number injured go. 9S? 96;
J Total number of accidents l,l3O l,lSl
Total number of accidents
\ In daytime .............. S26 S6i
Total number of accidents
, after dark .............. 304 3l'
Total number of accidents
on country roads ....... 3l4 22s
Total number of accidents
on city or town streets. 81. SIG ?6'
In the first ten months Of 1871 there
were reported l,229 such accidents. Al
there were but $4,000 automobiles reg
istered in Massachusetts in 1909, ant
AZ 600 In 1911, the number OF automo'
biles has increased within two years
, something over 60 per cent, while the
: number of accidents has increased
= only about 10 per cent or 27s seri
, Gus accidents Investigated by Colone