New-York tribune., 1913-11-26
ALDERMEN LIMIT
MAIL TRUCK SPEED
POStOfhCe'S Vehicles Put
Under Usual Traffic
Restrictions.
EXEMPTION ONLY
FOR EMERGENCIES
Department Official Calls Law
Unfair, and Says Ordinance
May Be Ignored.

The amendment TO the speed regulation
ordinance. providing that the mail doiIv-
ery automobiles shall be- subject To- the
same restrictions as other Vehicles was
passed by the Board Of Aldermen yrstor-
day Under the amendment the only
vehicl,s exempt from the speed roGula-
lions are those engaged in emergency
work. such as ambulanccs, fire apparatus
and Police Department vehicles.
The special committee on speed rcgula-
ton, Of which Alderman Ralph Folks was
chairman, reported TO the board that u
believed that under the police power the
Board Of Aldermen had fun power 20
make provisions Of law necessary for the
preservation Of human life, provided Tho
provision was reasonable and recon-
mended the adoption OF the amendment.
IT passed the board unanimously
The only opposition which had dcvcl-
opcd 10 the amendment came from I've
Postohice Department which was repre-
serted at a public hearing on the amend
mcnt on November p bv Joseph Stewart.
Second Assistant Postmaster General. lie
characterized the proposed restriction as
unjust and an unfair discrimination
against vehicles transporting the mails.
end said IT would materially cripple the
that the fatalities caused by the mail
automobiles were not excessive in com
parisan with other vehicles
The government representative went 50
far as to intimate that the city had no
legal right 10 limit the speed OF the mail
automobiles. and that the same delivery
schedules might be maintained whether
or not the amendment was adopted. 1t
remains to be seen whether an issue Will
be raised on that score by the govern
ment. Many local public bodies, civic
organizations and private citizens ap-
pearcd at the hearings in favor OF the
amendment
The report Of the special committee
said In part:
THE committee presents herewith sta
| tistics submitted from the coroners' Of
, fee Of the Borough Of Manhattan and
| the National Highways Protective So
ciety. and other data submitted to the
committee In the nature Of written com
munications. including an opinion from
/ the Corporation Counsels office. From
these statistics and data the committee
! finds the following facts:
That Inder present conditions. ap-
proXmately 80 motor-driven vehicles are
Transporting the mails throughout the
/ city. These vehicles. by custom or toll
Grafton, or color Of legal right. have en-
jCyed the right OF way in our public
highways. and in addition have been
subject to no restrictions except the pro-
vision prohibiting reckless driving. Ac-
( tual statistics conclusvely show that the
United States mail wagons have caused
some fifteen deaths this year. seven since
September ]. The number Of motor mail
wagons in use during the year averages
less than 80 per day. on this basis
( az least, one vehicle out OF every egh-
teen is destroying a human life every
year. The total number of motor We
hicles in New York City is estimated at
5000 and the number of deaths for the
year 1919 is 23o Therefore one vehicle
out OF every 23o kills a citizen. as against
one out Of eighteen mall wagons.
THE committee appreciates the efforts
of the postofiice authorities to get the
best and most economical mail service
for the city. 1t also appreciates the fact
that the great commercial interests OF tho
city demand the best mail service pos
sible. II believes. however. that the
safety of human life is far more inn
rortant than the dispatch Of the mails
For these reasons the committee belieVes
that vehicles carrying United States mail