Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-12-06
DANGERS OF ROAD
MOTORISTS MEET
Secretary of State May of
New York Advises Sys-
tematic Study.
SUGGESTS CHILDREN
BE TAUGHT THE RULES
Believes Pedestrians and Drivers
Alike Should Be on Guard
Always.

.The- subject of accidents upon the
public highways always an interesting
one. is lust now receiving much ~atten-
ton upon the part of the press and
nublic." SAYS Mitchell May. secretary OF
state of New York. OF course. any
kind of locomotion, whether by land or
sea or in the air, has it's peculiar dan
gers. but as the public highway is so
intimately and continuously connected
with every ones life accidents upon it
receive a larger share of attention thah
mishaps at sea or collisions on the rail-
ways. or any other form of accident not
connected with the highway. The pub
lie mind in this matter Is largely
guided by the amount of prominence
given to accidents, and just now motor
car accidents excite it more than any
other kind, and therefore. receive great
er prominence.
TO begin with. every good driver
upon the road, whether of horses OF
motor cars. should Thoroughly grasp
the fundamental fact that the pedes-
trian has in some places greater rights.
in others an equal and in still others
an inferior right on the roads IN rela-
ton to wheeled traffic, and ne is sup
posed to take reasonable care of him.
lessly incur dangers to himself ana
Others. In this country we often laugh
at the fact that in France a man may
be prosecuted for being in the road and
being knocked down by a passing We
hicle This. of course, is an extreme
case upon the other side. of the ques-
ton.
There are dangers which the motor
car driver incurs every time he drives
along a highway which are not in the
of
understood common dangers, for in
stance. include the chance of collision
with other vehicles at cross roads, of
skidding on a slippery pavement and
vary according to the traffic the con-
dition of the road and weather and
many other circumstances which need
not be considered here. The driver of a
motor car. however, who aspires to a
clean record in the matter of accidents
has to be more than ordinarily alert.
He has to exercise in a special degree
the quality OF forethought and train
himself to calculate beforehand what
is likely to happen under certain cir
cumstances which may, at first sight.
appear unlikely.
Cannot Eliminate Dangers.
ut is foolish to imagine that the
dangers of the road can be entirely
motion can become absolutely safe as
regards other users of the highways
But mental alertness while driving a
motor car upon the highways has be-
come more than ever essential, if the
driver would be a true master of his
craft. and the maxim that 1t Is 1.-The
unexpected that often happens" should
always be present in the minds of the
drivers. Foresight and caution are,
in the case Of many well known and
good drivers. natural gifts, but the
stupidest motorist can acquire these
two features by setting his mind to
do so.
LAS regards the general public. the
widespread ignorance and apathy as
to the rules of the road is one of the
most unsatisfactory features manifest
ed on our highways today. When one
motorist encounters, as he will invari-
ably do. nearly one-third of the vehic-
ular traffic upon the wrong side of the
| road he must not allow himself to
become irritated at the apparently de-
driver of slow vehicles. These driv-
ers do not know or care.
las a remedy for this almost uni
versal breaking of the rules of the
| only desirable, but practical. The
rules of the road and the dangers of
the traffic should be taught in every
elementary school in the country.
| 1HcTc are pTODdDlS HO CHilule uHQcT
| the age of ten or twelve years and
comparatively few grown-ups who
could give an intelligent answer to
the questions as to how to cross a
road, on which side to drive or walk
or where to look for special dangers.
| "A dozen or SO simple rules Illus
| trated by plain diagrams would in a
very few lessons convey to the mind
of the average school child and i'm
print upon his memory for life, the
best way of avoiding the undoubtedly
increasing dangers of the street and
| of main and cross roads alike.
| s-o..'a Teach Children.
| while the pedestrian, as stated al
the outset, has certain special rights
there Is no reason to believe that the
majority of those who walk upon the
highways are SO intolerant and seltisl
as to wish to cause an unnecessary
danger and difficulty to vehicular anC
wheel traffic. 1t Is true, therefore
that if schools of every description
taught their pupils the ordinary rules
| of the road many accidents and in
| juries and much loss of life would be
thereby averted and much of the cha os
risk and disorder in our traffic would
be cured"