Lower coast gazette., 1914-10-10
SATURDAY. OCTOBER 10 1914.
TIE Ethics of the Road,

some tine and plans have been definitely form
uiated for keeping it in order and it is really
the development Of the good roads idea IN such
q concrete way as to attract the attention Of all
the people OF our state and we may say CT
many of the other states Of the union. Polnte
a ia Hache is fifty miles fror. Canal stree+, New
Orleans, and although getting cut Ct the city
requires slow and careful movement, once away
from the center OF the city and OF the asphalt
streets, rapid progress begins and the trip from
Canal street to pointe a Ia tIache can be made
by careful drivers in two hours w;ti1oa. any par
"ticahr dangey Of accident.
During the last year some few accidents have
occurred On the road and within the last re-"
DAYS, near the upper line Of Fanny plantation,
an automobile began travelling the read IN d very
tortuous manner finally csps;2ed over in the
field, fortunately doing little or M lnj jury to its
four occupants, who we're somewhat obli"ious of
the danger which had beea enyironiEg them.
It would require Q consideration OF the
wfole situation to know Just what piEauernines
Parish and St. Bernard Parish should do in re-
gard to the ethics Of the road. The part of the
road in Plaquen.inas Parish covered with shells
is but about ten feet wide, tns leaves ten foot
dirt roadway on each side OF the central shell
road and some, if not many CT the travellers over
tie road seem to think that the earth reads Oh
each side CT the shell, road are 20. any part Of
the road and therefore they occupy the center
Of the road and pass vehicles at high speed, and
only pass them at considerable danger to them
selves and to these whom they meet, unless
there is a quick and keen appreciation Of the
rights of the road.
Travelling at 20 miles an hour and at Is. as
would be done under the hypothesis with which
we started, distances become annihilated very
quickly, and machines half a mile apart, ap-
preaching each Other should begin to give the
read in ample time SC that each vehicle shall
have a full half of the she'll road, ard only be
obliged to pull part way over on to the grassy
lor earth roads. which are not yet conpacted
sufficiently to stand much weight, and we really
believe that that part Of the road has never
been rolled, such rolling as was done having
Leen confined to the shell par. of the road.
At some points on tie she'll road there are
;~ntruding buildings occupying part Of the earth
en- road. which becomes a matter of extreme
danger with several machines passing by rapid
~ and needing the full width Of the road for
the machines to pass at high speed,
Unless these earthen roads are kept in COED
order on each side of the shell read it becomes
necessary for every automobile to slow down
in meeting another machine, as nearly every
driver feels & little uncertain as 70 what the
results would be if be strikes out blindly onto
the dirt or grass part OF the road. We believe
that it should be kept in mind all the time tina.
tke whole 30 or IS feet OF road is what consti-
tutes OUT parish road. and the whole Of that
road should be kept in good order, have no holes
or any distractions Of any kind in it, no piles
OF wood, vehicles, or machines left standing
thereon. In this way the route can be kept
open and safe day or night, but in o-der to have
this done we should have access to the full 80
feet Of the road.
The road was carefully laid out by skillful
engineers and with moderate use Of the dirt or
Rras7 roads they will become mere and more
compacted as they become used and can be de-
pended upon to hold up the weight of the ma.
chimes travelling over them.
Unless all these precautions gre taken we
are very liable to have some serious accident.
There is no reason why our machines should not
safely pass each other at full speed but going
as now, both machines slowing down they both
try to keep most Of their machines on the shell
road. with perhaps IL 10 Is inches clearance be-
tween the two machines and this is not enough.
There ought to be 8 or 4 feet between the ma
chimes and this cannot be done unless the grass
road on each side is infgood condition 80 that
the machines can each Of them almost leave the
shell road entirely.
As we now have the only fifty miles of fine
shell road in the country, and at the end Of that
road there is a good hotel. we shall find that the
Lower Coast is becoming and will quickly be-
come, the great automobile attraction Of New
Orleans and hundreds Of machines will pass over
the route and the query with US should be as to
whether or not we shall permit distractions
along the line Of the road or endeavor to have
the road in such good order all the way along
that machines can pass each other at full speed