Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-10-17
In Address at Chicago He Out
lined Best Regulations
for the Streets.
OBJECTS TO ORDINANCES;
FAVORS POLICE CONTROL
Shows How Best Results May Be OBJ
tanned With Minimum Effort
and Expense.

One Of the features Of the closing SEES
sion of the National Council for Indus
trial Safety in Chicago. Thursday, Oc-
fober 10. was a paper by William p
Emo of Washington on the subject
Safety Problem in the Municipality
Mr. Emo has made a deep study of
street traffic in various large cities, his
plan for it's regulation having been
adopted in Paris and in part in New
York and Washington. He is recog-
nfZed as the foremost advocate of uni
formity and simplicity in traffic rules
and is endeavoring to effect a further
amendment of the local regulations to
render them more effective His pa
per. in part, follows:
Safety is the primary object of street
traffic regulation and depends entirely
upon it. 1t means also a great annual
saving of money as well as of life. In
New York alone the monetary saving
IN time is far in excess of the entire
cost of operating the police depart
ment.
First Rules of the Road.
Up to 1903 there was practically no
attempt to regulate traffic except in
British cities. and even these had no
printed regulations, the drivers being
guided by the unwritten rules of the
road. and the police well trained The
results were excellent, but it had TAX
en- generations to obtain them.
In New York the same results were
needed without delay. The first step
was to teach the drivers some kind of
rules and to educate the police to en-
force them. Therefore the unwritten
rules OF the road, together with a few
Lot love
ned and printed in the police manual
IN pocket folders and on placards for
stables, garages and cab stands.
These regulations, consisting of
about 500 words, went into effect in
New York October 80, 1903, and are in
operation today: the only changes made
since have been to simplify and de-
velop from time to time as our expe-
rience widened. They were officially
adopted in Paris July 10, 1912. In this
way almost identical regulations OBJ
fain now In London, New York and
faris. as we'll as in many smaller cities
TRAFFIC regulations should be police
department regulations and not munic-
apai ordinances One ordinance or
The duty of the police department to
regulate traffic is all that is desirab able.
MOST cities already have some law
f fnnt VIII serve the purpose. If not. the
borrowing form is recommended:
The police department is hereby
authorlzed, empowered and ordered to
Gireet. control. restrict and regulate,
III. III me interest of public safety. health
anu convenience, the movement of pc
destrlan. animal and vehicular traffic
OF every kind in streets, parks bridges
ana public places. and to adopt, en-
force and change regulations in re,ard
thereto " eoiu
Organization by Police.
The management of traffic by the
police, If the drivers know the resula-
1iohs, adds but very little, if anything,
10 the cost of police work This is due
10 the TACT that the men composing the
trafhc squad are not Withdrawn from
regular police duty, but are SO placed
by their special assignments as to have
an effective supervision of their local
lty, where they are readily found in
case of emergency. Their duty con-
stitutes what might be termed fixed
post duty by men on foot, and limit
ed patrol duty by men on horses and
cycles.
"a well trained body of mounted
police Is essential to every large city
Tor the management of parades, escort
DUTY. suppression of riots. etc. A
mounted traffic squad furnishes this
economically because daily traffic duty
gives regular employment.
All policemen. moreover, should I'M
derstand that they have general traffic
obligations. and to make this under
sued from headquarters:
You are hereby informed that it is
the duty of all policemen to correct,
instruct and reprimand drivers for in
fraction or regulations, and If an Of
Tense is committed with intent to block
traffic or to interfere with the rights
or safety of others to take the drivers
name. number and address. the vehicle
number. If any, AMI any other particu-
lars that may be useful for identifica-
ton. and report them at your precinct
for action. In case of a serious Of
Tense the driver should forthwith be
arrested
THE traffic police generally are doing
excellent work, and in some cities have
become particularly efficient and equal
if not superior to those of London, but
the organization work has nowhere as
vet been perfected. Every police de-
partment should have bureau of
street traffic with a subbmranch known
the public carriage office. under
which the licensing of all public and
business vehicles and the examination
and licensing of their drivers should
come. as in London.
The bureau should keep a complete
record of all complaints and of acct
dents and their causes. with view to
reducing their number In future.
Numerous statistics of accidents and
deaths due to traffic have been at
tempted in the great cities of the
world but none of them are anywhere
near complete. for the reason that they
cannot be all reported. and large
number of those who are slightly or
seriously hu4t or who have died after
ward are never recorded
Rule and Regulation Forms.
Printed regulations are inexpensive.
\ standard form should be freely dis
tributed and placarded so that plea
of ignorance can be no valid excuse for
either driver or pedestrian.
The regulation of street traffic has
grown to be almost an exact science.
and as such 1t Is as Important to know
what should be left out as what should
be put in.
Traffic rules must. above ALL be short,
concise and clear. or they will not be
read; and reasonable. or they cannot be
enforced.
The study of traffic regulation with a
view to further improvements sh, he
encouraged. but under no circumsI> ces
to the extent of allowing inexperienced
persons to disarrange and confuse thor
oughly tested rules.
Realizing the proved value of traffic