Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-07-24
SAFETY FIRST
Honolulu. 7. H, July %, 1915.

Sir: For some time past this cham.
Der. as well as our individual mem
hers, have been advocating some
scheme whereby We can in some de.
gree eliminate danger On our streets.
Most every automobile driver can 70
lcaIl hairbreadth escapes. or escapes;
| in some measure, from accidents
which. | win venture to say IL thor
cughly and honestly investigated,
could be traced directly to the care
lessness of persons crossing street
or suddenly coming out on to the
street or from children using the
streets as Fairgrounds.
While our city fathers are legislat-
ing along all sorts of lines against the
automobile and its driver, ! wish il
might be possible to embody in our
ordinances something which would
place larger portion of the burden of
responsibility where it properly be-
longs, namely, not so much on the
driver of a machine as upon the per-
sen who suffers accident from his own
carelessness. know that it is an.
extremely difficult matter to instill
into our people the necessity of exer-
cising greater care. 1t has been DEM
onstrated that great many accidents,
due to the use Of machinery, come
from the fact that an operator be-
comes very proficient In the use of
that machinery and does not exercise
the same amount of precaution as he
cid when he first began to use it.
This same thing is-yery largely true
IN crossing a street. Two persons
may be in discussion on street when
one will suddenly recall an appoint
ment on the other side and immedi-
ately start to cross over without any
regard for the safefy to his life or
limb or to what hazard he may be put
ting himself by not first looking to
see If vehicle is approaching. Il
know this is a very common occur
renee. We become careless in our
everyday walks of life just the same
as the operator does with his ma
chine when all too soon we have met
with accident while as said before,
il honestly investigated, could be
chargeable, in most cases, directly to-
the carelessness of the person injur-
ed. | know what difficult matter it |
is to keep children from playing ON
the streets. Go into the congestedl
part of the city; say through King
street from Nuuanu to Liliha, along
Beretania from Nuuanu to its junction |
with King, or along Hotel street. Nuu- |
anu street or Liliha street and you
will find, most any time of the day. |
and many times well into the night. |
children playing along the curbing on |
both sides and quite often darting
ever from one side to the other.
well recall a personal experience
where two boys. possibly between the /
ages of z and 10, we're trying a new
but very hazardous game. They we're /
stationed on the curling at opposite
sides of the street. and on the APP
preach of my machine starteA to RUM
1t break-neck speed across, meeting I
1T about the center of the street. the
exciting feature CT the game being to
see which could come the closer to
the machine without being hit and
hen gain the opposite curbing before
the other fellow reached his.
When someone is struck by an au-
tcmobile, public sentiment immediate
" condemns the driver and says more
care should be exercised. This SEN
timent istcemented, more particularly,
by persons who have not had expert
ence in driving, and while am free
to admit that many drivers put their
through at break-neck speed
directly contrary to law, still / am
prone to believe that the greater ma
jority of drivers exercise extreme
care as much for their own safety as
for the safety Of the public.
One of the members of this cham
Der, only within the past week. when
coming down Nuuanu street from his |
home was called upon to execute var
Gus grapevine turns to avoid a child
who suddenly bobbed out from behind
something land ran immediately IN
'front.' of his machine. The parent, so I
It is reported, was apparently uncon- |
cerned when told that his child was +
playing in the street and had barely
avoided an accident The question OF I
what should be done is very large (
1ne A young child is hardly amen
bile to any reasoning power and pos
sibly, in many cases, the parent IS
likewise; but it occurs to me that II
some system might be adopted where
w our public schools would institute
/ series of lectures on Safety First, &
/ might result in great benefit. II
child can be made to understand that
ia affnmnted in his behalf; II