Evening star., 1915-05-16
SHOULD EDUCATE PUBLIC
ON RULES OF THE ROAD
Francis M. Hugo, Secretary of State
of New York. Gives Views
on Question.
Sugg ests Facts Concerning Traffic Be
Taught in the Elemen-
tary Schools.

t3Ey SCnOOlS.
''; thes. days o. Increasing popula
tion and increasing traffic both in speed
..u Noiu.- q, Is l., wrli to consider what
steps are being taken To instruct the
population in the rules which govern
ira ne said Francis NJ Hugo. secre-
tary uf state Of New York.
Motorists as il cs.i sS have TO be the
hest trained IA regard 10 the rules Of
the road because they are conductors
Of the fastest vehicles on the road.
Moreover. they are forced to suffer
from neglect Of others. roth in pass
irt= and ovcrtakine. Indeed. it is the
commonest remark o. Il novice at the
steering heel that he had no idea
before how many persons habitually
proceed ON th, wrong sid" of the road,
how many drivers of slow traffic are
careless and now many risks the av-
erage pedestrian assumes In the course
Of the day The marvel is not that so
many motor ear accidents happen. but
that there. are So few. considering the
vast volume of mechanical traffic "s-
pecialiy in the largest centcrS OF popu-
Iatiou. the immense mileage covered,
and the absence of any definite regula-
tluu>-
Rules OF Obscure Origin.
The ~n-raIleo rules of the road are
OF rather obscure origin. although they
have grown up as mixture of the
common law stud the highway law and
few decisions added to custom which
have more or less the force of law
This isamatiou OF experience is
known as th" rules of the road To
take one eN4mpI. of the desrability OF
regulating traffic: There is no Statu-
tory regulation of Il driver on a sec
ondary road to give way to one on Il
main road but in court decisions it has
been held that the driver of vehicle
coming out of a side street into one of
the more prominent thoroughfares
should give way and should have
thrown upon him the obligation of
seeing that the main road is clear.
The proper management of traffic is
not only a question which concerns the
flow of traffic and the drivers of vehi-
cles il is a serious economic question
as well. for if traffic is managed SO
that it proceeds smoothly. if the drivers
of slow vehicles are compelled to keep
to the side OF the road or street, a road
which would otherwise be Inadequate
will be found wide enough to allow
traffic to flow smoothly. because it re-
ceives the minimum amount of OBJ
Struction.
For motor traffic generally more
strict observation of the rules of the
road and the codfcation of local city
ordinances is of special Importance.
Proba bly, more accidents to motor cars
are caused by incorrect behavior of
other vehicles on the road than any
thing else. AL might, especially, every
motorist of experience knows that the
only safe assumption is to presume
that every wagon will never be eX-
actly in its right place
There is also another danger aris-
ing from the fact that there is no
statutory obligation, excepting of To-
cal character, for the driver of an over
taken vehicle turning to the right or;
left to designate his intention Of do
ing SO by holding out his hand. 1t is
true that the pressure of trafflc in large
cities has made il customary, with To-
cal ordinances requiring that the
drivers are TO hold out their hands or
whips to show some such intention, but
this salutary custom is often neglected
and accidents follow
Might Be Taught in Schools.
1T may be asked what is the remedy
for this chaotic state of affairs. 1t
would be well TO teach in the elemen-
tary schools, by means of rules and
diagrams, all the more important facts
concerning the management of traffic
and the duties of drivers. 1t might
first of all be shown how a pedestrian
should cross a road. namely, with his
face toward the flow of traffic. Then.
again. some simple rules as to the con-
duct of traffic might be taught show
ing how slow traffic should be kept to
the side of the road; how vehicles
should be met and overtaken. and what
are the conventional signs for the over
taken vehicles TO show before turning
to the right or to the left or stopping.
Already one of the city educational
authorities has issued excellent set
of rules. and the schools in some cities
are teaching road law as part of
the regular curriculum of the schools
n is difficult to imagine that any one
would object to such useful form of
knowledge. which educates the child in
whatever business he may afterward De
engaged. to look after his own safety
and that of others as well. Looking
forward to the time when the mum Der
Of motor vehicles upon the road will
ne very much greater, one cannot fail
% observe how important il is that this
subject of the rules of the road should
-ecetve more and more attention and
hat force should be given to a well
,onsidered code by statute"