Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1916-09-17
AuIO|ST SHOULD
Be PREPARED FOR
THE UNEXPECTED
Good Operator of Motor We
hicles Is One Who Is Not
Caught Mapping.

"The subject of accidents upon the
public highways, always an interest
ing one, has for some time been re-
ceiving much attention. says Fran
els M. Hugo, secretary Of state of
New York, in a recent interview in
the New York Herald
"To begin with, every good driver
upon the road, whether of horse or
motor cars, should thoroughly grasp
the fundamental fact that the pedes-
trian has in some places greater
| rights, in others an equal right and in
! still others inferior rights on the
roads in relation to wheeled traffic,
and he is supposed to take reason
able care Of himself and to see that
he does not recklessly endanger him
self and others.
GAS generally understood, COM
mon dangers, for instance, include
the chance of collision with other We
hicles at cross roads, of skidding on
a slippery pavement and many other
rihks which vary according to the
traffic, the condition of the weather,
and other circumstances which need
not be considered here.
"The driver of a motor car, how
ever, who aspires to a clean record in
the matter of accidents has to be more
than ordinarily alert. He has to ex-
ercise in special degree the quality
of forethought and train himself to
calculate beforehand what is likely to
happen in certain circumstances which
may at first thought appear unlikely.
"A danger to which vehicles meet
ing and overtaking are especially IL
able occurs when small children are
holding on the rear end Of wagons.
Talking at the top Of their voices,
these young folk often lose sight of
the fact that other vehicles may be
overtaklng and passing them. A boy,
perhaps. drops his cap and suddenly
relinquishes his hold to recover it. AT
that moment, perhaps, another We
hicle is passing and before anything
can be done or without any blame be-
ing attributable to the driver the lad
is knocked down and injured.
"Of course, in such cases the fault |
lies primarily with the child. But mo-
torists must treat children in all cases
as irresponsible and CARELESS. When !
children's feet are seen underneath a
vehicle to which they are clinging |
utmost caution should be exercised.
Accidents are reported from time |
to time as happening to deaf, old and
infirm persons, who, while walking in
the road have been unable to hear the
warning of horses hoofs5or the motor
horns. In such cases they are often
run over. These are accidents hard to
avoid, because one can mot presume
that every pedestrian is deaf.
"rhe fact is that in these days Of !
rapid and constant lo1pmotion, tie
highway has become Xsfy dangerous
place for those not inpssession of
their full faculties in cv2 sense. For
nearly sixty years past, that is from
1910 to 1900, the main Highways were
more than deserted, the railways tax
ing the whole of the long and a great
portion of the short distance traffic.
Now, however, the use of the road is
being revived, and it is just as danger
Gus to allow infirm and deaf persons
to stray about upon the highways as it
would be to allow them to walk about
in the vicinity of the railroad tracks.
another form of risk>on the high
ways which is not sufficiently appreci-
ated by many motorists is that which
is always present when ridden or led
horses are concerned.
"Such animals nearly always dis
play unaccountable tendencies to turn
sideways toward passing vehicles,
blocking up the greater part of the
road, and it is safer for the driver of |
a motor car, observing a nervous or
a high spirited animal, to stop so that
in case Of accident no blame may rest
upon himself.
ut is foolish, of course, to imagine
that the dangers Of the road can be
eliminated or that any form
of locomotion can become absolutely
safe as regards other users of the
but mental alertness while
driving motor car upon the public
roads has become more and more es-
sential if the driver would be true
master of his craft, and the maxim
that it is the unexpected that often
happens should always be present in
the minds Of the drivers"