Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-12-09
AUTO FATALITIES
INCREASED IN N. Y.
Imperative Need of Stringent
Enforcement of Traffic
Regulations.
PEDESTRIANS ALSO BLAMED
Jay-Walkers and Careless Peo-
pie Do Not Observe Law
of the Road"

Much public misapprehension re-
garding the causes of street and road
accidents persists notwithstanding Of
fetal records and statements that are
avoil2ble TO anyone who cares to as
certain the truth.
Recently the New York State Com
missioner of Health issued a state
inert at Albany showing that while
deaths from typhoid fever in the state
during September were less than the
average from the same month in past
years. the number of fatalities due to
automobiles showed q marked in
crease and was greater than the COM
bined deaths from typhoid and scar
let fever, says the Los Angeles Times.
These figures" he said, emphasize
the imperative need for stringent en-
forcement Of traffic regulation against
reckless drivers as well as education
OF pedestrians in carelessness on
streets and highways, which they
must share with vehicles.
The health commissioner apparent
ly overlooks or ignores two important
facts. First. that while automobile
accidents increased, the number of
automobiles in use had also increased,
but the ratio of accidents to cars did
not increase, second that the in
and decrease in horses in the cities
contributed materially to the decrease
in typhoid, scarlet fever and other
infectious diseases thru reduction of
the fly danger.
City Tries TO Enforce Laws.
New York city enforces vehicular
regulation more stringently and ef-
ficiently than any other city in the
country, yet after years of study
of the problem 1t says in its annual
report for 1915:
should a law be passed giving
the police some control of the move
,nents of pedestrians and should the
enforcement of the law be supported
by proper public eminent, 1t is
quite likely that not only will the in
crease in street accidents be checked,
but that a decrease may be accom-
plished."
This is q very modest statement
In its 1915 report the police depart
ment refrained from tabulating the
records showing the number Of ac-
cidents and deaths due to the fault
OF the injured, but In It's report for
1915 the figures showed that 80 per
cent of the accidents were attribut-
able to the injured. This is con-
elusive evidence that no further
amount of regulation of vehiclar
traffic can possibly reduce street
accidents more than 10 per cent.
An exhaustive investigation of all
facts connected with the more Sc
rlous motor-vehicle accidents in
Massachusetts, during the last eight
or nine years has been made by the
State Highway Commission, which
employed trained investigation for
the purpose. Six investigators spent
two weeks making a careful study OF
675 selected cases OF serious acci-
dessas and compiled n report, the re-
suits of which are published In eX-
tcrso in the annual report of the
commission for 1915, lust issued. As
result, the commission makes the
following statements:
Some Incorrect Impressions.
'"The public has many erroneous
ideas as to what causes automobile
accidents The Impression gets
abroad that most of the accidents
are caused by reckless or drunken
operators running at excessive speeds
and that many operators are never
caught These impressions are not
correct, in fact in any large pro-
portion of the accidents. 4
"Out of the 675 cases examined
the operators were believed to be
intoxicated in AZ instances only, or in
just about 6 per cent.
Women are unusually careful OPP
orators, being involved in only per
cent Of all the accidents, altho they
constitute about per cent of the
licensed operators. They were held
not at fault in z out Of fatal acci-
dents.
"In the PCS cases in which 2i3 ped
estrians and 22 others were killed
the pedestrian or other user of the
highway was wholly at fault In 162
and partly to blame in AZ. The OPP
orator was wholly at fault in. 81 cases
and partly to blame in 43.
Two hundred and five deaths out
Of 265 would not have occurred II
reasonable care had been exercised
by the deceased. In more than hall
OF all the cases in which pedestrians
and other users of the highway out
side of the motor vehicle were either
killed or injured. the accident would
not have occurred If the ordinary