New-York tribune., 1918-06-21
Autonobihng
Licensing All Motor Ca,
Operators Won't Make
Roads Any Safer
By c. E. T Soharr,s

mere appears 70 be an idea in the
o'has OF many persons who have to do
Win motoring that licensing of all op-
orators of automobiles ia sort of
pahacea for every traffic trouble. Now,
1or instance, comes along the New York
/ State Automobile Association with the
statement that at the semi-annual
, meeting, to be held June 26 and 81 at
Mlddletown, N. Y, one of the chief
things will be "an insistent demand
that all drivers Of Automobiles be H.
censed and pass a satisfactory exami-
nation on the rules Of the road at
least" One Of the speakers at the
meeting will be Police Commissioner
Enright. who recently came out in fa-
vor of licensing all those who drive
cars.
AS a matter Of fairness, in order to
bring about proper balance between
New York City and the rest of the
state, am in favor OF all operators of
motor vehicles being licensed. The law
at present requires an operators IL
cense Of those only who reside in the
greater city and drive cars there. But
any outlandcr-.that is, any person
IRON upstate-~is free to drive his car
here without any such license Now,
If getting the license amounted to any,
thing there might not be so much pro-
test against it. But all it does amount
to is to send 81 in to the Secretary of
States Office and you get your card
Just as a sidelight, report of the
Secretary of State for 1917 shows that
out Of 36.500 persons who applied for
chauffeurs' licenses in this state more
than 5000 were rejected. The turn
downs were on road tests. Small won
der that Magistrate House. the over
lord of the traffic court, was moved to
comment thus on the situation:
Here are one-sixth of all persons
unable to pass a road test after hav-
ing been instructed at some place how
to drive motor vehicle. and still we
have law On our statute books which
permits any person other than chauf-
feur who has got money enough to buy
an automobile to get in it and drive it
away, if he can, without any exanina-
tion whatever.
All man has got to do is to mail
81 to the Secretary of State, and he
receives permit by return mail"
But even Magistrate House fails to
recognize that the most the approved
licensing system can do is to demon
strate that the man being examined can
operate an automobile in satisfactory
way and knows the rules Of the road.
It is not these things, but the tenn
permanent and character of the oper-
ator that makes all the difference; and
nothing but test by psychologists
could ever develop exactly what sort
of man the candidate for license is.
The State of New Jersey for a long
time has had licensing system for all
operators of cars, but only a little
touring on New Jersey roads will prove
that merely to hnve card in ones
pocket does not make manor 3
woman, either, for that matter-a real
driver
Up to now all that the licensing Of
operators has been good for in New
York State, as far as 1t goes, is to take
a couple Of hundred thousand dollars
out Of New York City motorists 2ock-
cts for the state treasury, without any
real return for it. If any move Is to
be made by the New York State Auto
mobile Association at its meeting. why
not take steps to wipe this objection
able and useless legislation off the
honEc7