Norwich bulletin., 1918-09-13
Doings in The Auto World
WHEN THE POLICE GET YOU.

WHEN THE POLICE GET YOU.
 1. Don't try to make the traffic of ficer out a liar. This is without 8 doubt, the most serious offence you can commit when being tried for a traffic violation.
 2. Don't say your speedometer was out of order.
 3. Don't say your car can't go as fast as the officer testifes, because you will be in wrong right from the start.
 4. Don't tell the judge you were speeding to the assistance of sick friend, unless you are a doctor, and if so, be sure to bring your patient into court to corroborate your state ment.
 5. Don't say you were hurrying to catch a boat or train; these two are 50 old they have long whiskers.
 6. Don't say your mufler was mak- ing a loud noise and the officer thought you were going fast.
 [. Don't say you didn't know that you had to keep your cutout closed during the day. It must be closed all the time.
 g. Don't, if the judge asks you what have you to say to this charge of speeding, answer Nothing" or T haven't anything to say"
 g. Last, but not least, if you have never been arrested before be sure to tell the judge that this is your first offence and the first time you have ever been arrested for violating the traffic law.
 William c. Poernter, president elect of the Motor club of New York, is of the opinion that an educational campaign to teach people to cross the streets at street crossings only would be a highly beneficial act and tend to decrease the number of au- tomobile accidents.
 Any one who drives a car can not help but notice how often pedes- trians leave the sidewalk in the mid dle of the block attempting to crcss the street at an angle, and in nine eases out of ten failing to look to see whether or not automobiles are approaching" says MT. Poertner Frequently this means that the | driver is forced to steer in an arc to get around the person or else pull his brakes suddenly, in manner which endangers other automobiles that may be following closely. 'If there were an ordinance in 1 force requiring pedestrians to cross only at regular street intersections they WOuIu 1SdTn lO duQeT6 lO lut rule, and the fact that chauffeurs as rule slow down at street cross ing or are prepared to slow down would greatly lessen the number ot Faccidents. Each season many chil- dren are injured not because of the faults of the motors but because ot children lodging behind cars in the middle of the block Of course it is more difficult to teach this to chill dren than to adults, but much ef- fective work could be done in this way by school teachers.
 The street car companies have | accomplished considerable in theil campaign. teaching women not te step off car platforms backward an6 police regulations about automobiles coming to a standstill when pedes- trians are getting on or off the street car, as well as the eight-foot rule have resulted most satisfactorily and nowadays there are far fewer accidents resulting from combina. tion of street car and automobile.
 '1n Paris. I understand, there i, an ordinance that pedestrians mus not cross the street in the middle of the block, and when an acciden occurs the pedestrian is liable tC arrest for disobedience of this ordi- nance"