The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-02-04
ZEE PSYCHOLOGY or SPEEDING

The speed fend has been claiming the centcE Of the stage Of
late, and the speed mailman has been much discussed. The
psychology of speeding ought to be investigated. If this were
done it would probably be found that he is a mental defective
whose proper place is in the psychopathic ward. There are peo-
PIE who when they go to a certain altitude feel an inclination
to jump off. This inclination with some becomes a craze and an
irresistible impulse, and we read of people flinging themselves.
from high buildings or from precipces 20 death. No doubt
burning Sappho" was one Of these detectives. The Lesbian
maid was madly in love with Phaon, the boatman, and because
she could not have him the instant she wanted him she flung
herself over the Leucadian cliff, and was drowned in the sea
The automobile speed fend is seized with a burning desire to be
somewhere else other than where he is. He wants to go. He
feels this same anxiety when aboard ship or on a railroad train,
Things do not move fast enough for him We are all more or
less dissatisfied. Some more than others, and we try to get
away from ourselves and our surroundings.
To accomplish this some people resort to a bottle of whisky;
Others to narcotics of some sort, anything to speedily satisfy
the yearning for change. This dissatisfaction sometimes mani
tests itself in a clamor for the new, as if the old were so very
bad that we should try to get away from it.
The automobile seems to be particularly adapted to arous-
ing this frenzy for change to fever heat. Men who are composed
and apparently we'll balanced will learn to guide a car. They
know the risk and danger Of rapid riding, and for the first few
weeks they creep along meticulously, warily watching the road
in front of them to see that no distractions are in the way.
AS they become more proficient through practice, they
speed up a little, and, finding that this goes all right, they
increase the rate until top speed is reached, They see an object
far ahead of them, and they feel that they must get to it and
past it as soon as possible. There is sound logic in speeding
when a criminal is endeavoring to outstrip pursuing officers Of
the law, but why sensible people should risk their lives and limbs
to reach a point at a given time when they can just as well get
there ten or fifteen minutes later and be in ample time, is not
easy to understand. 1t must result from some mental derange-
ment. This haste to get past objects grows on its victims, and
in time the individual looks upon any car rolling along ahead
of him as a challenge, and an insult which he must resent. This
weakness manifests itself more frequently in young men, who
seem to think that their manhood is on trial, and that they
cannot vindicate it unless they whirr past everything in front
of them. The discontinue OF their n~eighbor, into whose eyes
dust is thrown, is rapturous Joy to them.
Gentlemen OF mature age are also offenders in this respect.
If they live out some distance they want to get home at a GER
tain hour. They fail to start in time and must make up by fast
running,
No one wants to appear to be left standing in the road, and
when one drives fast another will do the same, until the habit
Of speeding is formed, with the result that scarcely a car travels
any distance without imperlng the lives of those in it. The
chauffeur may be strong and reliable, and the steering gear
docie and easily managed, but the average car travels at such
a rate that should a tire be Notwithstanding that may
happen at any time-the debated tube will inevitably throw the
vehicle into the ditch or bring it mp against an obstruction that
will reduce it to kinding wood, Accident follows accident
human lives and limbs are sacrificed, and the speed fend pays
no attention. Others may come to grief, he feels, but he will
escape. HI is different. He has always some reason convincing
to himself why he is going to escape.
Imposing fines on the speeders does not seem to do any
good for the reason that it is a defect of mentality which is
not cured in one man by filming another. Some day or other we
may reach the point where before a person is permitted to run
a car he shall pass an examination as to his mental qualifca-
tions. OF one thing we may be certain: the automobile is here to
Atay, and the number in use will constantly increase. The
danger will increase in exact ratio.
Meantime arrests for speeding followed by stiff fines or Jail
sentences, whether any accident or damage results or not. NAV
get somewhere else than where they are. The present reckless
ness of speeders cannot be tolerated. They are a menace to pub
lie safety, and to that extent public enemies that should be sup.
pressed.
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