Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-12-05
PEDESTRIANS AND MOTORISTS
URGED TO BE CONSIDERABLE
John Oliver La Gorce Declares Co-Opera-
tion and Courtesy Will Help to
Solve Traffic Problems.

part of both pedestrians and motor
| lists will go a long way toward help
| ing the traffic situation in this city,
chairman of the public safety commit
tee of the local division of the Ameri-
can Automobile Association.
In speaking of this phase of traf-
| nc troubles Mr.. La Gorce says:
Most of us who reside in Washing
| ton speak English. There is another
I and more universal language, used by
| 100 per cent Americans, and that is
! the language of common courtesy.
which is understood by the man in
| the ditch as it is by the man in the
| Limousine.
! The common or garden variety of
courtesy between real Americans
| today to our traffic problem of life
and death. Only few years ago the
farmer was bitter against the auto
mobile because the city dweller with
little knowledge of domestic animals
would dash along the rural roads at
wagon or the buggy against the fence
and perhaps laughing loudly when a
colt In his fright tried to climb a
telegraph pole or the team bolted and
upset the family.
After while the farmer began to
realize that all automobile drivers
were not ruthless ruffians, for increas-
ing numbers of the drivers he met on
the hghwafy would smile and slow
down or stop upon the approach of a
Eorse-drawn vehicle thus giving evil
dence of a little consideration for the
farmer and his steed. Whereupon the
farmer, who was also a hundred per
cent american at heart, began to sus-
pect that these go1-darned fellows
| were not so bad after all. and since
! pretty fast. perhaps he might get one
b.gosh!
apply Courtesy to Streets
AS the city pedestrian pounds
along to his Office or store he NAV
De unconsciously a little envious Of
| the man who skins along to work
| IN his car. We all know that even
small degree of envy or jealousy
will foreshorten ones viewpoint.
When to this already disturbing ele-
| ment OF envy we add an irritation
because not one car among the stream
| OF automobiles coming along will
stop and let him cross over to the
other side of the street-for the av-
erage driver always seems to pass the
| buck to the man behind as being the
one who should do the stopping-it
naturally antagoniZes the helpless
pedestrian further. When he does
finally get the right of way he takes
his own sweet time, meanwhile look
| ing birthstone at the antomobilist and
| making up his mind that he will
| make it as unpleasant as he can. Re-
| suit: Bad feeling on both sides and
a corresponding recklessness.
drivers standpoint. It requires no
little effott to bring the-car to. a
| standstilI in order to let some one
ssfely padkydt calls for the use of
different changes of the gears to get
driver resents the pedestrians atti-
tude in purposely moving slowly
across the streets. and that they
should have the peculiar and deadly
habit OF appearing from behind an
other car and into his path without
such practices cause the driver heart
failure and lightning-li change or
swerve to save life and limb, to say
nothing of damage to his car by
sudden strain on engine and injury
''Such. indeed. is the unhappy con-
dition today. whereas the applica-
tion Of little courtesy and consid-
Grafton on both sides would unques-
tionably go far toward correcting the
udlIcI.
Urged to Overcome Impulse.
LET the automobile driver over.
come the impulse to pass the buck to
the man behind him in line, and, by
simply throwing out his hand as a
warning to those following, stop now
and then to let the man, woman or
child on foot safely make the passage
Of the Red sea, as the streets are well
termed today. Let him remember that
he ic nhoh To-,
Of hurry than himself, and is well
within his rights in his desire to get
on the other side of the street. In
stead Of looking daggers at each
other. and thus building up an un-
American prejudice, the motorist may
change the whole atmosphere by a
smile and q wave of the hand to in
dictate safe passage. Such a fellow
ship Of the thoroughfares would soon
beget a tolerance and consideration