New-York tribune., 1920-10-31
Safe, Rather Than
Sorry, Is Excellent
Guide for Driving

1t Takes Real Experience To
Be a Competent Motor Car
Operator; Many Have Not
Really Been Put to Test
The long list of motor accidents with
fatalities and injuries and wreckage,
especially in the Monday morning news
papers, makes it apparent that the
Safety First" slogan of warning has
lost its punch. OF course. if the driver
neck or not, and insists upon taking
a chance" no amount of advice or eau
tion will have any any effect, but the
driver who does care for his own safety
and that of those who are in the car
with him, would better print the words
stop! Look Listen!" upon the wind
shield until they have been burned in
delibly upon his mind.
Ninety-nine per cent Of the accidents
are the result of carelessness or negli-
gence; only l per cent can be blamed
upon imperfections of the automobile
or causes beyond tho control Of the
driver. In many cases, also. where the
innocent party suffers, he might have
prevented tho other fellow from smash
ing him up.
There are lot Of people driving
automobiles to-day who know nothing
more about them than ability to turn
the steering wheel and move the levers
and pedals which control the car. Many
of them do not know why or how these
devices work. How can they be intelli.
gent in operating the car when thus
ignorant of it's makeup? 1t Is the
best proof Of the mechanical perfec.
tion of automobiles that they 60 right,
even though the driver is ignorant.
Lucky Up to Date
The great fallacy with the automo.
bile driver is that when the car has
been successfully piloted a few miles
without accident driving has been
mastered. AS a matter of fact he prob
ably has been fortunate in not having
run into a combination of circum-
stances that called for real ability. He
hasn't yet had to make a quick step on
slipping pavement; he HASN'T descend.
ed a long, steep hill with the cal
heavily loaded, nor had to turn out
into the soft dirt or hidden ditch al
the side of the road. He hasn't come
III NOlitdNI Will VIC OCHCI lV~lCO WIN
depends upon him to get out Of the
way, or the bull-headed driver who will
not have pity upon his very evident
ignorance and give him more leeway
than the law calls for, nor the medic
ere driver who is incapable of covering
his mistakes. He lacks experience.
There is no doubt that real automo.
bile drivers are born with natural tai.
ent, as are artists, musicians and other
geniuses, and as a very small percent
age have this real talent it behooves
the average man to study hard as he
drives carefully, and get his experience
in small, inexpensive doses. He is not
an experienced driver until he has han
died a car several years under all con.
ditons, and he is only fooling himself
if he believes to the contrary.
A great many of the accidents come
right time. Much OF the success il
driving an automobile depends upor
two things-operating the steering
wheel and levers automatically and ye'
being able to have brain alert and cor
rect in judgment. Many accident:
have occurred because, when the oc
casion to turn the steering wheel came
brain and hands were nol working TO
gether and the turn was made the
wrong way. The driver knew better
but that did not prevent the smash-up
Second Nature Called For
True, man cannot really drive unit
he does the various things as seconc
nature, but unless they are done intel
ligently and properly, they might bet
ter not be done at all. Experience ant
judgment are required to achieve the
proper result. Then there are all sort.
of emergencies which require specia
things done. They must be done quick
ly and they must be done right.
But there are many accidents which
grow out of the devil -may-care atttud,
of some motorists. 1t is not the large
number of cars on the highways, bu
the occasional reckless driver tina
helps pile up the list of fatalities. Thel
there are those who insist upon speed
ing past the car ahead of them. The
other fellow may be going as fast a:
an inherent inclination not to take The
other fellows dust, or else it is the de
( sire to get ahead Of the other fellow
Accidents are very frequent in tn
country around New York because s.
many drivers take chances at the in
tersection of other roads where ther
IS no traffic policeman. 1t Is never saf
to approach road intersection at higl
speed unless one can see a long wa,
in each direction. 1t does not make an,
difference after the accident whethe
YOU had the right on your side. 70,
may have had the right of way. bu
the other fellow did not recognize i;
and to save second or two YOU riske,
your life and limb as we'll as those O
the folks In the rear seat. The "Safet
First" idea here would have saved it a
Sometimes there is extra danger afte
q shower, when the roads are slippery
The driver, in hurry to get home
steps on the gas, tries to turn a corne
or curve in the road with his foo
on the accelerator, and perhaps withou
chains on the rear wheels, and the mex
tnlng a telephone pole gets in the wa
and things happen.
Belief in Signs
There Is the fellow who alwovs ba,
to speed up when he meets the locomo
1--WE at the crossing, and in spite O
the sign, which bids one "Stop! Look
Listen!" and perhaps a bell ringing {
warning, there are hundreds of fool
marcy drivers who persist in taking ,
chance. The same fellows will speet
ahead Of trolley which is perilousl,
near. 1t is impossible to gauge tn,
speed Of train or trolley from ar
automobile. Even an experienced rail
road man cannot gauge the speed with.
out some fixed object to measure bv.
Another class of accident comes be.
cause the driver fails to recognize thf
rights of pedestrians in the highway
He seems to think it is the business
or the pedestrian to get out of the