Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-10-16
A. A. A. IN ACCORD
WITH DISTRICT ON
DRIVERS PERMITS
Secretary UIIman Says Men
in Autos "Take a Chance"
in Driving.

bile drivers permits. In a statement
today the association pledges its aid
for the elimination of the project,
which has interested the careful
drivers of the District for many years.
The association believes that
psychologist should be added to the
board of examiners, who would be
qualified to detect mental deficiencies
that should prevent many persons
from driving cars, and a private au-
tomobile owner appointed to the
board which is now revising the DIS
trict traffic laws and drivers permit
law.
Would Have Experts Test.
Before a man is allowed to run an
automobile he ought to be put
through some sort of test by experts
that will disclose whether or not he
possesses ordinary good judgment. in
the opinion of officials of the assocla-
ton. If he hasn't he should not De
licensed to run a car.
In explanation of numerous acct
dents that occur, il is the belief OF
PSYCHOLOGISTS that many of them are
due to the Uncomfortable impulse"
that sometimes attacks otherwise
careful men.
In this connection William Ullman,
secretary of the A. A. A. says:
Statement by Mr.. Ullmnn.
mot so long ago a well known mo-
torist, who would be generally con-
sfdered a safe and sane driver, said
TO me:
Whenever I get close to railroad
track and see train speeding toward
me there comes over me a wild yearn-
ing to beat it across; it looks safe, and
yet there is just the sporting chance
for adventure, and you want to do 1t
-ah, how you want to do it! Blessed
is the man who can hold himself in
that crisis!
almost any motorist can cite you
numerous narrow escapes he has had
at street intersections. 1 know I've
got across several times by the skin
of my teeth without collision and
without injuring pedestrians. OF
course, people should not take any
chances; the very fellows who get
advised to stop.
"The Remedy"
THE remedy? Why, the same as
the advice you give your boy about
handling the unloaded shotgun-don't
do it."
That the uncomfortable impulse
has long been recognized by railroad
officials is shown in this law laid
down to switchmen many years ago
DS an oillCidl VI 6TedI "eSlei II 1dii-
road:
when you set your switch cor
rectly. stand back from it at least ten
feet until the train has passed.
This order, the official stated, was
made because of the uncomfortable
impulse that comes over some men; If
near enough their hands will instinc-
lively or impulsively grasp the switch
lever and ditch the oncoming train. or
they wouldrt turn the switch while the
train was passing. Il
"The matter of impulse may be
roughly defined in man walking
along the edge of a SkysCraper build
ing with another on the same level
within jumping distance. He cannot
resist the temptation to make the
leap. But if the roof is slippery
81 Won't Take the Risk
''Now. the trained mind would step
back, rejecting: I won't take that
risk because there is no need of 1t.
That's the attitude that must be
reached by men and women before
they are entitled to an automobile
drivers license. Should this suggested
qualification prevail, the daily news
papers will then cease to shock their
readers daily with lurid accounts Of
automobile accidents.
with the ever-increasing number
of automobiles and drivers in every
town there should be lectures to mo-
tor car owners and drivers by men
who know human nature and who can
impart the essentials of mental judg-
ment. These lecturers should labor
with the minds of the people who
have to do with the driving of cars;
impress upon them the responsibility
for such it is-a grave responsibility
Other Lives mt Stake.
"Frequently the motorist, like the
engine driver of a train. has other
lives in his keeping, and he should
be made to appreciate the burdens
thtS laid upon him. He should be
ta0Iht that to take chance is a
crime; that it is his duty to wait-to
restrain the impulse. The average
man needs to be told this. He knows
all about the mechanics of his car,
how to get the best results out of il,
but he does not seem to know when
he is in physical danger and when
he is endangering the lives of others.
He likes to keep going-to feel the
thrill of motion-to take a chance.
That is normal human nature, I'M
trained; the gambling instinct plant
ed in our veins at creation. That in
stinct must be overcome. And it is
going to require treatment. just the
same as any other dangerous disease.
Case in Point.
Here's a case to illustrate the point
just made:
Joe Smith was a newspaper man,
forty-two years of age, of normal
health and mind. In his paper there
had been warnings time without num-
Der against crossing railroad tracks
without properly looking up and down
to see if a train were coming. Only
recently his paper had printed large
illustration of an autoiSt taking a
chance to beat a train across. Joe
Travelled about the country in a small
car.
"One day he undertook to cross a
certain railroad track. The way was
clear. no trees or foliage obstruced the
view of the approaching train, and
the presumption is that he saw it, and
thought he could beat it across. The
pilot hit the car squarely in the CEN
ter, smashed it to kindling wood. and
the newspaper mans body was found
$50 feet from the point of impact.
At the Inquest.
AT the inquest the engineer testi-
fled that being on the right side of his
machine. with the big boiler in front
of him, he could see nothing ahead on
the north side, and didn't know there
was car near till he heard the
crash. The fireman was busy putting
in coal and saw nothing. The train
was going fifty miles an hour on level
track The jury exonerated the crew
No suit was brought by the widow
The fault was with the man in the
automobile. Yet he was strictly sober
knew all about his car and was in
good physical and mental health.
This same story was told recently
to a prominent psychologist. His com
ment was brief:
Called "Mentnl Weakness,
Joe Smiths taking a chance was
q mental weakness-the same sort OF
mental weakness that has caused sc