Evening star., 1921-05-29
CITES CAUSES OF'LOSS OF LIFE
IN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS
W.P.Eno Ascribes Traffic Troubles to Lack
of Uniform Regulations and
Unframed Officers.

The great loss of life. time ana
money in automobile accidents 's
largely due to the fact that pracu-
cally every city in the country mas
been allowed to make it's own trafhc
regulations. which are usually en-
forced by unframed traffic officers ac-
cording to William Phelps Emo. IN
ternational traffic authority, one OF
the designers of the traffic regulations
of New York and Paris. and a resi-
dent OF the District of Columbia
speaking recently at Yale University
at a conference on highway traffic
regulations. Such methods are un-
economical and should be superseded
by those of intelligence, asserted Mr..
Emo.
The science of highway traffic
regulation consists in the knowledge
of how to regulate the movement OF
interfere with one another as little
as possible and are enabled to go from
point to point in the shortest tune
compatible with safety" said the
speaker.
Divided Into Two Parts.
IRA ftic regulations are divided into
two parts-general and special. Gen
eral highway traffic regulations are
those which contain all things essen
tial for the largest city and nothing
superf1uouS for the smallest village
Such regulations should be standard
lied and their general use INSISTED
upon throughout the whole country.
since without such use it Is impossible
to regulate traffic safely or econ6m-
ically Failure to realize this fact has
always resulted in chaos and un-
necessary loss OF life.
"In the scientific regulation OF traffic
the first and most important step IS
the education of those to be regulated.
If this principle is followed. the work
of the police becomes that OF prompt
ers and assistants rather than that
of enforcers.
DRIVERS and pedestrians, when they
know their rights. become the real
regulators. as they resent infraction
by those feW-a constantly diminish
ing nimber-attsmpting TO override
the rights Of others. This was once
a theory. but to those familiar with
the work 1t has long since proved
to be a fact. 1t is human nature,
common sense, economical and psy-
Geological.
Again. if educational measures are
relaxed. traffic regulation goes back
ward. Much Of the present trouble in
our cities is directly traceable to this.
as is the chaotic condition existing
in Paris since the war. 1t is no un-
common occurrence for the head or
police department. in order to camou-
supply copies of the regulations. TO
issue an order for the wholesale ar
rest of drivers for infraction OF regu-
lations which they have not been
given practical chance to become
familiar with.
Suggests Regulations BE Brief.
ut is essential that general traffic
be read: clear. or they will not be
understood; reasonable. or they can
not be enforced: uniform, or they will
result in confusion and danger
THE first set CT general highway
traffic regulations was ,ado adopte6 IN
have gone through many r"visions
They were officially issued in Paris on
July 10, 1912. On May 8. 1919. new
revision. most carefully prepared, was
offered for standardization by the
Council of National Defense through
is not probable that any other set
will be compiled in the near future
which will be better. although ar
rangements should be made so that
from time to time suggestions for
improvements can be considered.
THE greatest trouble in traffic now
in that many of the cities have dele
gated aldermen. commissioners or
police officers to formulate traffic
rules These oficials. with few ex-
ceptions. not content to profit by
the experience Of others. appear to
have been actuated in their legislative
efforts by a desire to originate and
satisfy a pride of authorship. The
result of their efforts has been that
while they have plasiarized them.
selves by adopting everything Of
value in New York regulations. these
have been so distorted by rearrange-
ment, rewording and by important
omissions and unimportant additions
that the patchwork thus produced mas
been confusing and much too long.
The sets Of regulations given to some
of our cities contained over sixty-five
hundred words, lacking both sequence