The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-09-15
Frederic Haskin's Letter
Don't Speed Up.

Washington, D. c., Sept IA
When YOU see a straight stretch of
road in front of you, don't speed up
You are going fast enough aiready.
Every time you decide 10 open the
throttle and burn the road for a
while, you are in measure risk1ng
your own life and the lives or otner
people.
At least, that seems to be the
opinion of some expert observers OF
automobile traffic, who are trying
to solve the evergrowing accident
problem. For example, Harry d.
Wiliar, assistant chief engineer of
tie Maryland State Roads commits
sion, finds that most of the acct
dents in that state occur on straight
stretches of the best road, and not
at intersections or at curves. Pass
ing on such stretches is leading
cause of accidents. Sometimes the
faulty driving or judgment OF the
nan who is trying to pass another
car is the cause, and about as often
il is due to the failure of the man
ahead to give right of way.
Willar's observations directly
contradict the statement which has
often been made that most acct
dents on surfaced roads are due to
skidding. They concur, however,
with the opinions of many other OBJ
servers. The danger increases in
direct ratio as the speed increases.
Few accidents Of any moment oc-
cur in crowded traffic because
everyone is going slowly, and
necessarily taking a good deal of
care. Neither do many accidents
occur on rough country roads,
where it is hard to make more than
Is miles an hour. But when one
car is making 80 miles an hour on
one tries to pass it, necessitating a
speed of perhaps 40 miles, the scene
is set for an accident The man
ahead may not hear the ignal, may
veer to the left after the other car
is alongside, forcing il into the
ditch or over an embankment Then
there is the car coming from the
other direction, perhaps also at
40 miles an hour. 1t may be out of
sight around a curve a mile ahead
one minute, and less than a minute
later, it will be directly in front Of
the two cars approaching from the
opposite direction. There are few
roads that will safely accommodate
all three cars in row.
A Neglected Subject.
1t is amazing how little this sub
ject of automobile accidents has
been studied. You can find nothing
but scattered and conflicting opin- !
ions on the subject. And yet the !
problem is a, most serious one. !
kill more people in a /!
year in New York state than have !
been killed by Mexican bandits and !
revels in seven years, according to |
authority. In four years the num- !
one authority. In four years the num- |
nually due to auto accidents in |
creased from 4S3 to 1918. All over !
the country it is the same Auto |
accidents kill more people than rail-
road accidents and more than rob- /
bers. Automobiles are the greatest !
single cause OF violent death in |
and worse than that, the (
of fatalities due to them
grows steadily. We are evidently |
approaching an intolerable Condi= |
tion. Yet no one seems to have I
found it worth while to make a ;
thorough analysis of the causes Of (
accidents, so locating the chief fac
tors of danger, and providing a |
basis for their control.
A study of what information on |
the subject can be found brings out /
strongly two conclusions. In the |
first place, the fundamental cause (
Of most accidents is speeding-the |
misuse of the enormous power
which motor car puts in the driv-
er's hands. In the second place,
the control of accidents is best &C
complished, not by elaborate traf-
hc regulations. but by imposing
heavy penalties upon a man when
he actually causes damage by his
carelessness, and, above all, by the
revoking Of licenses for repeated
offenses. In New York City the