Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-09-16
Don't Speed Up.
BY Frederic J. Haskin

BY Frederic j. uaskin III
Washington. Sept. 15.--when you
sec straight stretch or road In front
OF you, don't speed up. You gfe go-
ing fast enough already. Every time
you decide TO open the throttle and
burn the road for a while, you are W
measure risking your own life and
the lives OF other people.
At least, that seems TO be the
opinion OF some expert observers Of
automobile traffic, who are trying 70
solve the ever growing accident prob
lem. For example, Harry ID. Willar.
assistant chief engineer Of the Mary /
land State Roads Commission, finds i
that most Of the accidents in that /
state occur on straight stretches OF !
the best road, and not at intersections |
or at curves. Passing on such |
stretches ia q leading cause of acci- |
dents. Sometimes the faulty driving |
or judgment of tho man who IN try
ing TO pass another car is the cause,
and about as often it is due TO the
failure Of the man ahead to give right
OF way
Wnlar's observations directly con-
tradict the statement which has often
been made that most accidents on
surfaced roads are due TO slfidding.
They conc1r, however, with the opin-
ions OF many other observers. The
d1ager increases in direct ratio as the
81 "a increas 8. Few accidents Of any
moment occur in crowded traffic Le-
cause everyone is going slowly, and
necessarily taking good deal Of care.
[ Neither do many accidents occur on
Trough country roads, where il Is hard
to make more than rs miles an hour.
But when one car is making 30 miles
an hour on long stretch Of road, and
another one tries TO pass IL, necessita-
ting speed Of perhaps 40 miles, the
scene is set for an accident. The man
ahead may not hear the signal, may
veer 70 the left after the other car
is alongside, forcing it into the ditch
or over an enbankment. Then there
is the car coming from the other di-
rection. perhaps also at 40 miles an
hour. 1t may be out Of sight around
a curve a mile ahead one minute.
and legs than a minute later, IL will
be directly in front Of the two cars
approaching from the opposite di-
rection. There are few roads that will
safely accommodate all three cars in
a row.
A Neglected Subject.
is amazing how little this subject
Of automobile accidents has been
studied. You can find nothing but
scattered and conflicting opinions on
the subject. And yet the problem is a
most serious one. Autorlobiles kill
more people in year In New York
state than ave been killed by Mexi-
can bandits and revels in years. ac-
cording to one authority. In four
years the number Of deaths in New
York City annually due to auto acci-
dents increased from 483 TO 1913. All
. over the country it is the same. Auto
accidents kiln more people than rail-
n road accidents and more than robbers
7 Automobiles are the greatest single
cause Of violent death in America
/, and worse than that, the number oi
fatalities due to them grows steadily
! We are evidently approaching an in
tolerable condition. Yet no one seems
to have 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 tn,
: subject can be found brings ou
r strongly two conclusions. IN the frs
place, the fundamental cause Of mos
e accidents is speeding-the misuse o
Z the enormous power which a motto
4 car puts in the drivers hands. i
: the second place, the control OF acci
dents is best accomplished, not b
y elaborate traffic regulations, but b
imposing heavy penalties upon a ma.
N when he actually causes damage b
= his carelessness, and, above all. b
n the revoking OF licenses for repeate
e offences. In New York City the sam
driver has been convicted of careIes
>. driving six times in a single year. an
is still driving. He is at least as muc
!, a menace to the public safety as tn
% average gnnman.
i Education is here needed. Whe
the people have been made to realiz
that careless driving is crime, and
= demandn proper punishment for
then the courts will begin melting o,
that punishment. A campaign
:. educate the pedestrian viii have TO {
along with the other. Beyond a. doul
pedestrians who dart across the sire,
IS in the middle of the block. and chi
dren who chase balls Icross the stree
- present the autoist with a proble
- which he can successfully solve on
1t by luck.
Abuse of Power.
~ F. b. House. presiding magistra
- of the New York City Traffic Cou,
believes that the problem of auto a.
h. cidents is largely a problem in DR.
a venting the abuse of power bv al
a plying adequate punishment for u,,
al abuse. 1t is an axiom of social d
nd servers that any man who has DOW
VIII tend to abuse it. Every mo
ha arch, every father, every owner az
= dog, is more or less. a bully. He n
power over something else. and
80 mas an irrepressibfe teudasc,- to
,v H. the while making excuses TO hir
ds sell Tor what he does. The man vy
mas 90 horsepower under his throft
Is no exception. He cannot rasi
the temptation sometimes To stem
her and make her fly. He cannot he
I feeling hat