Connecticut western news., 1922-12-28

1 The numDer or acc1uenCS Wnlcn re- suit in serious injury or death is practically the same in 1922 as it was in 1920 and 1921, but the number of slight accidents which result in small approximate damage has much increased. To the com missioner, it seems fair ito argue from this that there is a $ greater approximate degree of caution on the part of operators than formerly. Statistics and charts of fatal l accidents are appended to the report Everyone who considers them, the commissioner says, cannot fail to see at, once that what is needed is the application of new methods, the extension of present methods, still more aggressive work, insistence upon prevention by the adoption of all reasonable devices, an insistence upon severe discipline."l The com parison with all other states is fav- orable to Connecticut.
 Safety Week in September, 1921, was "a, success, says the report. It reduced accidents throughout Conn ecticut approximately 10 per cent. for the rest of the year following A survey of result of Safety Week in cludes the following under the head ing, Children Involved in Fatal Accidents:-
 Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 1920: 46 per cent. of. victims were under 16 yrs. old.
 Jan. to Aug. 31, 1921: 50 per cent of victims were under 16 years old. x.
 Sept. 1 to Dee. 31, 1921 (Four months following safety week.: 33 per cent of victims were children under 16. = s{~, ~,
 Jan. I to Nov. 30, 1922: 37 per cent of victims were under 16 years old. s<,4y-s~.-
 Other statistics given in! the re- port to show the success of Safety Week have already been printed.
 There, is a spirit of investigation in the professional administrators of motor vehicles all over the United States, which shows that there is the stirring of great movement to- wards traffic safety, according to the report. "When this movement spreads and extends into these peo- pie who are to be. guided from those whose business it is to guide them, the results are sure to follow" The organization this year of safety committees and safety organi- zations in those centers where acci- dents are in large predominance is also explaineds Not a little credit for the departments success in com batting the traffic hazards by the commissioner is laid to newspaper publicity. Moreover, he says there is no question but what, on the ad- ministrative side for revenue, the publicity run in the newspapers has saved the state and the motor ve- hicle department nt~aloae"~great ann cunts of money by making. the -citi- zen more prompt to fulfill his obliga- tions and pay his tax ratings to the state. --.+.zz,
 Concerning motor vehicle mark CTS, the report says that it is no lon ger absolutely necessary for pur- poses of identification to secure the registry number of motor vehicle, but if a general description of. the car can be had with details regard ing it's make. it's color and possibly a portion of the number, it is gener- ally practical to reduce the possible cars to so small number that each individual car of that group under suspicion can be examined by the police, and in that way identified tion has been obtained in cases where more definite information was lacking. The offense of evasion of responsibility is hardly possible without punishment at this time pro- viding there are any facts present which make identification at all possible. The effect of the applica- tion of the system upon the body of operators as a whole has been to teach that there is no profit in at tempting to run away. 'It is to the credit of our self-reliant traditions, the commissioner believes, "and to the close competition in sports and games of our childhood and youth OA1e@I "O AAAAd oO AloAAy "AAO NoIAA qualify as good drivers. The stan dard from the point of view of safe ty is improving" ... .'
 It is recommended that the line of discrimination between kinds of registrations be more carefully drawn by the incoming session of the Legislature, and the definitions more particularly set out. This is espec- tally true with regard to the, so- called O-marker, which is the, regis tration which permits the carrying of passengers for hire by vehicles other than the jitney. The depart ment has had extensive experience in this subject now and it is possible to know what the exceptions to this law ought to be. There are questions constantly arising as to how some particular. person may be authorized to carry load of passengers in a tr.ck for special occasion; for nYon1a to fair 0r a foct:yat Saw