Evening star., 1923-02-08
ID. e.. Traffic Troubles Cause
Increasing Menace to Life
Time Has Come for Careful analysis of
! Situation and Speedy Action to
Remedy Dangerous Conditions.

mits to drive cannot be too severe. It
is a safety measure the value Of
which cannot be overestimated.
Driving a car does not consist OF
merely shifting gears, throwing out
the clutch. stopping and starting.
A driver In present-day traffic must
pc able not only to do these things,
but he must remain cool, have his
car under perfect control at all times,
and, above all. use a nicely Of judg-
ment In steering which will keep him
out Of danger.
Incompetent Drivers.
There are many people who seem
able to handle automobiles perfectly
until they get into a jam. Then they
are Mustered, they choke their motor,
their heart seems to be coming out
OF their mouth, and in these cases,
cidents
Judgment Of distance is one OF the
most important qualifications of an
automobile driver. He must be able
TO Judge whether or not he can pass
able TO judge how long it takes his
| brakes to bring him to stop,
whether or not-a pedestrian will pass
In front or back of him. and many
! other driving problems which come up
during day.
These things can and should be
! regulated at their source. If this sort
OF drlVer is allowed to handle an au-
thomobile. hn;n nothing in the world will
bring down the toll of accidents.
Next we can take up skidding.
which in many cases results fatally
| for both motorists and pedestrians
/ Chains should be used in all cases
| where car shows a tendency to skid
on application of the brakes. Some
cars are well balanced, the brakes are
! adjusted properly, and the driver is
| able to keep them under control on
rainy streets. There is no cornbina-
| tion OF these things, however. which
Will keep a car from skidding on
streets covered with snow.
! Many drivers do not take this fact
; into consideration and car after car
goes by without the semblance OF
chains. 1t is impossible to stop them
quickly and the driver is guilty of
! negligence.
OF course. in some cases skidding
viii occur even If the car is equipped
with chains. but If carefully driven
this is unlikely. Skldding ranks
among the leaders in causes Of accl-
dents.
Night Driving Dangerous.
Night driving in Washington is
hazardous in the extreme. There are
two reasons for this. One is the
poorly lighted streets. where pedes-
trans are almost invisible, and the
other ts the prevalence Of side-cur-
tanned cars. Clear and uninterrupted
vision cannot be obtained by the
driver with all Of his side curtains up.
The left-front curtain should be left
down. not only for signaling, but for
the sake Of Gear vision:
islnBlass is not as clear as plain
glass. 1t soon becomes discolored.
Drivers arte taking needless risk when
they attempt to operate cars with
sight obstructed. especially in view OF
! the fact that the streets of the city
are so dark that it is almost I'm
possible to distinguish unlighted OBJ
jects.
And in this connection it may be
stated that driving with the wind
shield shut on rainy nights is just
as liable to cause accidents as any OF
the others. There is no Windshield
wiper made which adequately clears
the windshield. Many of them brush
nothing more than a peephole for the
driver, but do not clear the entire
shield. which for safe driving should
be clear.
A loud chorus of dissent will be
heard after reading this statement
writer, in talking with another mo-
torist, pointed out that many drivers
endeayored to sneak along without
opening the shiled. and called atten-
rainy nights.
Many Take Chances.
I'll admit" said the other, "that II
is difficult to see out of a rain
blurred windshield. but you don't
think I'm going to open 1t, 90 you?
Not on your life. might catch bad
cold from the wet weather"
II 10 ha rd To ha1ieye brt IL 10 frue
A great many motorists would rather
take the chance of killing or MAIN
ing a pedestrian or colliding with
another car than take a chance of
Every one will admit that the large
taxicab companies. the well organ
ized and reliable ones, take precau
tions for safety. Taxicabs are tht
frst ones to put on chains at signs
Of slippery weather. and they are the
first ones to do away with makeshifts
and open their windshields on rainy
nights. SO that they cannot only stop,
but see where they are going. This.
of course, does not apply to the free
lances, the public hackers
We now have the reckless driver,
the speedy driver. the easily ratified.
the incompetent, the careless, the one
who skids, the one who is comfort
not care whether his brakes will stop
him or not and the one who takes
unnecessary chances. All of them
cause the accidents, not any particu-
lar class. If careful study of every
accident were made 1t would be found
that the reasons for the accidents
would be widely distributed among
these drivers. 1t would be found
also that accidents in which the auto
mobile was travelling at excessive
brakes would be found to be a pro-
life cause.
Now we come to the pedestrian. He
is the weaker and deserves all the
sympathy and care. He comes out
the loser in every accident-he is the
ono injured
But the pedestrian must have some
responsibility. He is a potential mo-
torist. and, inasmuch as motoring is a
must advance also. He cannot wan
der around the streets the way he
used to do before the advent of the
motor car.
There is no motorist who would de-
liberately injure or kill a pedestrian,
unless he Is criminal of the worst
sort or a fugitive from justice. The
type OF motorist who Is careless and
needlessly endangers the lives of
those walking should never be grant
ed a permit.
Jealousy OF Walkers.
All right. The pedestrian, therefore.
should cooperate as much as he can
with the motorist. He should not
step out behind parked cars without
looking; he should not be defiant and
dare the motorist to come near him
he should not make matters more
difficult than they now are for the
driver.
There is too much enmity and jeaI-
ousy between the walking and riding
classes. They should be eliminated.
Consideration is necessary on both