Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-04-03
NEW TESTS FOR
DRIVERS NOW PLANNED
Daily Letter by Frederic j. Haskio

WASHINGTON, D. c., April g..
Psychological tests for automobile
drivers are one of the newst pro-
~posals to lessen the number OF trat-
tc accidents.
The automobile driver has for
some time been regarded as one OF
the most import.xit FACTORS TO pe
considered in solving the very serl-
GUS traffic problem There were
1880, 900 cars in this country IN
Last yea" the number
mounted TO IL ,3o4,GOO. And experts
lsay that we shall o reach the sat
uratiol. point until there are 10000
OOO automobiles-an average OF one
to a family-in the United States.
Ii is true that the accident rate
lis not increasing in proportion TO the
rapid increase in cars But there Is
la fiat increase in traffic accidents
land the various systems OF tranle
regulation do not seem to be suft1-
GENTLY successful in reducing the
toll in human lives.
The situation has heen met by
| simpler traffic rules ia some places
and by more intricate Jules in others.
In some cities an attempt IS being
made TO send to jail drivers VINO
break the laws instead OF merely mn
ing them. Whether a more restrictive
method of licensing drivers would
| help very much Fan only be sur
missed. But the idea is rather per-
lsistently advanced, II 1t is worth
considering.
The point made is that individuals
are permitted to drive machines
without sufficient inquiry into their
uhysical and temperamental htnesS
= ,,,,3tt,ngg m do so
Police Commissioner Enright OF
New York City has shown that al
most anybody a get a license
there to run an automobile, even II
! he is halt, lame or blind. In q re-
cent address he mentioned one case
| of a man . per cent blind II a
a license and has been responsible
Tor about a dozen traffic accidents IN
| New York.
Commissioners Enright also regrets
the lack of attention paid to a drlV-
er's character. A crook, he says
| can get a drivers License without the
slightest trouble. About nv years
ago a number of crimes were SHOWN
plainly to have been commltted by
| ollusion with taxicab drivers MT:
| Enright investigated the licensing ot
! taxi drivers in New York City and
| our OIL lsEUu iAEh GPPA-N"hNS
| he found that about 900 had GRIM
linal records. Ordinarily these men
| would have received licenses. Inc
| nolice commissioner finds thai IN the
state of New York there are in all
probability $4,000 people with crim-
inal records who are operating au-
tomobiles who are still criminals
and who are operating these auto
mobiles in the commission OF
crimes"
Only Eleven States are Strict
This is the condition in n city
and state, but licensing conoltlots
lest described as lenient exist IN the
| greater part of the country. Inc
american Automobile Association
saws that only eleven states require
nhvsical and mental examination
and demonstration as to the ability
of the car owner to operate ms car
successfully and safely.
Even where it is required that an
anplicant for a license UNDERSTAND
The traffic regulations snd signals,
and demonstrate his ability to run
?. car through traffic, ne is generally
piven a very superficial test OF WIS.,
ion and hearing and the requirements
do not often show what he WIN 90
with his car in an emergency OF III
Iany unusual circumstances. Nor &c
they reveal his attitude toward re-
s%ponsibility and the rights Of others,
Tests of vision and hearinf
adapted to automobile driving might
he easily devised, psychologists say
They also say that a test OF the a
ural speed with which a driver acts
his reaction time-could be given
DR., RAYMOND Dodge, well-kAown
psychologist, advocates a reaction
time test for drivers and describes
enc of the simplest methods of CIV
ing it, as follows;:
''The time that it takes for a sig
nal to reach the eye, to be trans
mitted to the brain, and FOR the
brain to send its order down through
the nerves OF the arm seems instan-
I%taneous, but it al be measured d.
a reaction time test used in our psy'
Ichologlcal laboratories every day.
A person is seated ~ a table with
his finger on a telegraph key. When
the signal flashes, the electric cur
rent also starts a pointer marking
off fractions Of a second upon a
Id.aI. When the key is pressed the
current is broken and the hand on
the dial stops moving. This gives
a record OF tine time il takes the per-
son to get and act UPON an idea"