Evening star., 1924-08-03
MOUNTAIN TOURING
URGED ON AUTO|STS
Less Liable to Accidents
There Than on Straight
Highways, A.A.A. Says.

More accidents are happening on
straight highways than in mountain
Gus districts. according to an investi-
cation being made by the touring and
TRANSFORMATION boa rd of the Ameri-
can Automobile Association.
The investigation is being made in
the interests of motor tourists who.
through fear of accidents, have
denied themselves the pleasure of
visiting the high attitudes during
their vacation travelling.
1t is pointed out in a preliminary
bulletin on the subject that in a
quarterly report made public by the
highway department OF pennsylvania
146 accidents occurred on light s ades
as against 80 on dangerous grades.
the difference being attributed to the
tendency to speed where careful
driving does not seem to be essential.
Danger Due to Ignorance.
'Whatever danger has been at
trihuted to mountain motoring is
largely Il matter OF ignorance or
safety in driving and control of the
car the American Automobile ASSo-
citation stat, ment reads. Analysis
OF a large percentage of the accidents
which occur in the mountains has
revealed the fact that drivers failed
to use second gear in descending as
well as III ascending steep grades.
There was nothing essentially wrong
with the roads any more than one
would condemn a straight concrete
road just because some drivers forget
to ref ain from stepping all the way
down on the accelerator.
''rheIe is much fine mountain land
throughout the country that has yet
to be explored and enjoyed by tour
lists Though the danger att: ihuted
to mountain motoring is recognized
by authorities to be CarelesSnesS and
ignorance on the part of drivers
every effort is being made by the
highway departments of various
states to make the mountain roads
safer. Daylighting' curves has beer
one instance of such progress; bank
ing curves another
"ConSidei able progress has been
made in Pennsylvania. where. despite
the high Alleghenies. grades have
been reduced until they now average
6 per cent. The steepest grade is Il
per cent.
Factor in Mountain Motoring.
"One factor that is playing an inn
portant part in the development of
motoring in the mountains is the
growing popularity of long distance
motor bus travel Such bus lines. for
instance, opeEate owe the MchaW
1Tdll III the IdSSt' HuStltS Del
Shires. Much attention is directed
to the brakes on such cars and their
sliillful operators practice safety
measures which rendr" accidents very
Improbable. The average tourist is
attracted to the mountains by rea-
son of the ability of big busses to
negotiate the hills. and having OBJ
served the operation of those busses
the average driver unconsciously alb
serbs the few safety rules in noun
tain driving that definitely safeguard
him."
Through its hundreds of affiliated
motor clubs throughout the country
the American Automobile Association
bureau is keeping in touch with the
improvements in high altitude tour
ing. and every effort will be made
to encourage the idea that safety is
a matter of knowing the conditions
to be encountered. The bureau be-
lieves that the motorist has got to
learn The necessity = going into
second when warned to do SO and
that such a piecaution is no more
of a drawback to mountain driving
than stopping for railroad cross
ing is in d. living through the low
lands.