Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-12-16
NUMEROUS TRAFFIC LAWS OF Id. C..
SCORED IN TRADE BOARD REPORT
Declared Useless in Prevention of Real Crime and
Only Making La,0-Breakers Out of Respect
able Citzens.

A sweeping indictment of the Dis
trlct government for It's liberation OF
| ''multitudtnous and superf1uous minor
speed regulations and traffic rules,
OF the police for making arrests on
! technical charges to keep up their
| records and of the public for It's lack
of cooperation in obeying traffic laws
was made by the Washington Board
| Of Trade last night in adopting the
report OF its special traffic committee
The meeting, which was the largest
| ever held by the Board of Trade, was
in the new Chamber of Commerce of
the United States Building, at Con-
necticut avenue and Fl street.
| AS ". Pearce Rayner. chairman of
| the committee, read recommendation
| after recommendation asking radical
changes In the present traffic regula-
| tons and sparing neither official, au-
tomobilist nor pedestrian In his an
| alysls of the cause OF traffic condi-
tions here, he was frequently ap-
plau6ed.
Blame on District.
Alternately praising and condemn
| Ing the District government and po-
| lice, the report declared: For the in
| creasing death rate and the recent
carnival of crime in traffic deaths,
| without Identification, the District
government is largely to blame"
Failure by police to require the use
| of clean, unbent and unobscured
! plates, the lack OF regulations en-
| forcing modern headlights as advised
| by the Bureau of Standards, and the
| poor system OF lighting the streets
| were then condemned.
Had the public respect for law in
regard to tags and the District Gov
eminent the ability to appreciate and
enforce a modern headlight law, the
| killing of pedestrians in the dark
would STOP" Mr.. Rayner said.
Impossible to Obey.
| IF the District government desires
| the cooperation of all intelligent cit
izens in making the streets of Wash
| inSton safe, let II cooperate with the
! motorists in abandoning the ancient
| IDEA that low speed limits prevent
reckless driving, and adopt modern
| regulations which do not take advan-
| take OF mere technicalities to pile up
mere than $4,000 traffic arrests per
year, and make careful, conscientious
| drivers, not excluding the officials OF
tne District government themselves,
| Niola!e or 10 regulations every day.
| After a series of traffic deaths a
I EAiNN SiCII hlSH
nets hundreds OF Hhain, ordinary COM
| mon citizens who have no influence
! to prevent them, and who would not,
| under any circumstances, endanger
! the life or limb OF a fellow man. AT
such time advantage is taken of the
| ridiculous IL miles across the street
| regulations, which a four-day traffic
count on Sixteenth street proved is not
observed by one-tenth OF l per cent of
| all drivers, TO pile up additional ar
rests" says the report, which also
| holds up to ridicule the speed regu-
| lations.
Stating that pedestrians must CO.
operate, the report urged that a law
be passed regulating pedestrians to
! the legal sidewalks and defining the
responsibilities and liabilities of mo-
torists and pedestrians at intersec-
lions and between interSecting
| streets.
The report recommends 800 addI-
tional policemen. the change OF the
present system OF hand signals, Sc
we're regulations, with obligatory Jail
sentences for driving while intoxi-
Gated, failure to stop after an acct
dent. the first offense for TRANSPORT