Evening star., 1924-12-15
RECKLESS AUTO|ST
SCORED BY HOOVER
Secretary Urges Vigorous
Punishment and Uniform
Rules to Lower Fatalities.

Sounding a call for greater use o.
| safety measures, Secretary or Com
merce Hoover today declared that al
| though various forms of traffic con-
| trolls and regulations may tend to
minimize the effectiveness OF the
reckless automobile driver as de-
stroyer OF human life, he is convinced
| that a large corrective must be more
| vigorous punishment.
| The Commerce Secretary delivered
| the opening broadside in an address
today before a group of more than
400 men gathered at his call at the
| new home of the Chamber of Com
merce Of the United States. Connecti-
cut avenue and II street. in q cam
paign designed to cut down the tre-
mendous toll Of human life taken In
street and highway accidents tfr0o1h-
out the United States. He placed square
ly before the conferences the issues
raised by the mounting record OF
traffic casualties and recommended
specific measures designed to reduce
| the number of deaths in traffic ae-
cidents.
Turning to court procedure In Sc
rious and aggravated traffic cases.
| Mr. Hoover said: ''The great majority
| of accidents are each and every one
=
| in either incompetence, carelessness
| or recklessness. The time has come
when every accident must be exam
ined and punishment meted out that
will impress the mind of the reckless
for the balance of their natural
lives"
Urges Uniform Regulations.
Mr.. Hoover recommended uniformi-
ty in traffic regulations, declaring
| that he could be arrested ard con-
victed on a "do5en counts between
Washington and New York" If he
carefully followed either the Wash
ington or New York traffic regula
tions.
The conference, which met tod
and will continue through two
aims at furthering means to sav
and prevent accidents, Mr..
said; to make travel safer or
highways for both the pedestriaI
the passenger. "It is not safe
he added
The interests of any one class
not been subordinated in the asse4
bly, of the conference to the Interests
Of any other, he pointed out, declar-
ing that "if We have lent more en-
phasis in one quarter than another
1t has been that we have had in
mind the people who use the streets
and roads, OF whom at least S. per
cent are at any given moment pedes-
trians." A very large portion of the
1880 deaths and 67S,000 serious per-
sonal injuries which is our trafflc toll
for the last year have happened to
men, women and children on foot.
Accidents Due to Automobi1e.
Nearly 80 per cent Of our street
and highway accidents are due to
the automobile, and while the rate of
accidental deaths in our country has
steadily decreased, due to better
safety measures, yet during the past
10 years our automobile accidents
have doubled. This rate has even
increased by about II per cent in the
last year. While we must not un-
derestimate the Importance of the
motor vehicle as vital part Of our
transportation system as well a. q
means Of recreation, we must ap-
proach this subject in terms of those
who are injured.
Nor is there in this conference
any sense of conflict of interest be-
tween groups, for the transportation
industries are themselves the most
insistent on great reduction in this
terrible toll.
"And 1t is high time that
something should be done about this.
to meet the crisis Of tens Of thousands
of deaths annually, with hundreds Of
thousands OF serious personal injuries
and millions of property damage.
- . There Is but cold comfort
in the statement that 1t has crept
upon us unawares and that our traf-
CONTINUED on Pare 3. Column g.