Evening star., 1924-09-10
THE TRAFFIC PROBLEM
BY ERNEST GREENWOOD
Conference Highway safety

More than 100000 cars and trucks
are used on farms, while the industry
employs 2,750,000 workers. Sixty per
cent of passenger car mileage is for
business purposes, 134 street railways
| use motor busses, and 157 railroads use
motor vehicles on short line hauls.
The use of motor vehicles by street
| railways and steam railroads is con-
stantly increasing, thereby introduc-
| already complicated street aud high
way situation. Two hundred and
eighty-nine thousand children are
| transported to and from school daily
blu motor busses.
X X * X
But while the motor vehicle adds
to the problems of the city planner
in one direction it solves 1t in an
| other. Statistics show that the de-
velopment Of the passenger car and
the truck has made a tremendous
contribution to the development of
suburbs. thereby bringing about one
OF the city planners pet schemes,
which is decentralization. The in
| crease in registrations of passenger
| cars and trucks parallels the increase
| in home building.
There are 2,940,378 miles of high
| ways in the United States. Figured
| In terms of motor vehicle accidents
| there is annually approximately one
| accident in every 23 miles. If figures
were availa BILE from all states, this
| would probably be reduced to one ac-
| cident in every IL or Is miles. 1t
| must be remembered, however, that
| only 100000 miles are surfaced, and
| If the truth were known it would
probably be shown that there is one
| accident for every five or six miles of
surfaced road. Statisticians are work
Ing on these figures now. The total
| Federal aid payments to the States
was s74,SS3,782 in 1923.
| There are 1,627,569 trucks being
| used in the United States for the
transporting of manufactured prod
| ucts and raw materials, while little
| over 100000 are transporting goods
| in other countries. The commercial
vehicle is competing with the railroad
! on short hauls everywhere, and this
use of the highways is a big factor in
the problem of accident prevention.
| Recent surveys Of the Division of
Farm Management, Department of
Agriculture, show the widespread use
| OF the automobile among farmers.
| In the Atlantic coast area So per
| cent of the farmers have autos; in
| different areas of the Middle West 70
| to S5 per cent and in the Palous
region, northwest of Idaho, Sc per cent.
| The only region where less than half
! the farmers have automobiles is in
| the dry farming wheat area, which
has been badly off financially since
1917. Thousands of rural communities
| now have educational advantages
| equal to the best that the city affords
| by the consolidation of one-room
school buildings and the transporta-
tion of children by cars and motor
busses.
That congestion may be dis
| couraging the use of the motor car
is shown by the fact that small towns
are the greatest users of motor
vehicles. Cities between 1000 and
| 5000 have 225 cars per thousand.
| $50 cars per thousand. Cities be-
| tween $4,000 and 100000 have 12o
| cars, while cities over 100,0 have
less than 80 cars per thousand. APP
| proximately Sc per cent of the popu-
lation of the United States is in the
cities and owns 70 per cent Of the
motor cars, while towns with popu-
| lation between 1000 and 5000 have
| 9 per cent of the population and own
| 20 per cent Of the motor cars.
And the end is not yet If the
production and use of motor vehicles
| of all kinds in the United States is
| to continue at the same rate as in
| the past, then most certainly the
| Secretary of Commerce is right in
| thinking that something should be
done about it, and that something
soon. There are, however, two en-
| couraging factors in the highway
| safety outlook. Thirty-five cities did
| reduce their motor fatalities last year
and the rate in the country as whole
| in proportion to the number of
vehicles registered is declining. How
ever, the total number of accidents
| is mounting rapidly.
| Copyright, 1924, BY Current News Features,