Evening star., 1924-09-28
A. A. A. GIVES STUDY.
! TO SAFETY MEANS
Officials Dep|ore Tendency to
Take Erroneous Advice
of Amateurs.

What are the big men in automobile
welfare work saying about safety
and accident prevention?
Believing that the motoring public
rs tired of maze of opinions on auto
mobile safety and that it is ready to
get down to facts by cooperating
with the organization men who are in
touch with the facts. Thomas +.
Henry president of the American
Automobile Association, has rounded
up the most vital suggestions of
some OF the biggest men in motor
club work. The big men, he says, are
saying big things that every motor
ist should give consideration to.
Charles NJ. Hayes, president of the
Chicago Motor Club and member of
the executive committee of the
\. \. A, laments the fact that acci-
dent prevention is such new busl-
ness as to encourage lot OF wen
meaning amateur safety workers 10
air their erroneous views in public
He points out as a typical error OF
the amateur safety worker the cry
Let US stop speeding and we shall
solve our accident problem.
Not Due to Speed.
.S-S~ truth is" says MIR Hayes
speed is not the one big cause of
accidents. In Chicago the speed of
cars has been reduced considerably,
and yet our accidents go on. Caution
cannot be measured by the speed
ometcr."
Fred II. Galley. another member OF
the y. A. \. executive committee and
president of the big Ohio State Auto
mobile Association. says that safety
depends on the driver, and he touches
on a point in connection with safety
"a "a
Motorists fail to appreciate the
fact that with the increasing COM
plexity of traffic, bumpers skid chains
and other safety devices serve to on
set only the increase in accidents,
he contends and that If conditions
are to be improved drivers must rec
ognize the personal element as still
being of the utmost Importance. Fail-
ing TO grasp the significance OF the
situation, the average driver taliS
into the habit of expecting too much
from the protective equipment on his
car. Thus a new hazard is chalked
up to the discredit of motoring.
No Cause for Alarm.
An important message from Judge
Walter ID. Meals. vice president Of the
A. A. A., has been included in the
summary made by President Henry.
According 10 Judge Meals. new drivers
now acquire experience much more
readily than new drivers did 10 years
ago. and that. accordingly, the lnhux
Of thousands Of new drivers should not
be viewed with alarm.
Through intensive driving we can
develop intensive accident preven-
tion" he maintains. L do not mean
the sort of thing that stirs town
with enthusiasm over safety for a
week or two. but prevention that
originates in the mind of the driver.
Through the enormous membership
OF the A \. A. throughout the coun-
try il should be possible to make
this intensive accident prevention
process a conscious one.
Rov T.. Britton. chairman of the
legislative board of the \. a. A, now
has under observation the law WhIch.
in eight States, requires motorists 70
come TO a full stop before crossing
RAILWAYS In his opinion. motor
vehicle authorities and legislators 90
motoring a great injustice by raShlV
initatirc each other and adopting
laws before they have been demon
strated to be practical. the board IS
opposing the enactment OF raolca
accident prevention measures until
they have been investigated and
proved to be desirable.
President Henry himself points 10
tbo % wears of A A. a. experience as
one of the most significant FEATURES OIL
safety work in motordom ana the
foundation upon which real progress
is being built.