Evening star., 1924-03-30
Proposal to Ban Unsafe Cars
, From Roads Urged by Experts
No DriUer Safer Than His Car, These
Say, and Point to Danger of Using
Decrepit Machines ia Traffic.

| prevents them from taking action
against the owner Of a dilapidat ed
! motor vehicle until there is some
actual proof that the machine was
defective to the point of being the
| cause of an accident. which is gen
orally too late to be of value to them
in Curbing accidents.
Many cars that are otherwise dan
gerouS because vital parts are near
~ worn out reveal brakes in good
, condition or are perhaps equipped
with new set of headlights. Such
cars may be likened 10 the type of
driver who Swears that he has read
the meteor vehicle laws, shows that
he knows how to shift gears and
says he can drive well enough to be
trusted, but who happens to be more
or less out of his mind
No Bar to License.
While il is generally conceded that
even in the most stringent states the
licensing of operators is entirely TOO
and productive of safety than the
method of licensing cars Almost
anything on wheels, provided il has
brakes and lights, seems to stand an
equal chance of being granted all the
privileges of the road.
In certain sections of the country
motor vehicle commissioners coop
crate 10 such an extent that a driver
whose license has been suspended in
one state cannot obtain a license to
drive in another. But motor car
that has figured in a half dozen acct
dents because Of its untitness for the
job goes merriiy onward, not even
disqualified in the very locality where
IL has demonstrated its undeSirability
out of this situation there is deveI-
oplng strong opposition to the
worn-out car and realization that
goods ears are equally as necessary
as good drivers.
Ii has been demonstrated time and
time again that regardless of how
Skillfui the driver happens to be- he
cannot hope to register that skill
and help in the work of reducing the
number of accidents unless the car
unfailingly meets his demands
This situation is very well demon
strated by the frequent sight OF an
automobile mechanic having a tussle
with a car that is perhaps merely
IaDorlng with wrong adjustment of
the cHrbuTetor. All the skill of the
mechanic Is in vain, but OF course he
Is prepared for the results he fails to
get from the car and therefore guards
himself against an accident.
The driver of the habitually de
feCtive Car-the car that is defective
because il has outlived it's usefulness
thinks he is prepared for whatever
tight places the car leads him into.
But the truth Of the matter is that he
promptly assumes that he is driving
as fit a car as the other fellow. soon
starts hitting it up on the highway,
trying the impossible, and eventually
comes to grief
Any driver who attempts to do nor
mai things with worn-out car is
as foOlhardy as the man who attempts
TO do abnormal stunts with car in
normally good condition. But the
law does not recognize the difference.
There is nothing in the automobile
Legislation on record to hold i motor
st responsible for driving a car with
a defective, dangerous engine, with
cracked frame or wheel bearings
that haven't been CREASED since Hec-
tor was pup.
1t is freely predicted that the time