The Washington times., 1925-08-31
With The
.AlibiArtists
Traffic Light System
Is Only Way Out
of Tangle
Facts Proving Case
By DONALD McDOUGAL


appear in the Alibi Column that
aren't sooner or later verified by
the observations Of some one IN
a position to know, or by the
cold logic. of events.
Last Friday the Alibi Column
carried a statement. that thou
sands of motorists we're beginning
to look upon Washington's traffic
code as a sort of Joe Miller's joke
book. On the same day the care
full, impartial Investigations OF a
New York traffic engineer were
reported in more dignified Ian
guage. but they lead to the same
conclusion-the regulations are
not being obeyed.
The Investigations show, too,
that much trouble is caused by
machines backing out into traffic
from angle parking. Slow-mov-
ing vehicles keeping to the mid
die of the roadway are also de-
nounced.
Several weeks ago the Alibi
Column referred to these traffic
pests, and asked the director to
eliminate them, pointing out that
careful drivers were compelled to
hog the middle of the road to-
avoid the dummies, who back out
into traffic without warning.
We suggested, too, that pedes-
TRANS shooting out from between
parked cars make things disagree
able for the coroner, and drive
motorists out to the center of
the road. where there's lodging
room.
: MAKE the intersections safer
than the middle of the block,
and jaywalking will drop out.
Intersections can be made fool
proof by the establishment of
traffic signal lights. That, we.
told the director, is the first step
toward eliminating the road hog"
That is, there can be TO real
control of traffic in city of any
size without traffic signal lights.
That's admitted by all traffic en-
gineers, and even if it weren't,
anyone can see it's true. It's at
street corners that traffic streams
cross each other and pedestrian
streams cross them. The cross
ing process must be regulated
somehow or other. and signal
lights are the only practicable
means. We can't afford TO keep
police on all. those corners
twenty-four hours a day. There's
nothing to it but lights.
That's the first step toward
eliminating the road hog and
three-quarters of all the other
pests. Nothing much can be
done toward cleaning UP our traf
fic mess until all the important
corners are controlled by lights,
wherever we can't afford police.
There's where the director
should concentrate his efforts.
Get the lights. Get ,em in.
stalled. They're more Important
than boulevard stops; more i'm
portant than exotic left-hand
turns-those things can wait.
IL the Director hasn't appro-
priation enough to get the lights,
then it's his business to get the
appropriation. Who else is to
do it?
If he hasn't got the money
now for the installation of lights
at all the important corners, then
Congress should be asked for
an emergency appropriation. The
justffies such a request.
Congress must be cajoled,. be-
sought, shamed, into letting us
spend some of our tax money
for this purpose.
Let the Director lay aside all
current work except the indis-
pensable day-to-day business and
prepare an argument for such an
appropriation,
Let his argument show what
cities have adopted the light
system; what their accident rate
is, what that rate was before the
system was adopted, what offic-
ials have to say about it, why
they favor it, what the cost is,
what equivalent control would
cost without the lights, what, in
their opinion. traffic conditions
would be like without that
system.
Then make up a similar state
ment as far as possible, Of cities
that have not adopted the light
system, and follow up with a
statement of the number of
traffic fatalities in Washington
since January 1, the number of
serious injuries, number of col
lisions per hour since January 1,
and the total property loss, the
corners where lights are most
necessary, why they are most
necessary, how the absence Of
control at those corners leads to
accident.
You can't have efficient traffic
control without spending money,
and under the peculiar condi-
tons prevailing in Washington
it's sadly certain that a large
share of the Directors time must
be given up to bulling the powers