Evening star., 1925-11-29
URGES FAIR TESTS
Of TRAFFIC RULES
Washington A. T. A. Declares
Regulations Deserve Proper
Consideration of Motorists.

Traffic regulations and other steps
taken by the traffic department to es-
tablish effective control of traffic III
Washington should be given fair
trial by motorists as their contribution
10 the solution of this big municipal
problem.
The Washington Automotive Trade
Association makes this plea in a state
ment calling on motorists To cooper
ate with the traffic authorities at least
10 the extent of giving them a falr
chance at putting into effect an EN-
cieut set of regulations.
Traffic regulation is a complex
problem. requiring in its solution Ger
tain amount of trial and experiment,
the w. y. II. \. statement declares.
NO rules that ever We're laid down
We're perfect at their inception, much
less traffic regulations, which must
provide for constantly changing con-
ditiOns New situations must be met,
and what was done recently may, to-
day, be entirely incfte, tive as 4 means
Of coping with more crowded jhor-
nughfares and an Increasing number
of automobiles.
II motorists and others merely
criticize the traffic regulations and
continuously magnify their supposed
faults, the real solution OF the prob
lem of handling he increasing volume
of pedestrian and vehicular traffic Will
he as distant as ever. There is such
a thing as helpful criticism. but the
kind that picks flaws in everything
and offers no remedy is entirely de
Structive and merely creates Il hurttul
sentiment generally
Given Slight Consideration
The great trouble with the vast
ma aiority Of persons who criticize the
traffic regulations is that they have
given them very little consideration
and. most likely, have not read them.
In such cases. criticism Is based en-
tlrely on hearSaN or ON personal opin-
ion that has no reasonable basis. The
hest set Of regulations Obtalnable
,yill not have their desired effect in
the face Of fault-fnding of this sort.
Motorists. particularly, must look
or the regulations which have been
laid down as u positive effort TO i'm
IroVe driving conditions and make
The streets safer for all who use them.
Perhaps there are regulaL LionS which
are not as good as they should be,
SUt time alone will demonstrate their
faults. When the defects have been
made clear is the time TO discard the
ullttSti di4t ~ ~ 4Nl'IiN-
A case in point j. the designation
Of one-way streets They are decided
upon after q careful check of traft
has been MADE Ii there is twice as
much traffic Westbound than there is
in an ca aSthOund direction. the street
i made one-Way for westbound traffic.
But. after the regulation is in effect,
il may be discovered that there are
points along this street ~Esere ears are
turning off into other thuroughfares
in such great numbers that congestion
on other streets results rhi. GluS-
trates that it is not possible i'll a great
many instances to foreSee the results
OF changes in traffic handling until
they have been tried.
Personal Resentment Factor.
Much criticism also is founded on
personal resentment. y man who
drives downtown at 50 miles an hour
without miShap is reSentful when he
Is stopped by a policeman. and pro
tests that he hasn't struck any one or
interfered with any one while driving
at that speed. That is fortunate for
him, but if every one We're to drive at
this speed through the downtown
streets, it is easy to see what the
result would be.
1T must be remembered that the
traffic regulations are made for the
benefit of the community as a whole,
and what may Inconvenience one
person may be necessary to protect
P hundred others. 1t is only through
3 realization of this fact and by com
plete cooperation that the regulations
can be effective