Evening star., 1925-08-21
SWELLING PROTEST
DECLARES TRAFFIC
|. IS OVERREGULATED
Maze of Rules and expert
ments" Mystifies Driver
and Walker.
ELDRIDGE AND AIDES
CALLED TOO JEALOUS
Mean to Do Good Job, But Are
Going Too Far, in Opinion
of Many.
BY WILLIAM ULLMA<,
Automobile Editor of The Star.

BY WILLIAM ULLMA\.
Automobile Editor of The Star
That the ever-increasing traffic reg1S-
lations, coming day by day, if not hour
by hour, from the Office of the di-
rector of traffic, are burdensome and
irritating is the consensus among a
huge number of users of Washington's
streets
That the confusion created among
motorists and pedestrians alike by the
multiplicity of Dos" and "Donts'
thrust upon them each day is defeat
ing the original purpose of the traffic
director - further conSesting, rather
than relieving, ira fic-is d conviction
fast fixing itself in the minds of many
OF those who must stop, look, listen
and memorize today's regulations.
Veteran motorists who have driven
in many of the large and smaller cities
of the country assert that nowhere
have they been confronted with so
many direction signs as in the Ma
tional Capital. Local streets, they say,
are perplexing and confusing sue
cession of traffic instructions. 1t is
either don't park here. don't cross
there. no left turn, stop, slow, go
straight ahead. go around, no right
turn and such like, until they are at
once afraid to move and afraid to stop.
First Enthusiasm Cools.
Greeting the establishment OF the
new traffic regime with enthusiasm
and a hearty willingness to cooperate.
the motoring and pedestrian public has
become tired Of waiting for the prom
ised improvement and is now mani
Testing dissatisfaction with regula-
tions they believe offer no improve
ment.
The real outburst of public temper
came with the latest left and right
hand turn regulation, which calls for
vehicles intending TO turn one way or
the other to draw up to the right-hand
curb and await further instructions.
This is the scheme in effect in a num-
Der OF small cities, in Pennsylvania
particularly. and many local motorists
have had experience with IL.
One District Inotorist tells of hav-
ing had 1t called TO his attention in
Allentown where he attempted to
make a left-hand turn according to
the generally recognized big-city rule.
Don't you know" hau,led TIN.
traffic cop, that 10 make a left-hand
turn you gotta first pull UP to that
right curb and stop?"
No" replied the motorist, "and
what's more, didn't even suspect it,"
That incident, il is pointed out in
dicates the small use of the regulation
, and serves in way to illustrate what
may be expected here If it should be
applied to a greater local traffic we'll
mixed with the large number Of out
of-town cars that ply daily through
| the streets of Washington.
Over-Regulation Seen.
pressing dissatisfaction with the traf-
fic director, whom they believe to be
honest and earnest. but feel that the
traffic office, in its eagerness to eff
(, feet a lot of regulations which indi-
vidually seem reasonable is OVERRIDING
the thing. They believe. in short, that
traffic is being over-regulated.
Several traffic students are OF the
opinion that the traffic Office should
| quit making new regulations for q
! few days and survey the results of
those already in effect. 1t is believed
that a calm and dispassionate size-up
OF the workings of many of the cross
road puzzles that have been inaugu-
rated would reveal a state of con-
fusion existing among motorists ex-
ceeding its congesung capacity the
conditions that existed prior TO the
! initiation OF the new rules.
II is pointed out, for example, that
if the same motorists used the same
streets every day they would in time
| memorize all the various regulations
encountered on their journey through
the city and that eventually this par
| ticular traffic would flow smooth as
| oil. But there is the foreign" traffic,
the people from out of town and the
! local motorists who in great numbers
every day at every intersection are
| virtual strangers.
| To test this point. it is suggested
! that any motorist who is unfamiliar
with the Mount Pleasant section in
! the vicinity of Fourteenth street and
| Park road drive out there some eve
| ming after dark and battle with the
regulations One motorist declares
/ that an entire evening can be spent
running down parking mirages and
backing out of one-way streets.
All of which, it is also declared,
makes for halting, stalling. annoying
| and worrysome conditions that are, in
| the final analysis, worse than no regu
lations at all and possessing far
! greater potentialities for serious acci
dents.
Added Police Big Help.
1t is widely believed that the best
thing that has happened to local
| traffic conditions was the increase in
the number or trdf1lc ponce. IL mas
been observed that the appearance
of one offlcer at a busy street inter
section will do more 10 smooth out
the flow OF trafic and minimize the
accident possibilities than a dozen
signs.
1t is understood, OF course, that 1t
is practically impossible to have
police at every corner, but the
marked change in the conduct of
both motorists and pedestrians in tho
presence OF policemen leads to a very
clear conclusion. 1t shows quite
plainly that 90 per cent of the mo-
torists know how to behave and that
they really know what is right and
| what is wrong in driving.
There need be no signs, there
need be no officers upraised hand;
irrespective of the traffic conditions
at that corner, whether good, bad
or Indifferent at the moment, mo-
torists and pedestrians alike, at the
| sight of an officer, Immediately check
up on their conduct and proceed with
caution and, among motorists espe-
cially, with due regard for the rights
| Of nthoro nraSanf