New Britain herald., 1925-06-23
JITNEY BUSSES AND SPEED LAWS

JITNEY BrSSES AND
 SPEED LAWS
 Users of the highways on the out skirts of New Britain are beginning to speculate upon the influence wielded somewhere in political cir cles which allows jitney busses gen. erally and the Connecticut company busses In particular to be operated along the public roads at a speed that is directly contrary to the mo- tor vehicle laws Of the state. IL has been learned by most pleasure drivers that high rate of speed in congested districts means at least reprimand and possibly an arrest from state policeman somewhere in the neighhorhood. Yet the same individual constantly sees one or another of the yellow trolley com pany busses pass him at several miles an hour faster than he dares to travel. It is reasonable to sup pose that there Is state policeman somewhere in the offing part of the time and yet we never hear of an arrest of a bus driver for reckless driving. There has not yet been a serious accident involving 8 pas senger bus hereabouts, but that is more luck than careful driving, in the opinion of observers.
 We have in mind, particularly, the rate of speed of the vehicles operated along the highways in Berlin. Often the heavy, unwieldy machines, loaded with human freight, pass along in such a man. ner as 10 endanger the lives of all along the roadway as well as the passengers One of them, last Sat urday, at a point beyond the rail- road bridge in Berlin, travelled at 37 miles an hour for 1500 feet-that is as far as it was paced. Possibly it was going faster later on, possibly not. But, 37 miles an hour, in our humble opinion, is too fast for pub lie safety, particularly with the heavy busses. About the city streets all busses are operated with dis regard of the privileges of others that Is distinctly annoying to drivers of pleasure cars. The operators seem to realize that they have car that could successfully withstand the shock of a collision which would wreck the ordinary automobile and proceed under the assumption that everyone must get out of their way. This, however. Is a secondary con- sideration private drivers are aware of. the faults of the jitney ehaufeurs and watch them very Closely with the result that serious accidents are averted.
 Of course the general public has little to say concerning the grant Ing of permits to operate bus lines The Public Utilities commission takes care of that for them. wheth- CT they like it or not. Notwithstand' ing all this the iitney companies arc using the highways that are main tained by the public for the public They are on them by the good traces of citizens and taxpayers anC they use them far more in propor' ton to the amount of tax paid thar the average pleasure driver uses hi' car Every auto owner, and there are many of them, is paying hP share of the maintenance of tho road-bed which the busses use, an( they damage it far more than private car, even at slow speed Theoretically. but not actually, in dividuals have something to ga! about the manner in which tn busses arc driven. Now that tn trolley company has moved ii transportation system from the rail which it had 10 keep in condition itself 10 the roadway which it onl helps to keep in condition it IS pro ceeding with an even finer disregar' Of public property and public right than it did when it drove vehicle over it's own road-bed. Of course operating trolleys carelessly cost tn company money in wear and tea on the road bed in greater propoF lion than it costs to operate busse with greater speed than is warrant ed. The public helps foot the oil It is time that the Public Utilitie commission stepped in and regula' ed the speed of busses in some man ner. either by compelling the use controllers on every bus. or by lp rructinE the State Police To "a'C every driver, arrest AAn for tn