The Washington times., 1925-07-29
With The
IAlibi Artists
Signs That Can't Be
Seen Prove by Tests
Useless Expense
to Motorists
Cases of Twelve Cited
Cases of Twelve Cited
DIV DONALD McDOuGAL

We watched the stop sign at
Eighteenth and California streets
for twenty minutes the other day,
while twelve cars passed.
Three of them slowed down to a
crawl, four slowed perceptibly, but
crossed Eighteenth street at a
pretty fair clip, three paid no
attention toN the sign whatever,
and out of the dozen cars, only
two came to a complete standstill.
A pretty poor record, you say
a sad failure to cooperate. 1t is
sad failure to cooperate, but
the failure isn't all on the motor
lists side.
You can drive along California
street col plying in every resaect
with the traffic regulations using
ordinary, care and alertness, and
yet unavoidab1y run past that
stop sign, thus:
The, law allows you twenty-five
miles an hour, if you drive care
fully, and il there is no unusual
condition demanding a slower pace,
and if your brakes can stop you
within sixty feet-or fifty feet if
you're going twenty miles an
hour.
"A careful driver will keep his
attention pretty well toward the
side of the road, where children
are likely TO dodge out from the
line of parked cars, and on the
sidewalk, where these surprise ex-
petitions often originate.
He won't be much interested
in what happens in the open
road outside his stopping radius,
which varies between Is and 100
feet, according to his brain speed
After a few months driving,
a motorist learns pretty well what
his stopping radius is, and he
doesn't bother very much about
what happens outside of it. It's
no use worrying about things half
a block ahead-they may be
entirely different by the time you
get there.
What happens within the stop
ping radius has the first claim
on the careful drivers attention,
and at twenty-five miles an hour,
on level ground, with brakes in
good condition, the stopping
radius Of the average driver is
eighty feet.
Eighty feet, that is, when the
reason for stopping is clearly
distinguishable. The harder the
object is tos1istinguish, the longer
the stopping radius win be.
From the dT:iver's position at
a distance or eighty feet, the
sign painted on the roadway is
foreshortened to about one
thirteenth of It's actual size.
Accordingly, it appears to the
driver as q sign three inches
wide, instead of three and a
fraction feet, while the length re-
mains unchanged-seven and a
half feet.
Letters three inches high, but
spread out seven and a half feet,
are hard to read at glance.
II it ties him only i1alf
second to realize what he's Up
he will run sixteen feet during
that time, and will increase his
stopping radius-by that much.
That is, he will run sixteen
feet or so past the sign, in cases
two miles an hour, and gets his
HI 1OO6 e1I NAAS SSH AAOAh 49,
lance of eighty feet.
But the sign is rs feet from
the crosswalk, which is seven or
eight feet wide, and this, with the
three-foot width of the sign it
self, brings the car on the cross
walk when it comes to step.
And it's against the law to stop
on a crosswalk.
What is there for the driver to
do but drive on? Anyhow that's
what the majority of them are
doing.
For those who know where to
look for the sign, the warning is
sufficient. But they don't need it.
For those who don't know where
to look for the sign; the warn
is not sufficient, and they're the
ones that do need it.
Last Sundays infractions of
this and other regulations cost
1876 motorists $1,966. It looks
like. the new code is more ex-
pensive than its benefits warrant.