Evening star., 1926-04-14
ELDR|DGE PLEADS
FOR PUBL|C'SA AID
|NCUTT|NG RULES
Begins Study of Traffic Req
uIatiOnS to Reduce Numer-
GUS Arrests.
PARKING BAN is SEEN
AS ONE POSSIBLE CURE
Elimination of Parking Light Reg
ulation Also Seen as Relief
Measure. ?


violation of traffic regulations the
number of traffic regulations should
be reduced, the traffic director set
about the task today of finding
which ones could be culled.
AT the same time, he opened to
every citizen of the District inter
ested in traffic law PRONUNCIATION and
enforcement, an avenue of sugges
ton through which the voice of the
motorists of the city may be heard
as to their desires on traffic. The
director declared he has asked the
District traffic council to go through
the present traffic code with fine
tooth comb. and recommend to him
any regulations which could be elm
mated or modified.
He also requested that any indivi
dual who wishes to do so, make q
careful analytical study of the traffic
regulations and make suggestions
toward simplifying the regulations
and cutting down arrests without
detriment to the traffic situation"
Asks Public Aid.
His statement follows:
In view of the request made Ia
the Commissioners that an effort be
made to further simplify the traffic
code, and to eliminate the Superfluous
regulations, j have asked the traffic
council to go through our present
traffic code with a fine tooth comb"
and recommend to me any regulations
which in their opinion could be elimin-
ated or modified without detriment To
the public safety.
In this connection, l should like
TO request, through the press. that
any individual who desires to do so.
make a careful analytical study of
the traffic regulations. and make any
specific suggestions which may occur
to them, which will have the effect of
simplifying the regulations and the
cutting down of arrests without detri-
ment to the traffic situation.
Particular attention Sis called TO
the fact that approximately two
thirds of all the arrests for traffic
violations during the month of March
were for parking lights and overtime
parking. Any suggestions relating to
these two phrases of the subject will
be particularly appreciated"
Problem Concerns Grave Cases.
At the outset there were difficulties
While it was agreed that there may
be some trivial regulations that serve
to befog the already dazed mind Of
the motorist, the problem of too many
arrests does not concern the trivial
regulations, but those which are not
regarded as trivial. In other words
arrests are for violation of important
regulations-not trivial ones.
Two traffic regulations stand out as
those on which more than two-thirdS
of the arrests are made, in the view
of Police Commissioner Fenning and
Traffic Director Eldridge. These are
overtime parking and parking at night
without lights.
Only three courses are open to re-
duce arrests. if that is what the Com
missioners want to do:
First-Total elimination of all park
ing in the congested area between
am. and pm, course which Com
missioner Fenning believes the people
of Washington are not yet ready for.
Second-Lifting of the rigid system
of police arrests for first-time viola
tors and replacing it with a warning.
Third-Permitting cars to be parked
at night without lights.
Too Many Cooks Blamed.
Whether the Commissioners will ap-
prove any or all of these steps re
mains to be seen. In the meantime
the most interesting part of the prob
lem to many Washington motorists to-
day was the fact that the traffic di
rector. who admittedly has been
hampered from the first by too many
cooks" who have put their fingers In
a pie for which he is directly re-
sponsible, now faces, another task
that of helping to correct a situation
for which he is not responsible. The
policy of making arrests for every
has been inaugurated by the
Police Department and not by the
traffic director.
Mr.. Eldridge and Assistant Traffic
Director Moller went over the regula
tiors today. seeking to eliminate those
on which unnecessary arrests are
made. They confessed themselves un-
able to find any ground for cutting out
those regulations for which more than
66 per cent of the arrests were made
in March-namely. the two parking
regula tionS.
So they proceeded to consider elimi-
nation of the more innocuous parts of
the traffic law. the regulation which
provides that motorists shall operate
a vehicle on the right side of a street
which has center parkways. for exam
pie, and others for which few. il any.
arrests have been made.
Commissioner Fenning said the Po
lice Department has no intention tO
harass drivers of automobiles. but.
given the regulations to enforce. has
see how arrests can be cut down except
proceeded to enforce them. He dos not
either by eliminating all parking from
the congested area or by permitting
automobiles to park at night without
lights. Mr.. Fenning added that the
suggestion that the police enforce the
parking light law came from Sen
ator, and called attention to serious
accident in Boston when the car own
ed by the mayor of the city collided
with a car parked without lights, re.
sulting in serious injury to the mayor
and his family.
Must Guard Safety.
Possibly some of the regulations
Mr.. Eldridge drew up shortly after he
became director of traffic are not now
necessary" Mr.. Fenning said. "1f
this Is so, we will attempt to eliminate
them. 1 refer to some of the one
way streets and other minor regu-
lations. We intend reasonably to
regulate traffic in the interest of the
largest number, with every regard to
the safety of pedestrians and motor
lists. If the number of regulations can
be reduced, 1t is possible conditions
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