Evening star., 1926-06-06
fQUERY|NG POLICE
| DECR|ED BY A. A. A.
Inconvenience to Other Driv.
ers Is Most Common Result
!! of Improvident Touring.

Selfish motorists who use the traffic
policemen of the cities through which
sAHey tour as information booths are
.tibing much 10 interfere with traffic
4Safety, facility and direction in Amer
AGA.
= This conclusion has been reached
f!bv the American Automobile Assocl'
shtion following Investigations made by
its national touring board; Inc
la. A. A. has taken the stand that the
Lfraffic officers of American cities must
i.he relieved of this information serv'
.ice" which so seriously interfereS with
.,the safe and free movement of We
,hicles.
.H Warning Is Issued.
4. A warning to this effect has been
issued at the associations national
headquarters in this city, following
,,receipt of request for such action by
interested motorists. The associ'
H8tion's observations of conditions
range all the way from local driving
to transcontinental touring in the IN.
terests Of nearly a million organized
motorists. The contention is that
traffic direction in the country at the
present time suffers because tourists
seem to think a traffic officer is
handy information booth.
Traffic officers in most cities are
being imposed upon by a species of
motor tourist who asks as he goes,
fsays the a. A. A. with motor clubs
organized as they are and touring in
formation services highly developed.
tourist under ordinary circumstances
has no more right to ask traff1c offi-
Ger which way to go than he has to
ask the officer to help change tire.
I'll Motorists report having been de-
Iayed a number of times by tourists
tWho draw up TO the center of a busy
Ahoroughfare and ask their way. and
Eve feel certain that hundreds OF thou
sands of motorists have experienced
the same annoyance. There are few
occasion where a motorist is justified
Tin inconyeniencing others in order TO
ask his way. With touring informa-
.tion so highly developed. motorists can
Ilan their route in advance and should
40 so. No experienced tourist ever
enters a strange city without advance
Knowledge OF the names and the
courses of the main thoroughfares.
He does not depend even upon signs.
4; Other Drivers Must Wait.
VI Many tourists take advantage of
their foreign license plates when
seeking information that is not due
sthem. They reason that the officers
:Ayill note that they are strangers and
will be disposed to help them accord
fngly. Unfortunately, too many traf.
fic officers are too conS1derate or
strangers under such circumstances
at the expense Of local drivers who
must wait while the improvident tour
list is being given directions.
n There are q few occasions when it
us difficult for a stranger to find his
Route as when the streets given in
the touring directions or on a map
are being repaired and one is forced
20 detour But these occasions are
rare. And when anything like this
confronts the motorist, he is not help
ing matters by disturbing the traffic
officer IL information cannot be OBJ.
tained in the usual way, the more
logical and courteous thing to do is
TO park the car and make inquiry OF
those who are not obliged to incon'
venience others in order to dispense
the information desired.
Motorists who are annoyed and de-
layed by tourists who ask as they go
can do much to stop this practice of
imposition. The A. A. A. will not ad-
vocate any methods that will destroy
the feeling Of good fellowship which
should prevail on the streets and high.
ways, but will seek to get at the root
of the trouble. A. A. A. members will
be encouraged to urge their friends to
map out their trips beforehand and be.
come familiar with the cities through
which they will pass.
"It is a problem in tourist education
and safety. The careless tourist must
be made to realize that in disturbing
traffic direction he disturbs a. system
upon which the safety and conven-
ience of the general public hinge"