Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-11
GHILDREN'S SAFETY
4 LIES WITH Driver
Courts Have Held Young.
sters Not Responsible for
Actions IN Street.

Motorists should exercise greater
care and be more constantly watchfu
in order TO avoid accidents involving
children playing on the edges and in
the travelled way of thoroughfares,
declares E. Austin Baughn1a1, Mary
land motor vehicle commissioner
Commissioner Baughman asserts that
it behooves everybody who operates
an automobile to consider the subject
OF their greater responsibility in this
sort Of traffic hazard and to treat the
question with careful consideration IN
an effort to make correct trafhc per-
Torrance q part Of the daily routine
/. Of their driving.
Going into the matter in further
detail. Commissioned Baughman says;
1.-THE nature of a child Is OF common
knowledge. Every one driving mo.
tor car should realize that the child
Is the one particular creature in the
world Of traffic motion for whom the
maximum Of care must be exercised
at all times. The acceptance OF
grown persons greater responsibility
In this question from the standpoint
OF humanity is one angle of the mat
ter. The other angle is the legal as
we'll as the moral responsibility. 1t
has been held time and time again in
the courts of the country that when
an operator perceives children IN his
course-that is, so near as to be able
70 get in his wayne Is charged with
an especial care toward them. He is
obliged, in other words, to see that ne
so drives his car that they cannot get
in its way with a resulting accident!
Should Realize Incapacity.
The should know that here are per.
sons who have no great capacity to
take care OF themselves, so that he
must exercise the greater degree Of
carefulness. And in this connection
IL may be pointed out what would be
proper care in dealing with an adult
may be insufficient in the case Of q
child"
Speaking Of the legal aspects, Com
missioner Baughn1an pointed out that
this side of the question was stated
clearly in q recent case in Pennsyl-
vania. In this case 1t was set forth
that:
"When an automobile driver sees a
child In a place of danger, or has rea-
son to apprehend that It might run
into a place of danger, 1t Is his duty
to exercise such care as would reason
ably avoid collision.
on this point the Maryland motor
vehicle commissioner said:
HOften children are aggravattng,
undoubtedly. They will not step out
of the way promptly; they will race
with the machine or try to cling to
the running board or ride on the spare
tire. knowing this, as he should, the
thoughtful. and considerate operator
must assume the burden OF extra care
for them Ey must slow down, give
warning and take the entire initiative
to stop, il this be necessary TO avoid
an accident. No operator Is safe to
proceed upon any hypothesis that the
child probably VIII take any certain
course Of action. To him the child Is
an object to be avoided, and he should
have his car under such control that
he can accomplish this under any cir.
cunnstances which reasonably can
arise"
Careful Driving Habits Urged.
Commissioner Baughman empha
sized these points with particular
force, declaring that:
s'Such driving habits as passing
through a crowd Of children at an-un-
controlled speed, depending upon the
horn signal for notice to a child to
get out of the way or be hit, striking
q child who has been in plain view,
backing without warning and without
looking. and any form OF driving wnile
near children, except such as Is gov.
erned by extreme caution and conse-
ouent car control, will be held more
and more to be reckless and intoler-
able.
"The automobile driver must ac-
cept the responsibility that he must
look out for the child-because the
child represents q mentality which
cannot look out for itself. There are
many instances, of course, where chill
dren run into moving automobiles or
where the operator has no previous
knowledge that the child is near OF
course, in such cases the operator
cannot be expected to guard against
an absolutely unforeseen contingency.
However, caution against the ever
present emergency of a thoughtless
child as possible traffic emergency
is a thoroughly worthwhile habit to