Evening star., 1927-11-27
IGNORANCE OF LAW
MENACE TO TRAVEL
Changes in Traffic Regula-
tions Held to ImperiI Mo-
torists on Highways.
BY BECK

Ignorance of traffic regulations is
causing danger and annoyance to
thousands of motor car owners
throughout the country, according to
statement issued yesterday by ma
tional headquarters Of the American
Automobile Association, in which the
whole question, and its logical answer,
is surveyed in detail.
This ignorance of the regulations.
in a majority of cases. is traceable to
two causes. the A. A. A. statement
says. These are:
/. A hit-or.miss method of keeping
up with changes made in the traffic
code instead of making it a practice
to get a copy of the new regulations
each time important changes are
made.
.. Indifference to the precise rulings
based upon an assumption that one
can get along we'll enough without
them.
F1agrant Changes Noted.
I'm virtually every city in the
country" declares the statement,
regulations are being adapted con-
stantly to new conditions. These
changes are carried prominently in
the newspapers because their i'm
portance is so great. At certain
periods, however, they become so nu-
merous and are issued so rapidly that
keeping up with them becomes a task
that the individual decides to defer
until a later date. The result is
that when hundreds of motorists in
given locality adopt this attitude,
certain group Of drivers stick to the
old regulations while still another
adopts the new. Then there is con-
fusion with all it's attendant evils.
The remedy, as seen by the nation
al motoring organization. is for the
individual to take it upon himself to
keep pace with every reprinting of
the traffic code and study it thorough
ly. In this way only. 1t is pointed
out, can the motorist acquire a COM
prehensive picture of it. If he gains
a knowledge of only one or two iso-
lated, even if important, additions or
notifications in the regulations, the
individual is not able to see them in
their important relationship to other
sections of the code, the statement
saws. The statement continues:
This point has been brought home
forcibly to the legal departments of
various of the 943 A. A. A. local
clubs In their work of protecting
the motorists interest in a wide va
rety of cases, these departments have
found themselves handicapped at
times by the individuals ignorance OF
some of the most fundamental of traf.
fic regula tons. 1t is amazing in some
of the municipalities which have
made sweeping changes in their traf.
fic regulations to make them conform
to newer conditions, the number of
motorists who have not taken the
trouble to acquaint themselves with
the new codes.
Safe, sane and unconfuse[ driving
is matter of every driver knowing
precisely just what the regula tons
specify under a wide variety of cir
cunstances. One driver, for instance,
cannot assume the right.of-way rule
to be one thing and another have an
altogether different view of it with
out paving the way for an accident.
Yet this situation is a very common
one.
Washington Modification Cited.
"a modification Of real Importance
was made in the right.of-way regula-
ton in Washington more than two
years ago. Yet limited survey re-
Gently conducted uncovered the fact
that only one in five motorists had
more than very hazy idea Of the
precise regulation.
There is little excuse for the driv-
er who is ignorant of the traffic code
Of his own city or State, but there
is none for the driver whose indiffer-
ence to the regulations is based upon
conviction that he can get by II
he Is careful when in a police-pa-
troIled section" a"