The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1927-01-01

his life as a Jay
Walker in monument circle and
came to life again preaching the mes
sage Of safety to the thousands who
had witnaSsed the hoax.
1t takes more than preaching, how
ever, to bring about safety on the
streets and the club has erected more
than eight thousand danger signs in
Marion County to give the motorist
some visual means of protecting him
self against hidden dangers. These
signs are placed at dangerous street
intersections, dead-end streets,
streets which jog. railroad and inter
urban crossings and other places
where the motorist should drive with
care.
The danger or caution signs are In
several designs and types. For es-
pecially dangerous places red mir
ror signs have been placed rendering
the danger spot visible day or night.
Many red flicker signs have been
erected at railroad crossings which
are very effective. These types of
signs are expensive but the saving
of human lives Is matter which re-
quires the outlay of considerable
money.
Many Signs Erected
Wooden signs erected by the club
apprising the motorist Of dangerous
intersections, curves, and school
houses are placed at the proper
height and position to make them
visible day or night. These signs
are the most numerous and no one
can drive many miles without seeing
several of them.
Dead-end streets offered a more
serious problem for the club. With
the progress of the town and its
rapid expansion many streets were
paved to the canal or Fall Creek.
There the paving stopped, but the
motorist who was unfamiliar with
the street did not He would plunge
into the canal or creek and have to
be flshed out. To protect the mo-
torist from such deadly traps the
, club has erected large signboards
and placed them exactly in the
center Of the street so that any mo-
torist who desires to proceed must
first knock down the sign, and some
have.
During the summer months when
weeds and brush grew high and mo-
torists would crash at street inter
sections the club hired a crew of
men with scythes to cut down the
weeds and brush in order to give
the motorist clear view ahead.
Such work as this costs money,
and more money than the average
person might think. Some of the
work is done because some officer or
director of the club has reported
some place of danger but most Of
the work is done after some member
has reported or some newspaper has
announced some terrible accident at
a particular spot. When this is done,
the club sends out some one to view
the place and make report. If,
from the report, the place is re-
garded as sufficiently dangerous to
warrant a sign, it is then up to the
club to decide the best type Of sign
desirable to furnish adequate warn
ing to the motorist.
Children's Safety Important
Making the streets safe for school
children has been serious problem
for the club, but with the cooperation
of the accident prevention bureau Of
the Indianapolis police department
and the various school authorities,
the school children seem to be safer
on the streets than grown-ups, ac-
cording to statistics.
Monthly bulletins are sent to each
school showing pictures along the
line of safety and talks on the sub
ject have been given in every school
in the county. Police boys, armed
with badges presented by the Hoosier
Motor Club, and encouragement
from members of the accident pre-
vention bureau, guard hundreds Of
corners in the city to see that the lit
tie tots get to school safely and back
home again. The cooperation of
school No. 60 at Thirty-Third and
Pennsylvania SITS. is a revelation in
safety work and any one interested
should make q trip to the locality
during the opening and closing ses-
sions. This school even prepared a
pamphlet on safety and printed it in
their own print shop.
The erection of danger signs re.
quires considerable thought. Too
many signs, or signs placed where
: there is no danger, will cause the
3motorist to disregard all of them. 1t
has been the thought of the club to
place signs only where they are badly
needed in order to make the motorist
Respect them and this has been done
Without exception so that, whenever
IA danger sign is seen bearing the
&R sigma of the Hoosier Motor Club,
x4 motorist may well use caution.
< We have had many requests for
Hgns from members and non-mem-
ers who thought that a danger sign
rnaam be placed after an accident.
Hiewing the spot, If it