Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-16
MODEL MOTORISTS
SOUGHT BY A.A. A.
Driver Should Keep Pace
With Car He Drives, Pres
ident Says.

Model motorists are quite as neces
sary as new model automobiles If the
composite picture of fnotcrdem Is to
be improved, says a statement from
national headquarters of the American
Automobile Association.
A uniformly progressive motordon
demands that the motorists quaiifica
tions keep pace with the cars he
drives, according to Thomas p. Henry
president of the national body. If the
motorist fails to keep step with the
improved automobile, he will find il
beyond his capacity to meet the new
situations.
Mr.. Henry sounded the warning that
advanced ideas of traffic regulation
and uniformity in driving customs are
not more important than the develop
nnent of responsibility on the part of
the individual user of the highway.
I'VE know by this time" he said
that the human equation is present
in the majority Of accidents. and in
these cases it is the presence of the
minus that counts. We need a 1927
model motorist more than we need
model cars, as the manufacturer has
already done more to make his car
perfect than the driver has done to
make his driving 100 per cent efficient
There Is no doubt whatever that one
of our great needs is better and more
intelligent driving.
I'VE have ample proof of this in the
fact that relatively fewer members of
our clubs are involved in accidents.
We attribute this not so much to the
safety education conducted by our
clubs as to the fact that our members
constitute by and large a highly in.
telligent group.
drive his car at more intelligent varia.
tons of speed than his 1926 prede.
cessor, who often mistook safety de-
vices for a license to ignore all posi-.
biltty of disaster. He will recognize as
a fact that a car travelling so miles
an hour will hit so much harder and
do so much more damage than one
going %, regardless of the faster
cars equipment.
. "It Is essential that the 1927 model
motorist should be a student of cor,
rect driving methods. He should ad
vance as much in knowledge as the
1927 car has advanced mechanically
and should discard many time.honor.
ed but hazardous customs. He knows
that stopping distances. even with
IOur-WheeI brakes, are not in direct
proportion to the speed at which a
car is travelling.
Imagination should improve as
much in the new motorist as accelera.
ton and power are increased in the
new cars. One of the big needs Is the
surer foresight which will enable the
model motorist to be always prepared
for what the other driver intends to
do. This Improvement has long been
needed The majority of motorists
have been able to foresee that a
broken-down car would not be able to
climb hill safely. They have been in
the habit of watching for such cars
and passing them whenever they
could. But the same motorists invari
ably failed to form an impression OF
the other fellow as a driver and
watch him closely.
altogether the 1927 motorist should
be head and shoulders above his pre-.
decessors. Offered the further advan
tageS of safer cars, there is no reason
why he should not be able to make
real Roadway in accident prevention
and enjoy the fullest benefits of mo
toring."