Evening star., 1927-10-30
NO-L!M|T SPEED
LAW IS PRAISED
Observer Finds Advantages
in New Michigan Auto
mobile Legislation.

Among the many important develop
ments now engaging the attention OF
motordom, none is attracting q
greater measure Of deeply interested
notice than the workings of the new
Michigan no.limit speed law for motor
vehicles
In the opinion of one local observer
who has given these matters much
study, there are two important rea
sons why the statute will be success.
full, the first being that automobiles
are much safer than ever and thus
can be driven more rapidly with
greater confidence. and. second. that
the majority of motorists have acu-
men enough to temper their speed ac-
cording to conditions.
CoOlican's Comment.
This observer, Oscar Coolican, local
Packard distributor, thus comments
further on the situation:
Connecticut was the first State to
abolish the definite limit speed regu-
lation, but Michigan's action, more
sweeping, sets an example that prob
ably soon will be followed by many
other States. This step is progress
i've one and takes into consideration
several factors that seem quite OBJ
vious to a rapidly growing group.
zone of the chief virtues of the
automobile is that it represents a
rapid form of transportation. Its
whole development has been marked
by one increase in speedability after
another. And each time the automo-
bile has been given greater speed and
power its designers have been care
full to increase it's safety proportion
ately, as illustrated by four-wheel
brakes. Every one who drives a car
knows this to be the case. COnnecti-
cut and Michigan are the first States
to recognize this in the form of aboli-
tion of the arbitrary speed regula-
ton. Others, however. have done so
in a limited way by raising their
limits. Pennsylvania. for instance,
has raised the speed on open high
ways from so to 80 miles an hour,
Maryland from 81 to 40, Indiana from
80 to 40 and the State of Washington
from 80 to 40. Other States are pre-
pairing to follow a similar course and
municipalities are constantly raising
their limits, at least in certain sparsely
populated zones.
Law Is Sweeping
1.-THE Michigan law is sweeping in
its effects. 1t leaves the speed re-
uuirement indefinite and by this fact
puts the responsibility for safe driving
upon the motoriSt, where it belongs.
The law defines reckless driving in a
sufficiently broad way to make liable
to punishment the slow driver whose
actions long have been fecognized by
some groups as the height of reckless
ness under certain conditions. Provi.
sion for furnishing the slow as well as
the fast driver is apparent in the text
of the law which defines recklessness
as follows:
Any person who drives any
vehicle carelesSly or heedlessly in will
f'll or wanton disregard of the rights
or safety of others or without due
caution of circumstances and at a
speed or in a manner so as to en-
danger or be likely TO endanger any
person or property
In placing the responsibility for
safe driving upon the driver and max
ing him the judge of safe speed, the
Michigan legislators took into ac-
count that the large body of motorists
are intelligent enough to drive as con.
ditions warrant. OF course, there are
exceptions to this rule as there are to
any other, but they are becoming
rarer and do not exist in sufficient
number to make it necessary to PEE
nalize the whole body of drivers for the
potential or actual sins Of a few.
Will Prove Blessing.
"On the whole. Michigan has taken
a step that viii appeal to those inter
ested in motoring progress. Motor.
lists will not abuse the privilege con-
ferred upon them. Their cooperation
will be fruitful in safety and will
mean extension of similar laws to
other States.
What looks like a daring expert
ment to the conservative few un-
doubtedly will prove a blessing to
those who do not want to see the
promise of the automobile longer re-
stricted by laws that take no cogni-
zance Of it's great improvement"