Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-04-16


to check up on the host of drivers who
are endangering themselves and all
other street users by rushing head
long past the stop signs or impatient
ly easing their way into the vehicular
maelstrom on the arterial highway.
These are the men, though, who reveal
a hazineSs on the regulation that in
some cases is nothing short Of amaz.
ing, as shown clearly in the incident
cited above.
Ideas Far Apart.
The widely contrasting answers of
officers x and Y to the question How
is the boulevard stop regulation in
terpreted here?" emphatically is in.
dicative of how far apart are the pa
trolmen in their ideas of the meaning
of the regulation. Officer X said:
There is only one Interpretation.
The man on the boulevard has the
right-of-way. When you come to a
stop sign, you must stop. Stopping
isn't all, either. You've got to wait
until you can cross the intersection
without blocking a single car on it.
Sometimes, you've got to wait a long
while, but that's just tough luck. If
it takes you all day to break in,
you've got to wait all day. In such
case, motorists don't like the law.
If they are on the boulevard, however,
they think it's great"
His answer revealed that Officer x
knows the regulation thoroughly. Con-
trast it with the reply of Officer Y.
We'll, those stop signs mean stop. !"
But, how long?" asked the in
vestigator.
We'll, after you come to a complete
stop, you can go ahead If you are on
the right Of the car on the boule-
vard'
"You mean that after one has
stopped he again has the right of
way, provided he is on the right?"
asked the investigator.
Sure" replied officer Y.
z Comes Closer.
officer z came a little bit closer to
the proper Interpretation of the regu.
lation, although he still was quite a
bit away from the correct construc.
ton of It. He said:
You have the right of way if you
are on the right, provided you have
stopped within Is feet Of the sign.
You've got to be careful, though, be-
cause II you get hit by man on the
boulevard, he might have a little more
prestige in court. Technically, though,
you have the right Of way, IL you
have stopped and are on the right of
the man on the boulevard"
Answers to the same query by
other officers were a variation of
these, with a majority believing that
stopping was all that was necessary
to re.establish the right of way Of
the man who happened to be on the
- l,1
on the cross street or the arterial
highway.
Officer X, whom the investigator
met at Connecticut avenue and TIL
den street, revealed himself to haye
remarkably clear idea not only of
the stop regulation, but also Of his
duties as an officer. Violation of this
provision of the traffic code, he de-
clared, to be a serious offense, result
ing in many accidents because the
arterial highway traffic assumes the
right of way and proceeds at a
fairly rapid pace regardless of the
action of the driver on the cross
street He declared his belief that
it is not ignorance so much as will
fulness that causes so many viola
tons of this important provision of
the traffic code.
Far From Ignorance.
'I've had lots of cases of violate
of the stop-sign regulation" he said
when you see a man violating this
regulation after you have taken the
trouble to explain it to him and warn
him that he has laid himself open to
prosecution, you know that it isn't
| ignorance of the law. I've had lots OF
cases of this kind.
There was q fellow down on New
ark street that l had warned on two
mornings in succession. The third
day / took him into court. After that
he quit violating the law. Other
drivers are the same way. They know
the law, but they just won't obey It
When they are on the boulevard they
| like the regulation. When they are
trying TO get on to it they don't like
1t at ALL"
| In querying several officers, the in
vestigator asked whether he had not
seen something Sin the paper" about
the boulevard-stop violations, referring
| to The Stars campaign against this
serious traffic menace. In such cases
the officers, particularly those wht
| showed a perfect understanding Of
| the law, answered the question affirm
atively and several vouchsafed the in
! formation that such articles helped
them in the enforcement of the regu
| lation.
Officer AS answer is typical. HI
said:
Yes. Those things help US, too
If the motorist has been wrong in hi
Interpretation of the law or has beer
ignorant of it, he is set straight anC
watches his step. If driver has beer
violating the regulation willfully h,
gets the idea that the police are peppet
up, and he, too, watches his step
Most of them. l believe, belong to tn
latter class. The law is clear If the,
take the trouble to read it at ALL
Encouraged by Laxity.
The differences to be drawn from
the data developed by querying polio
officers in every part of the city ar
these:
With motorists permitted to escap,
penalty for violating the law in ont
part of the city, they are encourage
to run counter to it in another, will
great potential danger to themselve
and others.
If the patrolman, who is the onl.
police officer with q real opportunit.
tc enforce the regulation, is. in SOM
cases, ignorant of its proper construo
ton, there is little chance Of universe
application OF the force necessary t
compel obedience to It.
If the officer misconstrues the law