The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1928-03-21

safety than the scornful, embl
This u the flat reply Of leaders Of
4utcnnotfve thought to the unthink.
ltig host that immediately rallies tc
the other side when b motorist II In.
volved ii an accident from the most
trivial fo the most serious. 1t may
neenl, It first, to be based upon pure
prejudice. It Ii not. There Is q
mass oe evidence to substantiate It.
Here Il q question for the skeptic.
Where IN any community, does the
best developed recipe Tor safety lieg
An honest answer to this question
VIII result In considerable leaven.
tng of ones slxepticism.
It generally is agreed that there
AZ no other formula for safe walking
and driving than that set forth In
the traffic code Of any city, town or
hamlet. Who knows best what ii in
this code? The answer, inevitably,
II the mOtOrist.D Then, who knows
more about safety. Again the an
sWer Is ssthe motorist a simple
deduction that may serve to break
down few prejudicea.
Gets Both Viewpoints
Therein lies the answer to all who
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the best pedestrians. Those who adj
vance this theory make no effort to
deal n paradoxes.
heir point simply IL fhisthat
the motorist- every raot0rist- has
experience as both driver ana pc
u9skrian while the pedestrian has the
who walks only. The motor car
owner ID called upon to know two
safety techniques rather than merely
one. BY mastering that required
1nr aafe driving, he - doubly mas-
ter Qf that necessary to walk with.
out danger to life and limb.
Traffic accident surveys certainly
lend support to this theory. They
show that In majority Of autOrno-
bAle-p pedestrian mishaps the pedes-
trian certainly Is not car-oWner
walking from his parked car to the
YDfkice. store or bank He apparently
= walker who is without expert
ence 81 driver.
The advantage that the inOtorist
enjoys when he leaves his machine
and begins his trek through the
tangled mass 81 automobile traffic
Il easily illustrated For example,
hs knows his rights as q walker
On no uncertain manner and he
knows them As result Of being 81
driver. The pedestrian ii not com
Belled to read OF study the traffic
regulations He has one or two
rules to fellow; he believes, and
even e he fails to follow them tnsre
II no legal penalty IA majority
ok communities. Traffic safety, for
him. too often Is matter Of mud.
ding through
Knows Drivers Rights
Not 80 the na0torfst as q pedes.
TRAN. He knows not only his own
rikIltg but the rights Of the man
behind the wheel while he takes
what = justly his, he Yields when
the other man rae TIE rfrht-of.way.
RenuIt A clear understanding on
both sides and there are, few
traffic accidents when both parties
clearly understand given situa-
ton.
Take the case Of the nlotorlst-
pedestrian II p0lfced street inter-
section. The naOtorfst Ii accustomed
to Obeyine the signals of the Off
GER. when the traffic ii moving
east and west, he knows that line
Of traffic has the righf.Of-way. He
does not have the temerity OF the
average walker. He does not force
his way out into the middle oe
the moving traffic stream merely
because he knows there Is no
penalty other than q possible con-
tact with somebody's bumper. He
waits because he is accustomed TO
waiting when the signals are against
him.
The same fs true. Of course, In
the case Of the automatic traffic
Light system. Red. green and gel
low lights often mean little to the
walker who never drives. They
mean definitely Ego" and stop to
the m0tOrist when he ID afOOt an
weH as when he Is awheel.
Thousands Of accidents happen
Ut such intersections. 1t Ii rare
that the victim Is Of the motorist-
pedestrian variety.
This Ii just. one ease In point.
There are hundreds of others. For
Instance. hand signals are regarded
~ primary factor in safe driving.
A moEorist knows these signals
whether he Ii in or out OF car.
when he sees an arm extended
from passing machine, he does
not become hysterically confused
trying 70 figure out its meaning.
Understands signals
III 1t h stop signal, he knows
the driver IL going to stop and
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