Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-07-29
MODEL CODE HAS
EIGHT MAIN POINTS
Traffic Ordinance viii Be
Submitted to 5000 Mu.
inequalities.

Eight major recommendations for a
model municipal trafic ordinance will
be contained in proposed code which
will be submitted next month to more
than 5000 municipalities, to aid in the
handing Of their problems Of street
congestion and tisfic, according To the
trafac committee OF the American
Motorists Association, one of the ma
tionel motoring organizations working
on the model trefic code plan. The
code was prepared by the committee on
municipal trafflc ordinances and regu-
istions of the National Conference on
Street and Highway Safety. OF which
Secretary OF Commerce Herbert Hoover
is chairman,
Code Outlined.
The eight major recommendations
for the model code are as follows:
The pedestrian. at an intersection,
shall always have the right OF way.
Between intersections the motorist
shall always have the right OF way.
the effect of these two regulations
being to Stigmatize laywalking and
TO Weld to the pedestrian the un-
questionable supremacy at intersec-
tons.
The practice of motorist passing
n street car.on the left is condemned
except where it is a one-way street
or where the track is placed on the
extreme right-hand side OF the hisn"
way
The risht-of-vay rule between mo-
florists at intersections Is further
clarified. as follows; The motorlst
on the right shall always have the
right of way unless the vehicle on
the left first enters the intersection,
IN which event the vehicle on the
left shall proceed and clear the in
tersection with due regard for safety.
For cities installing trafiic con.
troll signals the conference was OF
the concenSus. and so voted. that the
three color system. including green.
yellow and red is the most efncient.
More stringent ordinances against
the blocking of highways and streets
by railroads was declared to be para
mount. due TO the increasing density
of traffic.
Motorists. at all times. should be
prevented, by an ordinance prohibit.
Ing driving through clearly marked
pedestrian safety rome.
The loading or unloading OF COM
riercial vehicles, where the process
requires more than 30 minutes,
should be permitted only at night,
thus minimizing trafiic congestion.
Cruising Of taxicabs should be for
bidden and in lieu of that practice
all cities should authorize designated
taxicab stands at convenient points.
To serve AN CisieA
The object Of the model municipal
traffic ordinance is to serve as guide
fer all cities IN handling their problems
of street trafie. II serves as a single
pattern for every city and town through
out the United States to follow, and II
Il is generally adopted the problem OF
enforcement will be very simpiified.
uniformity Is the first essential to suf-
6cient traff5c control. and Il has been
very dffsicult for both nnotorist and Pc
dextrisn 70 observe regulations which
differ in each city and town.
As the result Of the three-daY confer
ence which resulted in the adoption OF
the code, II was the concenSus of opin-
lon that pedestrian control is not de-
Kirabie. but that rather close obSer-
vation Of trafic regulations by pedes-
TRANS is what is needed. As the result
of the observations, pointed out by the
officials from large cities. IL was voted
not 10 include pedestrian control In the
model municipal traffic ordinance Fig
ures submitted by them showed that in
many instances on busy corners. 1t
pedestrians were controlled by trafIic
lights that fi.a congestion would be 50
dense that iAwould not give SUFFICIENT
time to enable pedestrians to cross the
street before the signals we're against
them.
Toll Is High.
Need for a model municipal trafic
ordinance was evidenced from figures
submitted to the conference showing
that at the present time the annual
death rate is approximately $4,000 per
year. The model code, 1t was estimated.
would result In the saving annually Of
q large percentage Of this annual death
koli. Total deaths from street and high
way accidents during the past Is years
was placed at 1864 500. according 10 fg-
sires submitted 10 the conferees.
The model code, which viii be ready
for distribution probably in two weeks,
viii eventually be adopted In practically
NIL Of the major towns and cities OF the
country. ii Is predicted This predic-
tons is based primarily on the fact that
the model State uniform vehicle code,
adopted in 1926, has already been en-
acted into Law, AZ whole or part. IN
III States during the two years since It's
adoption The model municipal traffic
ordinance is largely modelled after the
uniform vehicle code.