Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-13
Open Pedestrian School at
Thirteenth and F Streets
With Four Instructors.
OFFICERS CONVINCED
OF NEED FOR CAMPAIGN
Most fragrant Violation of Walk
ers Is That of Cutting
Corners.
walk right, obey the lights and live

walk right, obey the lights and live
longer
With this impressive, philosophical
slogan, the TRAFFIC Bureau of the Police
Department today initiated new edu-
cational campaign to teach pedestrians
to cross congested intersections in the
safe and sane manner prescribed in the
traffic regulations.
The pedestrian school opened at
Thirteenth and r streets-a light-con-
trolled intersection-with four uniformed
policemen acting as instructors. 1t will
be moved from day to day to other busy
intersections. and continued until pedes-
TRANS quit "jay-walking" and learn to
stop and go on the signals.
No arrests will be made during the
campaign, according, to Inspector E. w.
Brown in charge of the Traffic Bureau,
although the traffic code empowers the
police to ticket" pedestrians as well
as motorists who disobey the lights. The
sole purpose of the drive, he explained,
is to get walkers in the habit OF watch
ing the signals and crossing the street
Convinced of Need.
The first few hours at Thirteenth
and F streets deeply convinced the four
officers on duty there of the need of the
educational campaign. Fully 80 per
cent of the pedestrians started across
the intersection, they observed, without
looking to see whether the signals were
flashing red or green.
One officer was stationed at each
corner, and If pedestrians started to
cross against signal and in stream
of moving traffic, they would be warned
needed the warning and returned to the
sidewalk, but others ignored the police
men and deliberately crossed, weaving
in an out of the moving vehicles The
most fragrant violation of the walkers,
however, was cutting corners. Some of
them who did this narrowly averted
colliding with automobiles making right
turns on the proper signal"
Men are just as bad as women when
it comes to Jay walking" observed Po-
hceman w. j: Liverman, one of the four
officers trying to teach pedestrians TO
walk right. Some of those I warned
this morning to cross with the lights
we're even more stubborn than the
women"
Policeman w. M. Sanford on the
opposite corner, however, did not agree
men more willing to obey the signals
than the women. You certainly can
tell those women who have their own
way at home" he remarked.
The other two officers are j. A. Voss
and j. L. Mabers. Inspector Brown
plans to relieve them at 4 o'clock with
q new detail, which will be kept on
duty until the theaters close tonight.
Business Club Sponsors Plan.
The campaign is being sponsored by
the Washington Chapter of the Ameri.
can Business Club. San A. Syme, sec.
rotary of the club, is in direct charge.
This Is not an attempt to give the
motorist a monopoly. on the streets" he
said. The law gives pedestrians an
absolute right of way at all uncon-
trolled intersections. TRAFFIC devices
and traff1c officers. however. are placed
at congested points to expedite all
traffic and disobedience of signals slows
properly moving traffic just as much as
disobedience by motorists would slow it.
The law, to do away with this danger
has made it unlawful for pedestrians
to move against vehicular traffic a.;
such crossings, but has put on motorists
making right turns the duty Of yielding
the right of way to PEDESTRIANS"