Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-22
URGES AUTO|STS
TO BE CAREFUL
Safety of Pedestrians Held of
Paramount Importance
to Car Driver. -,
BY r. J. ALLEN,

Member metropolitan fOuCe FOTCe.
If there are any particular traffic reg
ulations that should be observed more
assiduously than others by motorists
they are those regulations that have to
do with the safety of pedestrians
We have enjoyed for long time here
in the District of Columbia reputation
for comparatively few traffic accidents
This is largely due, feel, to the ex-
cellent traffic system that is in oper-
alton here. BY this mean the many
safety regulations we require the mo-
toriSt to observe.
Ineffective IL UnObserved.
However, no regulation is effective
unless it is observed, and particularly
is this true of traffic regulations.
There we're SO persons killed in traffic
accidents here within the past year.
OF this number 81 were pedestrians
Out of the 81, there were % children
under years of age.
There were SO killed last year, and
while this years total of SO is some
improvement, nevertheless 1t is not
enough. No amount of care and discre-
ton can be considered too much where
the safety of life and limb is concerned.
Traffic violations, with few excep-
tions, are considered a more or less
minor offenSe. But when motorlSt
violates a regulation that is designed to
promote the safety of pedestrian and
that violation causes serious injury or
death to some one, then he has COM
mitted serious offense indeed.
Therefore, it behooves every District
of Columbia motorist to not only be
proud of the splendid record we have
already established for having the least
accidents 1--WE practically led the United
States last year,, but they must all
strive with every means at their COM
mand to better the records of previous
years. Because, while 80 persons may
not be so many people in point of COM
parison with other large cities, neverthe-
less SO persons are lot of people. If
we only bettered last years mark by
one person, and that person should be
one of those little children under B
years of age. just reflect what saving
that little life would mean to his family.
Hard Blow to Relatives.
Think of all the sorrow and heart
break that came to those 80 homes last
year.
Death when caused by being struck
by an automobile always seems to come
as a particularly hard blow to the be-
reaved relatives. They usually seem to
feel, regardless Of the circumstances,
that their loved one need not have been
sacrificed If the motoriSt involved had
only displayed the proper amount OF
care. This almost invariable attitude
on their part Is often very unjust to
the motorist in question, because some
times it was the pedestrian who was
careless and by his own carelessness
made 1t impossible for the motorist to
avoid the accident.
Accidents, particularly to pedestrians,
always happen so suddenly as to seem
rather confusing to chance witnesses.
NV police experience has taught me that
it Is very rare for all, even disinterested,
witnesses of an accident to agree on
who was to blame. It is usually very
hard to fix the exact blame in acct-
dents where pedestrians are concerned,
and because of this fact, no doubt,
great many persons escape blame for
an accident where if all the facts were
known it would have been their fault.
The foregoing applies equally to pedes-
TRANS and motorists alike.
However, think we all will agree on
one point, at least, that there hardly
ever would be an accident where pedes-
TRANS are concerned If the motorist in
volved was proceeding slowly and care
fully enough-and if the pedestrian
looked with painstaking care in both
directions before he crossed the street.