The Washington times., 1929-07-31

Inc llrSI HdltHAyAtt6 SHHAe -
speed limits are being liperalized
in virtually all Quarters Of the
country. The second Is that, else
where, they are being removed alto
gether.
The third eventuality, and Il y
no more than that at present, is
that following the abolition Of the
arbitrary maximum there may come
an arbitrary minimum speed. II Is
held to be 4 natural step and there
are forward looking officials and
motorists in both this country and
England who are not so certain
these DAYS that the slow driver u
not more Of q menace than the fast
one.
Five States IN Lead
In recent weeks, five states have.
officialIy gone on record as fayoring
higher maximum speeds on their
highways. Minnesota has gone from
40 to IS; Mississippi from 80 to 40:
New Mexico, Ohio and Oklahoma
from 35 to As. At the same time.
Tennessee and Indiana have gone
even further and abolished the
maximum law altogether
In this action, they have followed
the course OF Connecticut, Michigan,
and Montana. Any way It -
counted. that makes five States
out Of the As that have gone to
higher speeds. Indicating thas the
trend is confined to no particular
section OF the country but on the
contrary has Its sectional represefi.
tatiyes everywhere is that North,
South, East and West are on the
list.
there will be no arbitrary maximum
speed iimitl Then. many insist, the
next logical step Is to establish q
minimum below which the driver
may be arrested ais dangerous.
A minimum speed limit law Is not
4 brand new idea. Several years
age. John M. Machall, then chair
man OF the Maryland State Roads
Commission. sponsored a measure
In the legislature for the establish
ment OF a low speed limit of 20
miles an hour on State highways.
The bill failed to pass but 1t died
gallant, fighting death, and its
friends have BY no means abandoned
hope.
At that time, Mr.. MackaIl was
unqualifiedly certain that the slow
driver was more of al hazard on the
open road than the fast one.
EngIand's View
Motorists, generally, and traffic
officials. toe, are rapidly leaning to
the viewpoint expressed when the
bill was beaten: namely. they just
are not ready FOR 1t yet. It viii
come. . II Is as inevitabls as the
necessity for Nberalizing the max.
imun1 speed laws.
one Of England's foremost traffic
authorities, commenting in 4 similar
vein says:
''In country iettered by tradi.
tions and hampered by prejudices,
new departures are slowly made.
Paradoxical as It may seem, one.
great stride toward road safety
could be made by enforcing a mini
mum instead OF a maximum speed
along straight open roads" Con-
tinuing, he cites one specific study
along a prominent highway, where,
he says, "at numerous points along
the way there were little danger
eddies. each created by the>presence
Of some slow vehicle which every.
body wanted to pass and which
there never was room to pass very
safely
On Americas wider highways,
exactly the same situation prevails.
Never does driver encounter it
but that he begins to think it IL
something about which there ought
to be a law" When enough get
to thinking 1t and the theory Is
proved sound, there will be a law
unless many are guessing very
badly.
Tried In Virginia
An interesting application of the
minimum speed limit idea is being
tried with success on the James
River Bridge in Virginia. And, on
a bridge. too. That Is something
to think about and at first blush.
it might seem the very worst place
to enforce such a regulation.
The James River bridge, one of the
worlds longest, is five and a half
miles from end to end. Its sponsors
have specified that no driver using
1t shall cross at a speed lower than
IS miles an hour although, for
some older cars, this speed is fairly
close to the maximum of which the
vehicle is capable. The regulation
Is working with safety.
Motorists crossing the bridge are
observing that fact. They are tax.
ing 1t to thought and wondering
why it could not be applied with
even greater safety on the wide
highways Of the country where 20.
miIe-an.hour drivers are, causing
hazardous eddies in the traffic
stream which normally flows at IS
to As.
Gains in Brakes
Figures on modern brake capaci.
ties are regarded by many as throw.
ing some interesting light on the
question of a minimum speed law
While it is true that motor car
braking devices have not reached
the stage OF absolute perfection,
and the manner in which they are
always Is open to seri
Gus objection, II is equally certain
that they represent vast progress
over the brakes Of even few
years ago.
While not so very old, the brake
code established by the Society Of
Automotive Engineers few years
ago, already is on the road to obso-
lescence, judged on the basis OF new
car brake perforance, That code
decreed that safe brakes were those
which would stop the car from a
speed of 20 miles an hour within
so feet. Here are the figures with
regard to brake tests on cars rang