The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1929-10-30
Apply the Safety Brakes

This community y E.ep.ag step 10 the nationwide
hazard Of iAc associated Wit. tie use B. the automobile
By increasing instances y. rccs.essncss, Of accident ana
n tragedy. The case u Ruth saxsiE. following right
upon the Gst.sda1 1T sataraaia d: crashes III the
Mandan area. il which only cars suffered. however
calls attention % Inc increasing tendency hereaboutS
to motoring collisions and wrecks. The summer. season
in and near here has been sps.akled with tragedies 81
the road and the doplo.ab!e feature has been that
the woss. Q. them we're associated VIA deliberate rccs-
lessncss or the mixing 0. gasoline and liquor.
1t all amounts TO appalling DISREGARD Of life. tho
couns-. o.er. this ris'.c tide q auto fatalities, tho
record Of which II has been calculated On the basis OF
some OF the months VIII approach. a toll Of 5000 for
this year. equivalent 10 a cit three times the size o.
Bismarck. THINK 81 II, Angus; shcw2d an average Of
81 persons a day killed a auto accidents Of oae kind
or another. This Is slaughter on the scale Of battle. North
Dakota, 50 far this year, has contributed 50 deaths.
Ii, National a .o1iaaaa Chamber Of Commerce, for
the first eight months Of 1929, reports the general aver
age CT automobile killings about 8 pc. ccat higher than
TO- the same period III 1923. Whether this increase may
be Gue to poor coat.o! Of traffic. 10 reckless driving or
general eare.eza1ess, 10 tho e-ca.c. Number OF cars in
use. or 10 all these cares. there is no arguing with
figures. In New Ven. city aio,c there were s2l deaths.
as acainst 65o TO- the esr7 ant rloa.As ii 1923. OF l5
more; dur.ng Aaci the deans numbered ,.2. an IN
crease Of As over August, 1923. II Philadelphia for the
eight months a~stogetlle deans were $50 in 1929 and
2l2 in 1928.
On the ether hand, ~',.caeo nota5l. stands apart il
the reduction OF !ts 1~t-e~oo1o doatis rs-o; fo- the eight
months period in 1920 it contrasts ID deaths with SCI
II 1898 for tie SAM Ii IL TO i.c credit of cities
lie Boston. San Frc-cs-e, --'~su,sco and New Orleans
ta~t they should hago rop2r.ed fe.cr deaths than the
yer before.
What to do about the auto tragedy is 4 problem which
eac, community mt ves'. CO. 70. isaci:. as traffic
conditions very between the large metropolitan ccnters
and the thinly populated eocsicas CT tho country. II
some places It IS tic t-affsc Jam ii.s. IS largely to blame.
In others it IS poor ard dangerous reads. The death
tr.p crossings Ct the ra..rea1- ae aloi.le. leading factor
in the problem OF iox 70 suppla.t danger With safety.
BIZ. in the main il is careless, reckless and intoxicated
driving that is 10 blame. Il ought TO be possible to do
something about the latter element in a country that
Is urdcr prohibition, aad If recsles4:aoss were s,lffi-
GENTLY penalizcd it might BE- possible to discourage that.
It all leads around to the fac. tina. regulation of some
form or another adapted to the special problem OF cause
ard effect is what Is required and should b, Iisldiy
applied. If tho s~acrcdne5s CT human life is TO be driven
home to those who hold it in criminal disregard and
contempt.