New Britain herald., 1929-12-21
Best Way to Reduce Accidents
 Is to Curb InCOmpetents.

| New Britain or elsewhere. The fact remains. however, that larger pro- porlion of autosts this year than ever befor2 are without them. per ! baps because snow and slect have como and gone so rapidly thus far this winter. The effect, of cours" ! has been skidding. and slidding, il many instances. leads to accidents. | Therefore it behooVeS the autol5T when ice or snow make driving dan- ecrous. to put chains on his car Just as many drivers neglect the.r brakes, so others will continue to neglect to use chains-and the accl- ] dent toll will increase accordingly.
 X casual survey Of autos passing through the center Of the city one cay this week, when the streets were particularly slippery, showed that less than half the cars counted with in an allotted time were using chains The drivers of the remaiH- der were taking chanccs-and all ui them knew It, for they slid anl coastcd at every traffic light. with wheels locked and no braking tra2- tion on the wheels. Even with chains the streets presented hazardous con- ditions.
 Meanwhile the registrars Of motor vehicles in two New England cities arc casting around desperately III search of a cure for the automobile accident toll. Just the other day 1 Massachusetts put into use a new law which is intended to weed or; the incompetent drivers. It undoubs- cdly will mow down some of thcn but it cannot get the worst otlend-r of all-the "competent" driver w&o is inherently reckless.
 In effect the law replaces a sketchy. three minute driving to $. l heretofore in use. with a rigid cV- animation that lasts 20 to 40 min utcs. The prospective drivers capa- city to drive under all conditions must be clearly demonstrated; ne must be able 10 pass the color tes;: he must answer six questions cull"I from an imposing list of more than 1 so queries. having to do with the operation of a motor vehicle. Nat urally 70 per cent of the drivers Who took the test failed the first day. in cluding several who have been driv- ing for years and were up for re- examination as the result of seriou.; accidents.
 AS far as it goes. tho Bay Statc plan is prascWorthy. It will elim- mate the driver who knows nothing about traffic rules and cares less. t will weed out the incompetent opcr- ator who doesn't know q green light 1 from q summer sunset. It also will serve to keep the driver, who is con- additionally unable to master the mechanical principles or driving. o"t the highways. It should even gi;o the man making the examination q clear insight into the quicltness of n applicants judgment, his ability tn think clearly and act coolly in an emergency, if the test is made in q large, congested city.
 The one thing that it cannot pos S!bly determine. however, is the dri"- | CTS conception of proper care J1 operating a motor vehicle. In other words any number of applicants may be letter perfect in their recitation Of the six questions presented for them 10 answer; may demonstrate c unusual ability to handle a car smoothly in heavy traffic and in tight corners: may demonstrate all of the qualities that the state de- mands Of a licensed driver-and still be unfit to operate a motor vehicle. Strangely enough there are plenty ol autoists who fall into this classified ton. many of. them right here n New Britain.
 The man who passes the MasSa- chusetts test 100 per cent can go out on the highway with his new style license and cut in as much as he pleaSes, pass cars on curves and hill crests, and cndanger the lives of his
 passengers and other autoists as much as usual nowadays-providn he is not caught. His 40 minutes with an examiner are 10 no avail lu other words, the state has moi
 succeeded in peerng into his mentn' processes and determining whether he is inherently reckless. daring and willing to take q chance
 Connecticut is convinced that thf
 Massachusetts law is a step in the right direction, so the state hlf
 started an investigation Of the pos abilities of a similar law. Yale pro fessors will be consulted on the best type of test to be adopted. Frankly : it is doubtful if they will be ab!t to cffer anything much more effec' | tive than the Bay State law-so fl' ) as a test is concerned. What tho } Yale savants could do. however, tha'
 would startle the motor Nehlcl l world and, if adopted. begin to cu , the automobile death rate, would Dl ] to recommend stern measures 1f
 curb the mechanically perfect } drivers, who are mentally unfittnt l to drive. In other words they nigh offer some sort of psychological teS
 to determine whether the skillfu
 drivers, who have passed the routine
 test, are likely to keep on their owi 5 side of the road, use care and COT
 sideration. and drive at all times II a speed that will enable them ,t 1 keep their car under control.
 ; Try to imagine a Connecticu
 legislature adopting such scientific
 test and then, when you reach the
 inevitable conclusion that it woul-
 be killed as so much popycock. yo, , will be abe to estimate the worth ,
 any such suggestion made by tht , profs.
 The only solution. so far as tho , Observer can see. is the same on+ recommended in these columns some
 weeks ago. Until a law that incor
 Doratea some of the suggestion