Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-26
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

her Al. 1928. it was Is. January 81
showed the loss for the preceding IL
months was 14.0, and by February u
was 14.1-for the II months preceding
February %.
In 1923 we killed total of 1915 per
100, 900 licensed automobiles; In 1879,
100; in 1927, $40, and last year. o48.
We are becoming real chauffeurs-art-
full dodgers.
The danger would be expected to in
crease with additional congestion OF
vehicles. In 1923 we had to protect
622 persons per automobile, now only
1853 persons, for the number OF auto
mobiles has doubled. Both the pedes-
trian and the driver have improved
technique of escape, through expert
ence, although the number OF ma
to 152 ,008 now.
Some credit must be granted to the
fact that the raw material for slaughter,
per material, Is running low.
Furthermore, the District Commits
sioners, far from worrying about how to
save dogs from being run down. are
clogging the wheels of progress, rather
than to stop traffic, for, in spite Of Con-
gress and the Traffic Bureau, the Com
miSsioners encourage jay-walking,
whether in the middle Of the block or
against the red signal lights at cross
ings.
Anti-jaying? Congress doth grant 1t
and the Traffic Bureau doth try to give
it, but the jay-walker goes on forever,
treading on the very bumpers of the
$4,000 rushing cars. And there are
just $4,000 jay-walkers perambulating
in Washington. besides the visitors
from the Dakotas, who pity our mo-
notonous lives.
First. the police arrested many pedeS-
TRAN violators Of the red lights. but
the courts ruled that the officers ex-
ceded their authority. so the police
went to Congress and got law giving
the right to control jay-walkers and
other wild animals, but then the dogs
parked at the Commissioners, as they
had once barked at Richard III: the
police were held back from executing
that hfe-saving law, so that they might
nave more ability to chalk up over
time parking; the fatal accidents con-
tlnue, but parking is curbed. How
vicious 1t IS to park 81 minutes or l2l
minutes as the ease" may be!
**
There is vast improvement In, life
saving by the electric signal system,
compared with the traffic policeman.
Nobody can misunderstood an electric
signal, while the vagaries of a human
arm swinging in the air are ofttimes
confusing. The day will come when all
the city traffic will be electrically con-
trolled.
Az traffic headquarters there are large
wall maps Of the city, on which pins are
stuck TO mark the location of every
accldent-black pins for Just vehicle
accidents; white pins for fatalities. It
is noteworthy that the most crowded lot
OF pins is along Pennsylvania avenue.
where there are only human traffic po-
ncemen. and at the corner of Connecti-
cut and Rhode Island avenues.
Even with clean map. as Of January
l, pennsylvania avenue is already black
with hundreds of pins. each pin an ACCT
dent. The city in 1923. with a popula-
ton OF 465,000. had 8,491 automobile
accidents: in 1928. with a population of
$4,000. had only 1882 automobile acct
dents-not much more than half as
many per population.
X X X X
AT recent meeting of the American
Society of Civil Engineers. a discussion
rose as to why certain cities had more
accidents than others. Mr.. M o. Ed
ridge, assistant traffic director of Wash
lngton, pointed out that automobile LA
Dlllty insurance rates on SIS 900 and
$4,000 policies. in 1927. were as follows:
New York City $1,000 Detroit 500 90
Buffalo $50. $500 Chicago 81 90
Philadelphia .. So 90 Washington -. 90 90
Providence 80. $500 Indianapolis a.. 1900
All ratings are based upon the records
OF accidents OF the preceding period;
there Is no arbitrary basis. Since 1927,
the ranks of the cities have changed
accordingly, but Washington Is still
close to the top.
Mr.. Eldridge pointed out that WASH
ington streets. aside from the avenues,
are too narrow for safe driving. al
though the wide avenues are so con-
spicuously broad that they are often
pointed to as typical Washington
thoroughfares-which they are not.
He says:
The average width of the pavement
on these Oettered or numbered streets
is 80 feet. leaving barely sufficient space
for two lines of traffic. when automo-
biles are parked at the curb"
AS the years pass, 1t will be necessary
to narrow more Of our generous side
walks and widen the roadways, even
before We build two-story fhighwgUs
- Acopyrigh&, 1874 ~. Ysul AsGeu1uE
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