Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-19
TRAFFIC EXPERTS
Urge UNIFORMITY
Pin Faith on Hoover Code
Left Turn After Studying
System at Work.
Continued From First Page.)

Continued From First Page)
the national traffic committee, asked:
Do you consider 1t of Importance
that there be uniformity in traffic
rules, and if so, why?
Has your community adopted the
Hoover code provisions governing the
left turn. is, to make the turn from
the left traffic lane, and, If not, why?
Safety Value Is Stressed.
Throughout the letters ran the theme
of the safety value of minimizing con-
fusion in the minds of motorists, which
result. it was pointed out, can be OBJ
tanned only by standardizing regula-
tons SO that the rules OF one community
will obtain in every other. Time and
again it was stressed that city and
State boundary lines are being obliter-
ated by the automobile.
This point was hammered home by
Alvan Macauley, president and general
manager of the Packard Motor Car
Co.. who declared that the American
public is travelling in 100000 motor
cars, 480.000.000 miles daily and that
several million of these cars constantly
are on the way from one town to an
other, and from one State to another.
Only by a INSTALLATION of the vast
picture painted in these bold strokes Is
it possible to comprehend the urgent
necessity for traffic laws which Will be
the same here, there and everywhere
and only by contemplating that same
mental vision of migration can COM
prehensive picture be obtained OF the
dangers created when an isolated COM
nlunity throws across this travel stream
some provincial regulation peculiar TO
itself and not in accord with generally
accepted traffic directory rules Such
fIHo yiau
experts in their communications to The
Star.
Ability Of Committeeman Is Cited.
In the list of cities whose citizens
made known their ideas, appear towns
from New Orleans to Detroit and from
Boston to San Francisco. Included also
are Philadelphia, Pittsburgh. New YORK
City, Buffalo, st. Louis. Dayton, Cincin-
natl, Springfield, ILL.,: Chicago. Newark,
Baltimore, Hartford, Berkeley and WASH
ington.
Extracts from the opinions of these
men who were considered as such
worthy experts as to warrant their being
summoned to the highway safety con-
ference called by Mr.. Hoover form a
decidedly worthwhile symposium of in
telligent thought on traffic problems and
for that reason are quoted somewhat in
detail
There is unanimous opinion among
motorists in favor of uniformity in
traffic rules, and since a majority of
the people in the United States now
are SO claSsed. there is no argument
other than to convince those who make
the regulations that the basis for such
regulation must come from somebody
that has studied the problem from
national point of view" wrote Lewis
E. MacBrayne, general manager of the
Massachusetts, safety council. In Bos-
ton, we have adopted the left-trun pro-
vision as recommended in the Hoover
Code, with the exception of half a
dozen intersections, where the left turn
is prohibited owing to the hazard at that
particular point"
In much the same tenor is the reply
of Thomas F. Goode, deputy superin-
tendent of the Boston Police Depart
ment: II consider it very important
that there be uniformity in traffic rules,
because it sets a permanent standard
to be followed by the drivers or oper-
ators of all vehicles. thereby creating
greater degree of efficiency in our road
ways. We have adopted the Hoover
Code governing left turns"
Pacific Coast Chief Is Quoted.
Moving now from the Atlantic to the
Pacific in the manner made possible by
the motor car, August Vollmer, chief of
police of Berkeley. Calf. seemingly had
such a trip in mind when he stated:
Uniformity in traffic rules is necessary
for the reason that automobiles are
used widely in going from State to
State and from city to city. Non-uni-
formity of regulations causes confusion
and contributes considerably to the &C
cident toll that it taken each year IN
this country" In answer to the second
query, Chief Vollmer said: This city
has adopted the Hoover Code provisions
governing the left-hand turn, and so
far as have been able to ascertain up
to- the present time this regulation Is
working satisfactorily"
That uniformity in State laws and
CITY ordinances regulating traffic leaves
the traveller no excuse, in the event he
is apprehended by local authorities, Tor
violations" is the new thought ao-
vanced by P. E. Towne. California State
Automobile Association, writing from
the general Offices in San Francisco.
MANY offenders escape by simply plead
ing ignorance of the law and. while unoer
the law ignorance may be no excuse,
it usually is accepted as Such. UNI
formity avoids error of misunderstood
ing. The San Francisco ordinance IN
cludes the Hoover Code provisions gov
erning the left-hand turn. This pro.
vision is so necessary that have heard
no objections made to 1t from any
source"
misunderstanding Is Cited.
Touring back East now to Hartford,
Conn. where r. B. Stoeckel is State
commissioner of motor vehicles, there
is found in one of the latest bulle-
tirj prepared by him this statement:
ut is a common occurrence Tor mis-
understanding of simple traffic rules to
occasion serious difficulty, large pro-
portion of such occurrences arising pe-
cause, in different jurisdictions, there
have existed decidedly different tramc
regulations" Mr.. Stocked, in t.le bul-
letin, then goes on to state that the
Connecticut law was found to De III
accordance with the Hoover uniform
code except five sections which were in
terpretative. However. a conference
was called of the State Association OF
Police Chiefs before the meeting OF the
General Assembly of 1929 and then that
BODY adopted the Connecticut uniform
trafic act. A further bulletin issued by
Mr.. Stoeckel with diagrams OF proper
turn methods shows the left turn from
the left lane of traffic. The commits
sioner. being on vacation, no direct re-
ply was received from him personally.
refyed from Henry A. Renlnger, preSl-
dent of the National Safety Council,
was in the form of an article astonish-
lngly apropos to local Washington con-
fiiSions. while we all, theoretically. be-
iieve in standard traffic regulations,
many of us are inclined to feel that the
way to obtain uniformity is by having
every one else adopt our particular local
regulations. Obviously, the only way
we, ever can get practical uniformity Is
by having each State or city Wiling 70
make some concessions in favor OF a
standard based on the general expert
enca and the prevailing practice. The