The Washington times., 1929-01-30

a rev days ago had the pleasure
OF riding in Central Park. New York
G u, with Mrs. Price Post emily
POST. who was seeking rest and
fresh air IN q deIightfnlly comfort
4 able sedan.
Good On Etiquette
Our conversation turned to the
subject OF driving courtesy. Ger
tainly Mrs. Post Is qualified to con.
tribute some excellent ideas. being.
the author of .Etiquette The Blue
Book OF Social Usage. many thou
sand copies OF which have been sold
in this country. Unquestionably sh4
is power in her field, and her writ.
ings have caused thousands OF read.
ers to give more thought to deport-
ment and to show greater considera-
ton of those surrounding them.
For number of years she has
urged In her writings, and other.
wise, that motorists have more re-
gard for the feelings of pedestrians
and their feIlow-drivers.
One of the most annoying things
/ have noticed in my travels. said
Mrs. Post, Is the tendency OF so
many drivers to ere I'd ahead of the
other fellow In an impatient desire
to get through an opening in traffic
or to swing around 4 corner reck-
lessly. This has resulted iii count.
less accidents where pedestrian in
traffic rushes between ears.
Net Good Sports
Another nuisance seems to be a
distured idea OF sportsmanshlp. /.
have noticed many drivers who show
a decided eagerness to race another
car on the road. and every police
department in the country can tell
you Of accidents which have oc.
Cured in this way. 1t is also just
about as dangerous to drive too
slowly on the public highway.
causing drivers coming from behind
to overtake one. This overtaking
ia not only annoying to motorists
piloting Ia both directions, but is
frequently the cause Of fender
being hooked by bumpers. to say
nothing of more serious accidents.
Probably there Is more motoring
courtesy today than In years gone
by, hut with the great Increase In
the number OF cars and the manners
we see In evidences the reverse
would seem to be true. There is
absolutely no excuse for motorists
On q wet day not taking more care
in the matter Of spattering people
At crossings or along sidewalks. A
few spattered mud drops may com.
pleteIy ruin valuable dress.
As to Police POliteness
Then there Is the danger IT wet
pavement driving While it is true
that modern cars; being better hall
anced. do not skid as much as
those OF bygone days, slziddfng and
ensuing accidents frequently are
caused BY the discourteous attempt
Of oTe driver to slide past another
on slippery pavements at too great
q speed.
As for the matter of police cour-
tesy, there is wrong on both sides.
AS d rule find traffic officers
fairly polite when dealing with 81
person who has violated 4 traffic
regulation Then again, have
noticed them Hndltlg grliff, to the
extent that 1t irritates the driver.
More often, though. the driver is
to blame for retorting discOurteOusly
to the officers, and especially fla
grant cases are noticed where 4
woman riding i'm the car attempts
to join IN an argument and states
her opinion In an uncalled.fcr
Mrs. Post is heartily IN accord
with the plan of directing special
to school children In a
courtesy campaign. Many teachers
believe that much can be accom-
pifshed along the line Of encourag-
ing pOliteness rather than BY reit-
Grating series OF don't Z against
which children naturally rebel.