Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-21
HOLDS ELDR|DGE
PROBE ERRONEOUS
General Manager of A. A. A.
Says Traffic Departments
Statement Is Misleading.

Asserting that the conclusions reach
ed by M. o. Eldridge, assistant director
IF trafic. from the survey recently made
by his department are erroneous and
misleading. Charles p. Clark, general
manager OF the American Automobile
Association, quotes the model municipal
ordinance in support of his contention
that the Traffic Departments survey
really shows general compliance with
the Hoover code.
ut was with a great deal of sur
prise" said Clark. that I noticed Mr..
7Eldridge was quoted yesterday as
drawing a distinction between what he
termed the Hoover code turn and the
inside turn Surely he must be labor
ing under a misapprehension or hes
been incorrectly quoted, because all OF
the turns he listed are comprehended
within the terms of the model munich
pal ordinance drafted by the so-called
Hoover conference.
Provisions of Code.
"Section SO (b) of that code provides
for turning left as follows: The Oper-
ator of a vehicle intending to turn TO
the left at an intersection or into a
highway shall approach the point OF
turning in the lane for traf1lc to the
right of and next to the center OF the
roadway. and. unless otherwise directed
oy turning markers" the operator OF
vehicle in turning left at an inter-
section shall pass to the right of the
center of the intersection before turn
ing. Upon streets laned for traffic and
upon one-way streets a lef turn shall
b, made from the left lane of traffic.
I'm other words, the big. vital. un-
changing principle of the Hoover left
turn method Is that the turn shall be
made from the left lane Of traffic, lie
from the lane to the right Of and next
to the center Of the roadway. To the;
there Is exception made in the code
Recognizing. however, that local con-
ditions might make 1t advisable to vary
the actual point of turning. the traff1C
experts who drafted the Hoover code
provided that this might be to the
right of the center of the intersection
or at some other point.
Hoover Code Specific.
"In other words. the Hoover code
adopts as a fixed principle that the
turn be made from the left lanes Of
traffic, at the same time making the
point of turning in the intersection q
flexible one, and it is this distinction
which was ignored or not understood
by Mr. Eldridge. if he was correctly
quoted In his recent statement.
viewed In the ngnt OF Sucn an m
depreciation, and fail to see how any
one can successfully dispute the COR
rectness q? such a view, it appears to
me that the traffic departments survey
of 1872 cities shows the authorized
Hoover code method is in force in all
cities which permit left turning at all
OF course, this Is without considering
Cleveland and Springfield. Ohio, which,
according to Mr.. Eidridge's computa-
tionS, were not included in the total of
ISL towns.
1T follows that his further statement
that New Jersey and Pennsylvania have
recently changed away from the Hoover
code turn is equally erroneous, as a
perusal of the laws Of those States
would have shown him that they pro-
vide the turn be made from the left
hand of traffic with the point Of turn
ing set at the left of and as near as
practicable to the center of the inter-
section"