Evening star., 1930-12-07
NATIONS ECONOMIC WELFARE
DEPENDENT UPON UNIFORMITY
Business Men and Business Interests in
Position to Make Unique Contribution,
Says A. A. A. President.

problem Of street and highway safety,
has direct bearing upon national
efficiency and prosperity.
These losses and costs especially af-
feet the vast army of 26,000,00O auto
mobile owners in this country, and /
wish TO look at it from their standpoint.
refer to the average man or woman
who drives an automobile on the streets
and roads.
Motorists Total Al, 200, 900.
Conservative estimates are that 40
100000 people are engaged in motor
touring each year. Every one Of them
Is acutely conscious Of the loss of time
in reaching his destination because of
the conflicting rules and regulations
that surround this touring caravan.
The necessity of conforming to ever
changing regulatory practices IN State
to-State, ctty-to-city and community.
to-community travel is in a material
measure offsetting the advantages that
should come from the better highways
that have been built, and from the
safer and faster automobiles that are in
use today.
1t is estimated on the basis of the
, experience Of 1000 motor clubs that are
afnliated with the American Automobile
Association, and handling large numbers
OF tours each year, that every touring
motorist is losing one full vacation day
IN the laborious and tedious struggle of
making his way through the Nations
crazy quilt Of trafflc regulations
This amounts for practical purposes
to the loss Of 10000. 900 vacation days a
year, and, If figured on a basis of SIS a
day for each motorist, Of 5000, ,000, 900
year.
These figures may sound extravagant,
and they are, of course, just estimates,
but they serve TO show the extent and
severity of the handicapS that are
placed upon tourists and vacationists
through absence OF uniformity in trafflc
regulation.
The estimate has been made that
the motorist of Washington, in going
from his home to New York and adher-
ing to Washington traffic regulations
all the way, will incur 209 violations
and minor infractions of speed restric-
tions, turns at intersections. passing
street cars, interpreting traffic lights
ana OF other regulatory peculiarities,
before he passes through the Hudson
River vehicle tube into New York.
Significance Discussed.
I do not attach importance to this as
an exact figure. Its significance and
importance is In the fact that It illus
trates a condition that can be more or
less duplicated between any two equally
distant cities in the United States, de-
pending upon the number of States,
cities and towns along the route.
There is wide diversity in regard to
| speed limits. In actual practice TODAY
prima facie speed limits are prescribed
in as states, maximum limits in II
States, and no limits in rural sections
OF seven States. Four States prescribe
that speeds shall not exceed that which
Will permit stop within the assured
clearance distance ahead.
The fourth act Of the Uniform Code
contains provisions embodying the best
and most successful experience of all of
the States in regulating speeds. BY
preserving indicated speeds as a guide
and imposing special responsibility upon
motorists in driving at higher speeds,
as well as special penalties for viola
tions Of safe driving practices at such
speeds, the provisions Of this act COM
bine the elements which, in the light
of the experience of the States, will per-
NIT traff1c to move rapidly under IA
vorable conditions, 1t is interesting to
note that the States which have done
away with fixed speed limits entirely do
not show any worse accident trends
since their abolition.
Standards for Motor Vehicles.
The three other acts of the Uniform
Code, providing standards for the reg
istration Of motor vehicles, certificate
of title laws and for licensing vehicle
operators by mandatory examination
and driving test, have been put into
effect in part or in whole in a number
Of States. Yet there exists today as
much diversity in different States in
respect to their provisions as is found
in trafhc regulations and rules of the
road.
Divergencies in regulation In cities
and towns are even greater than in the
regulatory laws Of the States, and I
| think they also work greater hard
| ship on the owners of automobiles.
Under requirements that exist in
| towns and cities now the rnotorist has
no way of knowing what is expected Of
him. He may be arrested or suffer an
accident at Centerville for doing the
very thing that was mandatory upon
him at Crossville. The result Is q three
fold handicap-an ever-present mental
hazard, which breeds accidents; inter-
ference with speedy movement, which
accentuates congestion, and constant
invitation and temptation to violate
regulations, which in turn lead to ar
rests and fines.
What can be expected of uniformity
| In traffic administration and regulation?
No one need indulge in the free and
easy assumption that enactment Of the
| Uniform Code by every state and Of
the Model Ordinance nv every munich
| pality viii wave o n1Agician's wand to
solve gafnc troubles eyer naght Il y