Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-23
BY II. CLIFFORD BRoKAw.


1t is one thing to talk about the
value of driving an automobile so care
fully that accidents are very unlikely.
OF course, 1t is important to do just
that. In spite of all careful driving on
the part of any particular person, acci-
dents do happen, and 1t is very desir-
able that those who happen to find
themselves a part of any automobile
accident situation have some idea Of
the best way to act. To give some con-
Sideration to this matter in advance
may mean the saving Of human life,
not to mention the inconvenience OF
broken bones, bruised flesh and mate
rial damage.
EVERY motorist should have some
knowledge of first-aid methods, which
can be readily obtained from books on
the subject. There are compact kits OF
flrst-aid material made up especially
for the motorists use which should be
part of a cars equipment, SO that In
case of accident first aid can be rem
dered to those who need 1t. Immediate
consideration should be given to persons
most injured.
Call Medical Aid Quickly.
Should serious injuries be incurred,
an ambulance should be called or an
other car secured to speedily convey
| the injured to the nearest hospital or
| physicians Office. If any bones are
broken, relieve at once the tension that
may be caused by clothing. Have some
one take care of the patient and see
| that he remains undisturbed and as
quiet as possible.
If there is a rapid loss of blood from
bad cuts, tie handkerchief or any
thing suited to the purpose between the
wound and the heart, which will retard
| the flow to some extent.
It may be difficult, but it is very i'm
portant that you get the names and
| addresses of people who actually wit
messed the accident. Call policeman
If one is close at hand.
| See to 1t that the members Of the
crowd which may have collected do not
| change the position of anything until
all necessary information Is noted. In
| this connection, a sketch should be
made of the exact position of the car,
with measurements from the cars to
| the curbS or edges of the road, showing
the directions in which the cars were
| travelling. IT there is mark on the
road or pavement indicating that the
wheels of car were locked by the
| brake, this should also be noted on the
sketch. Pictures of the wreckage from
different points of view should be taken
| If it Is possible to secure camera. In
this way one has a graphic account OF
the accident, which will serve for pur-
poses of evidence.
| Get Names of All Involved.
In the memoranda taken include the
names of all cars involved, license num-
bers, names and addresses of owners, all
occupants and any others injured.
The road should be cleared to prevent
the tying up of traf1c, securing a
wrecking car from an available garage
| to achieve this end.
If q car that has become involved in
| an accident Is covered by insurance.
get in touch with the agent as soon as
possible. The data that has been col
| lected with be of value in helping him
| to make an adjustment.
| Should it be necessary to tow in a
wrecked car, the following suggestions
will greatly aid in safely getting 1t to
its destination. The car to be towed
should be kept as nearly as possible in
| line with the towing car, not tying
them too closely to each other and
keeping about 10 feet apart. Attach
| the rope to the front of the frame OF
spring of the towed car and to the back
of the frame of the car which is doing