Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-05
In the Motor World
BY G. ADAMS HOWARD.

profit, as they have kept the
change in effect"
While the regulation in the Dis
trict Of Columbia differs to slight
degree regarding the crossing OF
arterial highways, the question
remains the same. Here q vehicle
must come to a stop and not enter
the intersection until the way Is
cleared. But unqueStionably there
are a plenty Of the so-called
cocks Of the walk" on Connecticut
and Wisconsin avenues and
countless streets.
piscourteSy breeds accidents.
Fatality Figures.
Baltimore continues to lead the
large cities In low traffic fatality
figures, according to the latest re-
port of the Department of Com
merce. For the So weeks ending
June Is, on a rate per 5000, che
Monumental City has the per-
centage Of 1872. Boston and San
Francisco are tied with 1873. New
York is 1873 and Washington 1875.
Detroit is 1873, Philadelphia 1910,
st. Louis 1911 and Chicago 26.
Nationally for the first time in
a long period, drop is indicated.
The Department of Commerce
announces that during the four
weeks ending June IS, 1881, 81
large cities in the United States
reported $40 deaths from automo-
bile accidents. This number 1920
compares with $50 deaths during
the four weeks ending June 4,
1880. Most of these deaths were
the result of accidents which oc-
CURED within the corporate linn
its Of the city, although some &C
cidents occurred outside of the
city limits.
For comparison, the number Of
deaths due to automobile acct
dents within city limits is desir-
able. Such figures are available
for the four-week period ending
June Is, 1881, and for the CORE
spending four-week period of 1880
for all Of the 80 cities, the four
week figure in 1881 being 400, as
contrasted with 528 for the CORE
spending four weeks in 1880.
For the 52-week periods ending
June IS, 1881, and June IA, 1880,
the totals for the 81 cities were,
respectively. 9,c57 and 8.o14. which
indicate recent rate Of 25.9 per
100, 900 population, as against an
earlier rate of 26, or a decrease Of
4-10 of / per cent in the rate dur
ing the year.
Five cities reported no deaths
from automobile accidents for the
last four weeks, and the same
number Of cities reported no
deaths from automobile accidents
for the corresponding period Of
1880.
For the last four-week period
reports as to whether deaths oc-
Cured from automobile accidents
within city limits or outside were
received from all of the 50 cities
reporting. In these cities in this
four-week period, the total num-
Der of deaths from automobile &C
cidents was 500, but only 400 Of
these were due to accidents within
city limits.
Automobile sales in May fell Off
bit from the figures for April.
May factory sales of automobiles
in the United States, as reported
to the Bureau of the Census, con-
sisted of 315,115 vehicles, Of which
269 900 were passenger cars, As, 695
trucks and $40 taxicabS, as COM
pared with 335.708 vehicles in
April, 1881; 420,027 in May, 1880,
and 604,691 in May, 1929. The
total for the first five months Of
this year was 1,319,016, as against
1.864,074 for the same period In
1880.
Elements of Safety.
Highway safety consists Of three
elements, like a three-legged stool,
on each of which rests a part of
the burden, and without one Of
them the whole topples over, de-
clared Charles Upham, engineer
director of the American Road
Builders Association, in a recent
statement. Any program will fail,
he believes, that does not consider
all three of the elements.
His formula for highway safety
is:
Safe drivers plus safe vehicles
plus safe roads equals safety"
"Carelessness at high speeds is
undoubtedly one Of the underly-
ing causes Of accidents" he stated,
but a safe roadway is the founda-
ton on which to build a concerted
effort to reduce carelessnesS.
CarelesSnesS can be overcome by
courtesy and caution"
There is no argument there.