Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-04
SAFETY RECORDS
HELP INSURANCE
Companies Cease to Fear
Double Indemnity Clauses
on Accidental Deaths.

Insurance companies have ceased 70
shrink when they think CT double m
IDENTITY clauses If the insured Is killed
in an accident on a common carrier.
This has come about by establishment
of remarkable safety records by Ger.
tain forms of transportation as reported
to the Department OF Commerce. Inc
steam railroads in the last year nung
up a record which has never been sur.
pas ed since rails were OF wooo Topped
with strap iron.
The rapid transit and street railway
systems also did splendidly in their
campaign for safety, and even tne
newest form of transportation-by air
carried a remarkable number OF pas
seneers without accident. 1t Is not
able that perhaps the most popular
form Of transportation registered the
largest number of fatalities. More peo-
ple were killed in automobile and bus
accidents than in all other metnooS OF
transportation combined.
Seven Railroad Deaths.
ONLY 7 passengers lost lives In rail-
road accidents In the last year. Four
of these deaths resulted from de-
railnent caused by the placing OF OBJ
stacles on the track by unknown mis-
creants Another death resulted from
a derailrnent caused by an automobile
becoming stalled on the track. A sixth
fatality resulted from derailment owing
to spreading Of rails during the ex-
cessive heat of last Summer. The last
death came about as a result OF one
train backing into another. Thus only
one death in the year on railroad trains
was a result of action which might
have been prevented by the carrier.
For each fatality the railroads car
ried 10l ,571 900 passengers. The pre-
vious high record was one death 1or
each S4,O30,00 passengers. Only 100
passengers were injured on railroads IN
the last year. This also was new
low record The next lowest number
was 1.404 in 1923. For every person
| injured 100000 passengers were car
ried.
The National Conference on Street
and Highway Safety accepts $500 as
the number of deaths from motor We
hicle accidents in the last year. This
| includes pedestrians, drivers and pas
sengers. This was a gain from Sl,2l5
deaths IN 1929.
Street Car Accidents.
The total number of people killed in
accidents involving street cars was APP
proximately 1.4O0 in 1880. The actua!
| final figures have not been complied
as vet but based on the number OF
accident reported, 3,794. as compared
with 1882 the previous year. the
fatalities will undoubtedly show oroI
from the 1888 of 1929. OF this num-
Der only rs passengers on street cars
were killed. The remainder were
pedestrians, suicides and employees. Si2
hundred were killed in accidents which
involved motor vehicles and these
deaths represent In some part duplica'
ton with the automobile aec1den
deaths. The street railroads operated
something like also ,000, 900 car miles.
Airplanes in 1880 carried 1905 pas.
sengers 03,T47,249 miles with only 8;
fatalities, of which "a were passengers
/ a co-pilot and pilots.
The recent bus tragedy In COLORADO
was, of course, terrible disaster. bu
it should be noted that about 1000, 0O'
children are carried to and from schoo
daily by buses with few fatalities com
paratively. About $4,000 school busse
are in operation, serving $1,000 schools
The cost Of the service yearly Is abou
sac, 000, 900. :,
II is estimated that the class 1 rail
roads Of the United States spent $500,
O0O, 900 for the improvement and safet!
Of employees and the general public y
1880, and it was this expenditure which
made the remarkable record possible
according to railroad executives.
(copyrisht. 1917