Evening star., 1933-08-06
.RAFFTC fatalities In the District
of Columbia have shown de-

"RAFFTC fatalities in the Distric
of Columbia have shown de
cided falling off, according II
William A. Van Duzer, director
of the Department Of Motor We
hicles and Traffic. Up to the first o.
August this year only 81 deaths attri
buted to automobile accidents wer'
recorded, as compared with 73 death!
for the first seven months Of 1882.
This great improvement Is most note
worthy. It's direct cause Is not known
but Mr.. Van Duzer lists more careful
driving, less cars, suspension OF permit!
of reckless drivers and the required in
spection of secondhand cars as con-
tributpry factors.
Out of los secondhand cars in.
spected last month only IS got through
the first tests. The need for inspection
can be noted readily. In fact the above
figures call for an annual or even semi
annual inspection of all machines.
Promises Recovery Aid.
According to writer in the Auto
motive Daily News, the mountain came
to Mahomet when Gen. Hugh johnson
national recovery administrator. flew tc
Detroit recently and spent several hours
conferring with leaders Of the automo'
bile industry regarding the code.
Following the conference adoption o.
the code was promised and immediate
steps for more employment and higher
wages were put into effect. Alvar
Macauley. president Of the Nationa
Automobile Chamber of Commerce
stated, in part:
The action Of the members Of tht
National Automobile Chamber of Com
merce In recommending increases tC
wage workers was taken today as ar
earnest and sincere desire to cooperate
IN every way with the President anc
his administration In bringing about
Unemployment and establishing pur-
chasing power.
Throughout all the years Of theil
activity, the leaders of the automotivt
industry have been advocates Of the
highest wages consistent with sucl
economics"
1882 Road Surfacing.
Surfacing of 29,577 miles of State
highways was completed in 1882, ac-
cording to information collected from
State officials by the Bureau of Public
Roads, United States Department o.
Agriculture. On 1868 miles the sur
faces laid were Of low type, such a!
sand-clay, gravel and waterbound mac.
adam; on 10000 miles the surfaces wert
Of higher type.
The State highway systems now in
clude 358,210 miles, an increase o'
29268 miles during the year. Tht
combined systems are reported to have
109,735 miles of high-type surface, 1885,
1926 miles of low-type surface, and 92,'
$50 miles still unsurfaced.
The S1lrfacinp Dlaced in 1892 was a.
follows: Sand-clay and topsoil. 1885,
miles; gravel with and without btu
-minous treatment), 1864 miles: water.
bound macadam with and without bi-
luminous treatment), 1912 miles; btu
minous macadam. 1,466 miles; bitumin-
Gus concrete and sheet asphalt, LATE
miles; cement concrete. 6,9l4 miles
and block types, 153 miles.
Responsibility Laws Increasing.
The United States and the Dominion
OF Canada are both moving speedily
toward universal adoption of safety
responsibility legislation for the con-
troll and outlaWry of the reckless anc
financially irresponsible driver. accord
ing to a statement from the American
Automobile Association.
A review of action by the recent ses-
sions of the State legislatures on the
A. A. A. model safety responsibility Law
shows a notable advance in the adop-
tion of this basic safety measure. Fol-
lowing are some Of the outstanding de-
velopments of the year to date:
- Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota
and North Dakota placed strong safety
responsibility laws on their statute
books.
! Several States, including Rhode Is