Evening star., 1933-07-21
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES Z. TRAcEWELL.

eyesight and at SO miles an hour the
result Is not long delayed.
'8. Every side swipe Is the result oi
failure to give the other fellow his por-
ton Of the road. Side-swiping ID notn-
ing unusual.
70. Getting out Of machine on left
hand side when an accident, or even
death, can only be averted by the sud-
den out-turn OF q passing machine.
Sudden out-turns are not always pon-
sible without head-on collision.
r. \
40. Lack Of consideration for pedes-
trians In connection with right ana
left hand turns. Pedestrians not In
frequently are caught In the middle Of
the street by the right-hand and left
hand turns. and after the lights are
changed do not have time to get across
before the new line Of traf1ic comes
In v ,iich event 1t is problem to avoid
beii.s killed. II the automobilist In
front of the new line sees danger and
applies brakes TO- save the life Of q
pedestrian he Is honked by the man
behind him. ! cannot understand why
more people are not killed. In view Of
the conditions just mentioned.
IL. Failure to recognize, even in the
slightest degree. the right Of the pedes-
tr1an ct q crossing not governed by 4
policeman or trafac light. When one
attempts to cross q street In an out
lying district he must stand and wait
until there Is an opening In trafic at
least 500 feet each way, and even then
ne must hurry, because at the usual
speed OF 80 to IS miles an hour, regard
less Of the legal limit of 22 miles, the
machines are on him in Q jtf7y. The
motorists expect the pedestrian to get
out Of the way, and he had better 90
SO; otherwise 1t will be the not unusual
(may say usual?) verdict that he
walked right into the path Of the ma
chine; motorist not to blame
"l2. Lack Of consideration for others
and failure to realize the possible far
reaching effects OF failure to give such
consideration. On certain streets PARK
ing Is proh1bited on one side at certain
hours to facilitate movement Of through
tramc. The parking Of even one ma
chine on that side Of the street within
distance Of several blocks interferes
with the lines Of traf1c, and may re-
suit in Q serious accident; in which
event the man who parked his machine
unlawIully takes the stand that It Is
Just too bad; but II his machine hap
pens to be damaged by Q passing mo-
torist ne wants the passing motorist to
pay damages; whereas the man who
parked ms car should have 1t smashed
ana carried on the road as junk.
4
"A am both Q pedestrian and
motorist. get both points OF view
any resentment that may have As a
motorist Is toward the reckless driver.
and the driver who thinks only of HIM
self although not necessarily reckless.
He Is simply selfish, In that he does not
want to drive behind another machine
that he wants to determine his rate of
speed regardless. that he shows nerv-
business or irritation at the slightest de-
lay, whatever the cause. and in other
ways too numerous to mention.
AS matter Of personal information
70 you. ana as having possible bearing
In your mind with regard to the fore
going statements. permit me to say that
have driven some go 900 miles in the
last twelve years. In all of the larger
cities In the Eastern part of the United
states and Canada; that have never
had an accident, and that carry in
surance against damage that I may do.
do not use my machine to and from
ONCE. but use the street car. which I
consider safer than taxicabs and buses.
Very respectfully yours. B. J. W."
Our correspondent has left us little
to say on this subject. except to point
out that his No. IL contains the gist
Of the whole matter.
In conversation the other day with
gentleman who owns both motor ar
and motor boat, we were informed tat
he had been surprised at the courtesy
which he met on the water.
Everybody smiles and waves, ana
seems so happy. on. the water" he de-
clared. whereas the very same people
back in their cars scowl. and growl
Not so much room, guess, and greater
nervous strain on land"