The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-12-28

More care and caution must be exercised by city pedestrians 10 secure a decrease in the annual toll of personal injuries and fatalities caused by conflict of vehicular traffic with walkers on streets and X highways declared Commissioner . Michael A. Connor of the state de- partment of motor vehicles to-day as he issued interesting statistics gathered in an intensive study Of the departments accident records < for the first nine months Of the s year.
 volving vehicles and pedestrians; 2,121 individuals suffered injuries and 162 were killed. Of these totals 1,840 were injured on the streets of cities or towns and 2S7 were injured on rural stretches; 108 people were killed within vari- ous city or town lines where walk ing facilities should be adequate while fifty-four met death on su- burban roads. The inference to be drawn from these comparative figures according to the commls- sioner is that the carelessness or pedestrians in cities and towns IS IeSpOUSlDl6 LilC Abh 6O sSsNA S~ pedestrian accidents.
 1882 Had Higher Total
 During the first nine months of 1882 there were 2,154 accidents Involving pedestrians and vehicles or 119 more than this year. As the result of the 2,154 accidents in 1882 there were 2,204 injured and 158 killed or a total of 79 more victims than resulted from the 2,035 accidents involving pe- destrians during the first nine months of this year.
 This particular survey of acci- dents during the two comparative periods of 1892 and 1883 is timely right now because of the agita- tion for the construction of side- paths, highway-walks or walkways for the use of pedestrians using the highways. In this review of accidents the term highway" re- fers to that section of the main road or roads leading from the cor porate limits of one community to another. The word street" means the highway or roads within the corporate limits of a city, borough or village. There must be defin- ite distinction between the two types of thoroughfares.
 No conclusions are reached by the motor vehicle commissioners as regards the need of sidewalks on highways. The construction of roads and their maintenance is handled by the state highway de- partment just as the construction and maintenance of streets in city is the duty of the local street de- parment. But the commissioners plans an active campaign to awaken both pedestrians and ve- hicle operators to their respective duties in being vigilant at all times in their use of the roads in order to avert accidents and cut down the annual toll Of hu- man lives.
 Out of the 2,035 pedestrian-ve- l1icuIar accidents recorded for the first nine months of 1883 there were 1,230 in the daytime, 796 during the hours of dusk or dark ness and nine cases where the time was not reported. The ma jority of the accidents happened when both the pedestrian and the car operator could see how each other if the operator of the car was driving attentively and If the pedestrian was walking alertiy against traffic. In 1,425 of the accidents the pedestrian was placed at falt and fin 5S0 cases the oper- ator of the car was judged respon- sible. In the other cases the blame was mutual. However, as the pedestrian often fails to report, CT