The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-08-29

The formation or a Cltlzen NOI- unteer Motor Patrol" with every licensed operator in the state an integral part in the enforcement activities of the motor vehicle oe- partment was proposed today Tn a bulletin issued by Colonel Micnaei A. Connor, commissioner of Motor Vehicles for Connecticut. Commls- sioner Connor's statement was made public in inaugurating the campaign for. street and hlgnway safety to be undertaken during September. In conjunction With thirty-four other states Of the union Governor Wilbur L. Gross yesterday officially designated sep tember as street and Highway safety month.
 Pointing out that to-date some 239 persons have been killed Tn C,onnecticut this year and that the number would in all probability reach 500 before the year was out unless drastic action were taken the Connecticut commissioner made a plea for the cooperation of the citizens of the state in the drive now to be set in motion. Asserting that the number of accidents had decreased during the past seven months ile made it clear neverthe- less that fatalities had increased by forty-one. II think" Colonel Connor said "that 1t can be safely stated that because of the higher rate of speed at which cars are now operated, accidents, when they do occur are more likely to end m fatality. In expanding on tnis as pect of the situation he declared, ''speed, may repent, IS not the cause of accidents but Tn my opinion 1t is the element Tn an ac- cident which causes it to end m fatality rather than in m injury to the participants.'
 In announcing his proposal for a. citizens motor patrol the com missioner said, "It is impossible under present conditions to have officers on all of the highways at all times to regulate and observe the thousands of operators on the road. It is our purpose in Connec- ticut to form what might be term- ed a Citizens Volunteer Motor pa trol. Right now responsible ana public-spirited citizens, aware or the gravity of the task, are actively cooperating with the department Tn the reporting of careless and repre- hensible driving. The department will take cognizance of these re. ports. The complaint section or the department will notify ofien- ders and will impress upon the lat ter the serious aspects or tneir department"
 Commissioner Connor in his statement scored the arrogance and insolence q drivers on the high ways who f1agrantly Haunt the rights of their fellow citizens. He invited the drivers of the state to forward to him the names and ad- dresses of offenders who by their general bumptiousness create on the highways a uenace to public safety.
 His statement reads in part as follows:
 to foist upon the public another drive" at a time when the citizens are preoccupied with the war on depression. 1t so happens that the motor vehicle department is charg- ed primarily with another Kind or warefare which actually involves the loss of life.
 In cooperation with the other states of the union I am obliged to call attention to the campaign for safety now about to be inau- gurated. September has been de- signated as street and highway safety month and the cooperation of the citizens of this common weath is earnestly sought.
 It is not my purpose to burden you with statistics, dull and unin- spring as they are, but to state briefly the problem we in Connec- ticut have immediately at hand. Ac- cidents in this state are actually less by more than thousand than they were one year ago but, alarm ingly enough, the number of per- sons killed during the past seven months is greater by forty-one than in the corresponding period of 1882. With September. October and Mo- vember, the banner months for fa- talities, still before us, the death toll in Connecticut promises to sur pass all previous records. In 1882, 402 persons lost their lives in au- tomobile accidents in this state. At the present rate of fatalities 1883 will probably show 500 persons killed in automobile accidents.
 Something obviously must be done. Drastic action must be taken. The month immediately ahead of us afford an opportunity for the citi- gems of the state to bend their en- ergies to assist this department in bringing to a halt a situation which involves unbelievable suffering and loss to the community. No other agency in the state is directly charged with this responsibility. The issuing of registrations and licenses by the department of mo- tor vehicles is a purely perfunctory and routine task. The behavior of these who are privileged by the state to use the highways is the chief business of the department The matter of education and in struction of the motoring public is moreover the paramount con cern of the department whose ad- ministrator I happen to be. Police agencies to be sure form a neces- sary adjunct to the administration of the motor vehicle laws but 1t is not their single responsibility. Po- lice. state end municipal, have g variety of di:ties and motor vehicle violations are but a fraction Of