Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1934-05-13


nearly every driver would exc
New York;"
Comparisons often are declared
odious.
washington with its daily chang
ing drivers on its streets Is well up
among the safe traffic cities OF the
Nation. 1t has many signals and
signs. William A. Van Duzer, trafhc
director, admits there may be too
many of them. But the city Is COM
paratively safe.
In another city, not far away, with
a population Of about 100000. a dlf-
ferent situation exists. This city has
a bad traffic record. 1t is one Of the
worst in regard to fatalities and acci-
dents of any city in the United States.
It has no stop signs. 1t has one
traffic light. That signal was IN
stalled some years ago as an expert
ment. It has not been taken down,
but no others have been installed.
Several stop signs were once erected,
but, according to one city official, no
one obeyed them so they were taken
down.
Besides traffic signals and stop
signs there are other ways to make
cities safe, according to DR.. Miller
McClintock, director Of the Erskine
Bureau for Street Traffic Research Of
Harvard University. DR.. McClintock
says Eyes" to the question. Are fool
proof highways possible?" The
Limited Way" is his solution Of the
problem. His report is Of interest
and follows, in part: Taking a page
from the industrial history it will be
remembered that the machine age
brought danger to factory workers.
Men and women were continually los
ing fingers, toes, eyes and, many
times, life itself. A greater cry for
safety went up. Factory walls were
covered with slogans-"Be Careful
Take Care"-"Do It the Right
Way"-"Do Not Take a Chance" No
one can say that these slogans were
not helpful, but accidents kept on
mounting. The flood was successfully
stemmed only when accidents were
made impossible by guards and pro-
tectors placed over dangerous ma
chinery in such q manner that an
accident became an impossibility.
The railways, too, have pointed the
way for highway safety. Despite
highly trained personnel and refined
equipment the country was. for sew
eral decades, repeatedly shocked by
CHASTITY train wrecks. Railroad safety
was made a reality only when grade
separations, block signals, interlock-
ing switches and train-control devices
made wrecks practically impossible.
Limited Ways for Safety.
The same accomplishment can be
had for street and highway safety.
Foolproof highways are possible. They
have been made a definite possibility
by exhaustive studies conducted by
the City of Chicago in cooperation
with the Erskine Bureau Of Harvard
University. These new highways are
called limited ways. Their safety fea-
lures are very simple. Traffic streams
moving in opposite directions are
physically separated. All intersections
are eliminated. The limited way has
no connection with any AUDITING prop
erty and entrances and exits to the
way are arranged at convenient inter-
walls by specially designed structures.
In 1888, 900 people were killed in
the City of Chicago in traffic acct
dents. An examination Of the cause
of each of these accidents reveals that
only II of them would have been pos
sible if all traffic had been moving
on limited ways.
This seems almost impossible, yet
even a brief examination shows the
reason.
About half of fatalities are the
result of collisions between motor cars
and pedestrians. There are no pedes-
TRANS on limited ways and, hence, nc
pedestrians can be killed on such 6
structure. The next great cause Of
fatalities is the collision of vehicle:
at intersections. This type of acct
dent can never happen on a limited
way because there are no intersections
Left-hand turns and other irregular
movements in the roadway are an
other source of fatal accidents. Thi'
cause is practically eliminated by TIT
limited way. In fact, about the onl!
accidents that can take place on on
of these structures Is rear end col
1ision.
Ways of Construction.
A limited way may be constructed
right to the heart of any city, thus
affording not only foolproof right Of
way for automobile operation, but
,;ot, lro, x.oeeit,I<
to convert our slow, congested traffic
sterams into economical, high-speec
movements. Safe speeds up to Sc
miles per hour to the very centers Of
congested cities are reasonably an.
ticipated.
A limited way may be constructed
either by elevating the main route, by
depressing it or by providing spe.
cial treatment Of an existing surface
route.
The first method has been selected
for the 160-mile system designed fol
the City of Chicago. BY refinement.
mate that the cost of limited way!
, may be actually far less than the cost
Of widening existing streets.
The limited way promises not only
complete permanent safety, but, like.
wise, promises such greater increase
and efficiency in automobile operation
that its application will inevitably
bring an entirely new era in automo.
bile transportation in metropolitan
centers.
Code Group Congratulated.
The State Advisory Committee fol
the motor vehicle retailing trade Ii