Evening star., 1935-11-18
Instinct
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ture of human nature to fit automo-
biles.
This conclusion was presented be-
fore the National Academy of Sciences,
meeting at the University of Vir-
ginia today, by Dr. Yandell Hender-
son, professor of physiology at Yale
University and one of the greatest
living authorities on human reac-
tions.
'Righting Instinct"
The instinct referred to by Prof.
Henderson as hitherto unSuS-
pected interaction between cars and
human nature" Is the ''righting in
stinct." He described it as "a COM
plex reaction in which head, body,
arms and legs are all involved. 1t
is an impulse to steady oneself in
the seat. The driver grips the wheel
with his whole strength. His arms
stiffen and he is as likely to drive
off the road as on it. His legs are
forcibly extended and the legs are
pressed down. With series of
jolts the legs are pressed harder
and harder"
This righting reaction, he said, al
most universally occurs when driver
gets in tight fix The result is that
the throttle of the car is opened to
its utmost. the speed of the car is
increased instead of slowed down, anc
a fatal accident is registered on the
police report as due to the car being
out of control" The death of the
late Queen Astrid of Belgium, DR.
Henderson said, was due entirely tc
this reaction.
Cites Car Construction.
All cars are SO constructed, he said
that they make this kind of accident
likely. 1t is pressure of the foo,
upon the accelerator that increase;
speed. This movement for such q
purpose is altogether contrary to hu.
man nature Throughout the ages
men and animals have used identically
the same movement to slow dowr
| rather than to speed up. True. hi
said, the brake is also applied BY
pressure Of the right foot, but thil
movement requires removal of thu
foot from the accelerator first. Tht
instinct works quicker than reason.
The "self-righting instinct" Prof
Henderson said, always comes into
play when an individual is in trouble
and has been a potent factor for the
preservation of the human race
through the ages 1t Is called into
play particularly by any disturbance
in equilibrium. There is almost al
ways such a disturbance in an acci-
dent.
Baby Has 1t at Birth.
All animals which have been stud
led have it, he said. Every baby has
It at birth and cannot be deprived
Of it. He displays this instinct when
he presses his tiny feet against the
sheets of his cradle. The most dan
gerouS position in which primitive
man could find himself was that in
which he did not have complete con-
troll of his equilibrium.
Both feet are pressed down. There
are several applications on file, Dr.
Henderson said, for patents on de-
vices by which pressing the acceler-
ator to the floor automatically will
close the throttle. These. he stressed
are open to the objection that in
many cases of emergency the motorist
needs to put on full speed to avoid an
accident. 1t would be bad solution
to have a device which automatically
would slow down or stop a car when
crossing a grade crossing with loco
motive bearing down upon it..
As remedy Prof. Henderson pro-
posed the incorporation in all cars
of safety pedal to be operated by the
left foot, close to the floor of the car
and so close to the clutch that the
automatically extended foot always
would press upon it when pushed