The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-12-19
1885 Death Rate In
 State May Be Lower
45O Auto Fatalities Recorded to Date This Year, g
 Less Than Final Total of 1884

sufficiently close so that Commis- sioner Connor is hopeful Connecti- cut motorists will reduce this months traffic fatalities so that Connecticut can complete 1895 with lower death total than 473 which was the 1884 figure. It can be done. All motorists must recognize that early twilight, so much more driv- ing in the dark, increased traffic lines, wintry weather with slippery streets and highways, shortened visual distance and other factors make December driving arduous and dangerous.
 Cautiousness Stressed
 "Only one person was killed in the daytime last December, accord ing to our records" stated the com- missioner yesterday. "There were twenty-seven persons killed between five and ten o'clock in the evening and fifteen fatalities resulted from accidents between ten in the eve- ming and seven o'clock in the morn- ing. The moral is obvious, or should be. We must have slower, more cau- tious operation of motor vehicles, motor vehicles, particularly when the operators visual distance is cur- tailed by storm or darkness, and safe operation is handicapped by dangerous road surface"
 Three persons were killed in one accident during December of last year. At about two o'clock on the morning of December 7th a twenty one year old operator and two com- panions were killed when their car, travelling at a high rate of speed, left the road and smashed against @ tree. This was the only multiple motor killing during the month of December, 1884 giving total of fifty fatal accidents with a death total of f1fty-two for the month.
 Thirty of the dead were pedes- trians, the remaining twenty-two being car occupants. Fifty were adults and two were children. There was only six auto vs auto collisions. Thirty of the accidents involved a motor vehicle striking pedestrian and seven other mishaps found motor vehicles crashing into fixed objects" the result of undue haste. One car collided with trolley, two automobiles encountered railroad trains and four overturned without hitting anything, the natural laws of momentum penalizing the driv- CTS of the vehicles.
 Nineteen of the fifty fatal acci- dents charged to December, 1884, were caused by operators, their faults being driving too fast for conditions, operating on wrong side of the highway, skidding, inatten- tion and lack of caution approach ing pedestrians. Twenty-two acci- dents were caused by pedestrians, two of whom were intoxicated, and others crossing the street, stepping from behind parked cars into the path of traffic and stepping out from behind cars in moving lines. Fifteen of these accidents were caused by foot traffic not crossing the streets at proper places.
 Operators Responsible
 Only two of the fifty fatal acci- dents involved defective equipment, emphasizing again the fact 1t is the human element, the operator of the car who must shoulder the major responsibility for Connecticut's traf- fic accident problem. Commissioner Connor has requested all traffic and police authorities to urge upon the different communities they serve the need for cautious and careful operation of motor vehicles during the wintry weeks ahead, particular ly this month which was the top month last year for vehicular acci- dents. the motor vehicle department recording 1877 mishaps.