, 1935-10-16
SAFETY
CCOntlnued from FIrst Passl

A4hL uluE M0uAub % Lie year 8lu
757 Valley persons injured, furnish
ed the theme Of the discussions of
ere several speakers Of the evening.
Our Valley traffic troubles n
largely and basicly legislative, Rog-
ers Kelley, Hidalgo district attor-
ney, asserted In the main speech
OF the evening. a he advocated
otricter state laws and espec-
ialiy a drivers license Law With
special provisions and qualifica-
tons set out for the drivers OF
trucks.
Texas has no laws governing
reckless driving" Kelley stated.
~One law aiming Rt reckless driv-
ing was passed by the legislature
and knocked out the first time Il
reached the appeals court. Further
more. under our present laws. a
person obviously exceeding the
speed limits cannot be arrested
outside the limits Of cities OF over
10000 population, unless the arrest
ing officer IA clad In q certain colof
uniform. with the shoulder strap OF
his belt over a certain shoulder,
and wearing a specified kind OF a
star In a specified place. ! mean
that II I cruise down the highway
&C 90 miles an hour the sheriff
OF Hidalgo county himself cannot
arrest me under present Texas
statutes he emphasized.
Must Arouse Public
Public opinion must be aroused
30 the need OF backing up enforce
ment officers and TO demanding
additional action and laws from the
legislature. Kelley said.
We drive careleSsly and exceed
the speed limits because We know
we cal get away with II. and the
death TON cited by The brownsville
Herald IA the result"
A demand that the State High
way patrol station additional men
who pointed out that only two
patrolmen are located IN this section.
They expect these two men TO pa
troll the 367 miles Of paved highways
OF Hidalgo county assisted BY the
cne Hidalgo county traffic officer.
and IN addition 10 take care OF
Cameron and Willacy COUNTESS
Kelley said. It's an impossible task,
although Hill Foreman and Dan
Abbott are doing their gery best.
and In my opinion are two OF the
highest type officers with whom 7
have YER come In contact"
Residents Of the Valley should
demand that their counties hire
additional traffic officers, Kelley
main ined. even II az the expense
of other departments.
Returning 10 his theme OF public
opinion. the speaker cited the ms
lance Of last winter when the high
way patrol made an effort 20
strictly enforce all traffic regula-
tions and smiled. Nov, don't take
offense. but several Of the various
chambers OF commerce represented
here complained that these men
were making tourists sore. I say
that n BY calling their attention 70
the needs of safe driving we save
just n life. its worth making 100
tourists mad" he said.
Because OF their height and
weight Of their loads, special laws
governing trucks should be enact
ed. Kelley said. You and I are
good as the average automobile
drivers, but we could not drive a
three-ton truck with safety either
% ourselves or the public" he point
ed out. Trucks. common carriers.
which 8re under the rules and
regulations OF the Texas Railroad
commission seldom cause any
trouble and seldom figure IN high
way accidents, Kelley stated from
his experience as district attorney.
Wants Enforcement
strict enforcement Of speed laws
and traffic regulations. coupled
with the provisions Of the drivers
license law OF the state have cut
down highway accidents In Cali
t0rnia 10 an ~appreciable extSsf. s.
a. Eritton, McAllen fire chief and
father Of the Valley-wide safety
movement. stated as ne related his
experiences In California during
the past summer.
"A noticeable lack Of speeding
and careless driving caught my at
fention as soon as we entered the
state" Britton said. II inquired
among the various officers and in
divdunl drivers during the three
weeks i was there and found that
IN each case the answer waS the
drivers license law. Automobile
drivers were afraid that II they
violated regulations their license
would be taken from them, and so
they drove carefully