Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-11-22
NATIONAL TRAFFIC
DRIVE ADVOCATED
~
Real Job Must Be Done by
Education, Sales Head
Declares.

The traffic death toll should be
combatted by national safety CAM
paign having it's inception in the
infancy of the individual and con-
tinuing through the lifetime of every
driver, in the opinion of j. e. Fields.
president of the Chrysler sales division
of the Chrysler Corporation.
The real job he said, must be
done by education and this education
should start in the home and be
strongly supplemented through all the
grades of our public, private and
parochial schools"
The modern automobile, Mr.. Fields
pointed out, is easier and safer to
operate than ever before, mechanical
malfunctions and failures being virtu-
ally eliminated and many manual
operations now having been made
automatic, so that the driver now
can confine his attention to steering
the vehicle and using the accelerator
and brakes. The distractions caused
by noise have been largely eliminated
and brakes are more efficient.
Cars Safe As Driver.
But, with all its progress toward
perfection Mr.. Fields said, 1.-The
motor car can be only as safe as
the driver 1t will instantly and eff
GENTLY obey, but it cannot think. The
driver must be made 70 realize that
on his judgment, his alertneSs, and
his normal physical reactions and
his sense of the rights of others depend
his own safety and that of the
public"
He pointed out that, although it
Is claimed that increased car speeds
are cause of most automobile acci-
dents" this is not entirely true and
th$ for more than q quarter of q
century motor cars have been capable
Of speeds that were dangerous" Speed
today actually is less dangerous than
IN the days of poor steering mech
anism and inadequate brakes. he said,
but added that the use of speed
in the wrong place will always con-
tinue to be menace to everybody"
Trend Toward More Speed.
THE whole trend of human trans
portation." he said has been towards
increased speed. Every improvement
in transportation has been prompted
by desire to cover given amount
of ground in shorter time. If the
horse had been able to sustain the
speed of the motor car, we PROBABLY
still would be using horses and wagons
for our principal transportation needs.
1t Is inconceivable that there will be
any great decrease in the average
speed of motor car travel The
remedy for this appalling accident toll
lies not in slower vehicles, but in
more alertness and consideration on
the part of both drivers and pedes.
trains
while traffic rules provide such
q thing as legal right of way in
cases where there may be doubt as
to the proper procedure, there never
can be a moral right of way to
Jeoparidze the safety of others. This
is particularly true with regard to
the pedestrian. He must be protected
at all costs. On the other hand, the
pedestrian must be taught from the
time he is old enough to walk, thai
a moving automobile is dangerous and
that he must give the driver every
possible chance to protect the pedes-
trian. The driver has a right to
travel at the rate of speed dictated
by law or by road conditions and Gus
tom where there is no specific law
He is entitled to the protection of
the pedestrian to the extent of being
given time to get his vehicle under
control"