Evening star., 1936-01-05


accident was merely the latest add.
tion to the type of accident discussed
and which goaded me to take the
necessary time to try and work the
material into presentable form.
In order to verify my own thoughts
on the matter, the main facts and
ideas were recently discussed with
DR.. H. c. Dickinson, chief, heat and
power division. National Bureau Of
Standards. and past president of the
Society Of Automotive Engineers; DR..
F. A. Moss, head of psychology, de-
partment Of George Washington Uni
versity. and known for his develop
ment of the 'Wabblemeter' to test
driver fatigue, and Burton W. Marsh,
director of safety and traffic engineer
ing Of the American Automobile
Association.
These people agreed to the per-
tinency of the material at this time
and DR.. Dickinson in particular
urged that I make an effort to work
1t into presentable form. The traffic
and safety engineer referred to near
the end of the article was William
A. Van Duzer, District traffic di-
rector"
Mr.. wheeler's contribution Is of
unusual interest and is as follows:
There was a certain colored man
who prided himself on the care with
which he guarded a grade crossing.
One night he stood in the road and
waved his lantern for an approaching
motorist. The car failed to stop and
crushed the watchman against the
side of the passing train.
Different people draw different
conclusions from this type of accident,
but on one point they are usually
agreed-the driver did not see the
warning in time to stop. Those of us
who drove a car in horse-and- buggy
days and have had some close calls
in stopping behind a buggy with a
lantern hanging on the side know that
lantern with smoky chimney is
not the most attention-getting thing
in the world. Yet how many lives
daily depend on warnings no more
significant or effective This sort Of
accident is becoming too frequent to
be overlooked. 1t is believed that
proper and effective warnings where
needed would prevent many such ac-
cidents and save perhaps 20 per cent
Of the 10000 yearly traffic toll.
Within four miles of my home a
half dozen lives were lost in similar
accidents, at one point. The lower
road" to Alexandria, from Washing
ton, was widened to point called
-Four Mile Run. Here the road mar
rowed down as it approached the
bridge over the stream. A slanting
guard rail was erected. constructed
with heavy wooden posts and the
n1eshed type of wire.
In a few weeks after the road was
opened at least three cars crashed
through the fence, went over the
bank and into the water. After the
first accident and certainly after the
second. 1t was obvious that something
was wrong. Yet nothing was done
until the third and fourth repeats, all
Of which took place in few weeks.
Perhaps the drivers Of the death cars
should have seen the guard rail, yet
1t was straight away road with cars
approaching from the opposite di-
rection over the crest Of grade, and
with the oncoming lights, the narrow
bridge with the slanting guard rail
was not always seen.
At another place. on the same road,
closer to Washington, about a quar-
ter mile from the Highway Bridge,
a friend of mine was passenger in
q car which was wrecked killing one
girl and putting the five other pas
Sengers In a hospital. This driver
was reported to have been going fast,
and was undoubtedly at fault: yet
the night operator Of a filling sta
ton Just opposite said that accidents
two or three times week at that
point. Practically all Of these acci-
dents happened to cars headed to-
ward Washington.
At first there seemed no obvious
reason for this situation. There was
a bend in the road, a curve Of about
30 degrees, and a railroad spur
crossed the road exactly at the curve.
The curve was marked with a stand
ard marker. black and yellow sign,
rather dirty with smoke, but having
letters Of rejecting glass. Yet the
accidents occurred because drivers
failed to make the curve. Further
observation showed the following con-
ditions: As one approached the curve
going toward Washington, the food
light dome Of the United States
Capitol sat dead ahead, squarely in
the middle Of the road. The high
board fence Of the dump on the right
also ran straight ahead. The road
itself veered OF to the left. There
was no guard rail or other obstruction
between the road and the rough
roadside with several telephone poles.
\ ~
The optical illusion created by the
lighted dome. the high board fence
and the row Of telephone poles caught
q certain percentage Of drivers Of
guard. The result was weekly acci-
dents with damage to cars, personal
injury or death.
The night after the above-rnen.
toned girl was killed, a boy in an
out-of-State car ran into the side of
q train on this spur crossing. He
died. Why? The railroad crossing
was marked with an old-fashioned
cast iron sign, with raised letters.
The sign was o long oval in shape
and sat high on q post out Of range
of the average headlight.
About o year and half ago, one
of the best known and best liked
doctors In Alexandria received a
hurry call In the early morning hours.
Six blocks south Of Alexandria's main
street is a railroad crossing. On
this a darkened freight train was
slowly moving The doctor aroused
from sleep and thinking Of the pa
'tient's urgent need. failed to see the
train, crashed into It and was killed.
These cases were all In radius