The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1936-12-24
Boy Scouts
Took Traffic
Census Sat.
Statewide Survey Under the
Sponsorship of Minnesota
Safety Council
"A CARS FAIL TO STOP
Violations Checked At Corner
Of Main And Third
Streets

Traffic violations have been the
subject Of a statewide survey by
the Minnesota State Safety Coun-
Gil, conducted through the local or
ganizations. Some rather interest
ing figures were obtained in this
city Saturday by Boy Scouts, who
took a traffic census at the corner
Of Main and Third Streets, under
the direction Of the Sank Centre
Safety Council. The Scouts kept
track Of violations Of traffic con-
tinuously from p. m, to 10 p. M,
with results as shown in the fol-
lowing table:
Failure to stop for arterial: Au-
tos, A; Trucks, z.
Failure to signal for left turn:
Autos, 254; trucks, IL.
Failure to get into proper lane to
turn: Autos, SO; trucks, 8.
Too fast speed into intersection:
Autos, 81; trucks 1.
Passing in the intersection: Aut-
os, L; trucks, /.
Parking too close to corner: Au-
tos, %; trucks, 2.
Walking unsafely in intersection:
Adults, 172; children, IS.
Head lamp out: 80.
Tail lamp out: 103.
These figures are quite interest
ing and illuminative, says Gordon
Morse, who was in charge of the To-
cal survey. No track. Of the total
number of cars was kept, but esti-
mates furnished by. a number of
the observers placed a percentage
violation at from. 30 to 1870 of the
total number of cars. That is to say,
1t is estimated that 80 to As. per-
cent Of the cars passing the inter-
section violated at. least one of the
traffic rules.
An analysis OF the figures, how
ever, do not indicate so many SER
ious violations. OF the total num-
Der of errors checked, 876, 237 con-
sisted Of adults and children walk
ing unsafely in the intersection.
This leaves $50 autos and trucks, of
which number 254, or nearly 1920
are noted as failures to signal for
left turning. This is almost entire
ly confined to cars coming north
ard turning left on Third Street,
following Highway No. So. It APP
pears that majority of these mo-
florists believe 1t unnecessary to
give a left turn signal since they
are following the main Trunk
Highway SO. The fact that we have
had practically no accidents at this
corner because of failure to give
the left turn signal, indicates that
both drivers and cars following ex~
ercise caution at the corner.
OF the total number Of violations
1t is also interesting to note that
237 Of them were caused by pedes-
TRANS, more than two-thirds Of
which are adults. In other words,
the children are much more care
full at this corner than adults.
Truck drivers have a better re-
cord than autos. The head lamp
and tail lamp figures were taken
during the period from p. M, to
10 p. M, and probably can be con-
sidered the most serious violation.
Failure to get into prop lane
to turn, however, is worthy of
mention. So Of 50 violations for aut-
os were confined to the left turn
into Third Street by cars coming
north on Main Street. Many of
these 80 cars cut the corner so
closely that there was not room
left for car coming from the
West on Third Street to turn into
Main Street, whereas had they
used the proper lane there would
be room for two cars between the
car turning and the corner post at
the drug store.
The Sank Centre Safety Council
is indebted to the following Scouts
who made this check up possible:
John Parker, Bud Hunt, Stanley
Burt, Donald Kringen, Ray Berg
green, James Rattle, Merlin Pick
EFT, Warren Scott, Russell Larson,
and Dudley Morse. These Scouts
were chosen by Scoutmaster r. B.
Kowalke, and they worked under
the direction Of Gordon Morse. This
work was done in connection with
the statewide check-up which Is
being taken through local Safety
Councils under the direction Of the
State Organization