Evening star., 1936-01-05

accidents. The skid marks on the
bridge and the fact that the brakes
were found locked when the bus
was raised from the river show that
the brakes were working and that
the driver applied them. The only
possible answer, in my opinion, is
that the driver did not see the draw
and realize that 1t was open In time
to stop the bus.
It is well known to psychologists
and to each of us from individual
experience that we see what we are
looking for. The bus driver had
crossed that particular bridge a dozen
or more times before. II had never
been open. The chances are that he
did not know 1t was a drawbridge.
His view as he looked straight down
the road did not take in the area on
the sides of the bridge, which would
have told him the structure was open.
The single wooden bar across the
road at the break in the bridge did
not catch his eye, or If he saw 1t the
impression did not register. He was
not expecting any such object in that
locality. Nothing in his experience
had taught him to look for it in that
place. At a good rate of speed he
approached the thin gray rail quickly.
Not until the actual break in the
roadway became evident did he see
that thin rail and the sheer drop into
the river become registered on his
brain. Frantically he applied the
brakes and braced himself. In a
split second the bus had splntered the
wooden rail and plummeted into the
icy waters below. A dozen lives lost
through no fault of their own. Whose
fault?
The driver was carefully chosen by
exacting tests. He had good record.
was considered a careful driver. He
did not Intentionally drive himself
and his 13 passengers to an icy obh-
Won. It is possible to place a part
OF the blame on him, yet the same
combination of circumstances might
catch any Of us of guard. The driver
did his utmost. The guilt Is not his
alone.
A wooden draw at the edge Of the
break in the bridge was fine in the
horse and buggy days. 1t was sufi-
cient warning and would stop an
ordinary horse. 1t worked well at
speeds Of 5 to 10 miles an hour.
Today 1t is the devils own invitation,
useless and needless hazard.
1t would not have been difficult or
very expensive to replace the obsolete
barrier with a modern safety device
that would be effective with today's
speeds. Even IL the same wooden
guard rail had been placed 100 yards
from the break in the bridge and
supplemented by flashing or rotating
light of good brightness or an inter-
mittent gong or siren, 1t Is not con-
ceivable that a driver would crash
the wooden bar and continue into
the river.
There is much difference Of opinion
as to the degree of responsibility Of
those whose duty 1t is to mark the
highways. However. where more than
one accident occurs at a particular
spot in a short period Of time 1t ap.
pears that the drivers of the cars are
not wholly at fault. Driving as it Is
done today is largely subconscious
activity, matter of habit. In learn.
ing to drive the individual comes to
depend upon the infallibility Of his
machine and Of the highway ahead
as marked. He does not expect to
find any Instructions or breaks in the
pavement without sufficient warming.
Where repeated accidents occur the
warning is obviously insufficient. In
the case of the narrow bridge at Four
Mile Run, a row of burning flares
was finally placed along the approach
until the bridge was widened out. A
sufficiently noticeable and effective
warning could have been used here in
the first place, or at least after the
first accident, and saved four or five
lives.
In the case Of the curve with the
optical illusion, I wrote to the State
Department at Richmond.
Va, stated the case as I knew 1t and
that some people were in
clined under the circumstances Of the
many accidents at this place to hold
the persons responsible for marking
the road criminally negligent. Shortly
afterward a very good guard rail was
erected. Before the rail was fully
completed 1t was run into ana q
section of it demolished. This was
repaired and painting was begun. but
before the black and white stripes were
complete the rail had been partially
knocked down again. Then an addi-
tional black and yellow sign was
erected on top of the fence directly
In line with the approach. Since then
accidents at this point have been
fewer and less serious.
Most grade-crossing accidents fall
into the category Of the accidents
listed above, the warnings used are
obsolete, Of the horse and buggy kind
and insufficient for modern road
speeds. These accidents are of the
preventable kind If a moderate outlay
is made for effective warning devices.
The recent Rockville school bus ac-
cident Is the latest Of the kind here.
A guard night and day afterward is a
good gesture. A moderate expendi-
ture for an effective warning before
the accident would have prevented 1t.
At today's road speeds driver can
not always see the things that we
would odhand expect him to see. The
fate Of pedestrians on the highways
at night is appalling evidence Of this
fact. The Arlington County police
man and his prisoner, whose parked
car was rocketed down the road at
Four Mile Run month ago, Is further
evidence. He was rammed in the
back by an oil truck, the gas tank ex-
ploded, the whole thing burned with
the two men inside.
Speaking recently before o group Of
engineers. one of the country's lead
ing traffic and safety engineers la
mented the fact that highway and
safety engineers are so far behind