Evening star., 1936-03-12
TURNS
RETENTION URGED
Keystone Auto Club Official
Also Calls for Control
of Pedestrians.

Adequate street and highway light
ing. pedestrian control and retention
of left-hand turns in downtown traffic
were urged on the Carpenter Subcom-
mittee conducting safety hearings to-
day by william S. Canning. engineer
ing director of the Keystone Automo-
bile Club.
Emphasizing that most accidents
Occur at intersections after dark, Can
ming displayed charts showing the
hourly variation of traffic at eight typi-
cal corners.
Opposing the proposal to eliminate
the left turn In the congested section,
he pointed out that If a motorist
makes such turn he crosses two lanes
Of motor travel and one of pedestrian
travel, while If he Is compelled to
make a right turn he has to drive
around block. crossing four vehicu-
lar lanes and nine pedestrian lanes.
Few Watch Traffic Lights.
Stressing the importance of max
ing pedestrians realize their regulation
Is in their own interest, the witness
said only A per cent Of walkers watch
traf1c lights. He piticd the police,
who would have to try to direct Pc
destrian trafic.
. "The accident toll must and can
be reduced" Canning advised the sub
committee. He said automobiles should
be kept in good mechanical condition.
but argued against compulsory in
spection.
A survey made by the Keystone
Club, he said, showed per cent of
all registered vehicles were involved
in accidents and 80 per cent Of the
accidents were attributable to me-
chanical defects. In Is of the States
compulsory inspection is required.
Canning argued for a half dozen
additional police scout cars, with
officers trained in mechanical inspec-
tion. He predicted that with such
daily examination Of automobiles. the
defective cars would soon be driven
of the streets.
In response to question, he de-
scribed the compulsory inspection pro-
posal as "straining at a gnat and
swallowing camel" He argued that
in States where compulsory inspection
has been tried 1t has not resulted in
decrease in accidents, but where rowing
scout police cars stop a car at any
time and make immediate tests i'm
provement has been shown.
Conclusions Are Given.
Quoting the figures from compul-
sorry inspection States he gave the
conclusions:
/. Mechanical defects as factors in
highway accidents play a very small
part, perhaps the smallest part of any
single cause.
2. Compulsory mechanical inspec-
ton has not resulted in q consistent
improvement in the mechanical con-
dition Of the vehicles from year to
year.
8. Mechanical inspection (and pre-
sumably correction Of the defects)
has not resulted In the accidents at
tributed to this cause.
Chairman Carpenter did not ap-
pear to be much impressed by this
argument, and said he thought reg
ular compulsory inspection would have
a good effect.
Canning summarized : by saying
211 900 motorists on streets of WASH
ington would be annoyed. inconyen-
fenced and disturbed, and forced to
spend $3.50, 900 II mechanical inspec-
ton were compulsory.
Carpenter said people do not OBJ
ject to. any law If all are treated
alike, but would object to hit-or-
miss system Of singing out one here
or there for police inspection while
the vast number Of motorists went
'unstopped.