Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-01-26

bring the law in line with the re-
vised A. A. A. model bill.
Conduct Oficial Inspections of Mo-
tor Vehicles-All competent traffic
specialists and safety experts agree
as to the desirability Of properly con-
Quoted inspections of the safety fea-
lures of motor vehicles in municipality
owned and municipality operated sta
lions. There is much tangible evil
dence that when properly conducted
such inspections promote safety. A
plan has already been proposed to the
Congress and should be approved, but
with modification as to the cost of
inspection to the motorists. 1t is our
belief that the costs of the testing
stations and the testing equipment
should not be amortized in one year,
but rather on the basis Of approx
mately five years. If this is done,
effective periodic inspection could be
carried out at cost not to exceed IS
cents per car per year, and it would
eventually be possible to do 1t for not
more than so cents q year.
Improve Street and Highway Light
ing.-The inadequacy of lighting in
Washington Is a contributing factor
in our accident situation. Last year
81 per cent of the traffic fatalities &C.
CURED after dark. Several surveys
have shown that improved lighting
resulted in reduction in night fatali-
ties. Even on Mount Vernon Memo
rial Highway with its wide roadway
and other safety features. 1t was
shown that night fatalities materially
increased when lights were discon-
tinued. This lighting situation in
Washington is one to which immedi-
ate attention should be given.
Devise Pedestrian Aids.-No pro-
gram can be effective that does not
lay major stress on the pedestrian
problem. Out of 113 traffic fatalities
last year "A were pedestrians. Much
more attention must be given to the
pedestrian in traffic. Better provision
should be made for the man, the wom-
an and the child on foot, and in turn
their cooperation should be secured
through obedience to sensible rules
for their protection. The survey mem
toned should provide for a full study
OF this very vital matter.
When the "flivver" airplane-the
plane for Mr.. Average Man-becomes
q reality. the motor car industry as
at present constituted intends to have
part in its production and mer-
chandising.
The automobile industry, according
to the Associated Press, is not much
perturbed over the possibility that in
dividual arplane transportation In
the somewhat indefinite future NAV
cut into the volume of motor car dis
tribution, but 1t is not overlooking any
potentialities for increased "produc-
ton Of transportation" Experiments
IN the application Of automobile mo-
tors to airplanes have been under way
In the motor industry for some time.
with indications that several manu-
facturers are disposed to reeard It as
having profitable possibilities for the
future.
The motor car industry long ago
decided that Investigation offered a
source Of income and went in for the
production Of such commodities as
bath tubs, beer barrels and other by.
products and has made q study of
the possibilities of pre-fabricated steel
houses. From motor cars to airplanes
is considered by many observers in the
industry as more logical than any
other step the automobile manufac-
turers might take.
Something more than the economi-
cal production Of a small plane for
Mr.. Average Man is involved in the
problem Of developing this idea Of
mass transportation on an individual
basis. Aeronautical engineers, most
Of them working In their spare time"
have devoted considerable study to
the development Of plane most suit
able for general private use. Fred E.
Weick, senior aeronautical engineer
Of the National Advisory Committee
for Aeronautics, described the problem
before the Society Of Automotive En-
gineers here as that Of designing the
airplaue Ito fit the man instead Of
just assuming that the man will train
and adapt himself to At the plane"
Weick said the engineers had con-
cluded that one of the first requisites
Of an airplane suitable for general pri-
vate use is that it be exceedingly easy
to land, regardless Of how"
One of the difficulties Of building
such plane, another engineer said. is
that except for marginal cases We
have no data regarding the control
time lag to expect from inexperienced
pilots; we have no definite informa-
ton Is to how the novice pilot reacts
to the normal situations encountered
In flight"