Evening star., 1936-07-12

the last six monCnS, tne nrSe
49, decline in several years.
Automobile manufacturers, who
have been waging vigorous war
against traffic collisions, foresee a re-
duction in 1886 fatalities, according
10 a copyrighted story sent from De-
troit by the North American News
paper Alliance.
Manufacturers cite their own or
ranized campaign, the efforts OF
.chools and safety clubs and aroused
public opinion as factors in the down.
ward trend of motor accidents. They
point out that with gasoline consump-
ton rising 9 per cent the first five
months of the year, deaths in crashes
still decreased.
Reports in the hands OF safety Of
ficials show that the traffic death rate
up to and including May was 1889
per 100000 gallons of gasoline con-
surned by automobiles. This COM
pares with a rate of 2l.22 for the cor
responding months of 1898.
Despite heavier travel and wider use
of motor cars this year, leaders IN
the safety movement believe the total
traffic fatalities this year will be be-
low the 1885 total of $1,000.
Meanwhile, the prospect arises that
efforts will be made in industrial CEN
tiers to stagger employment shifts to
reduce congestion and thereby cut ac-
cident hazards. This would be IN line
with studies recently conducted IN De-
troit.
Murray D. Van Wagner, Michigan
State highway commissioner, disclosed
through a w. P. A. survey, made un-
der the Joint direction of himself and
the Detroit police, that simultaneous
changing of employment shifts was an
important cause of traffic congestion
The survey included census OF 243.-
600 Detroit industrial workers.
TN THE largest district studied, ap-
narentlv the River Rouge factory,
there were 70,337 employees and in the
second largest area, 59,399 employees.
Van Wagner pointed out that al
though one would expect congestion
would be verse in the area with the
largest number of employees, it is not
o fact.
Traffic peaks, indicated by the num-
Der Of workers going on or on shifts,
were not in proportion to the total
enployment. The largest district had
. movement OF 67.o66 employees dur
ing two hours of the afternoon, but
the $50 pm. peak was only 1858
men. BY contrast, the other district
had 57,652 men in movement during
the afternoon, but its maximum $3.50
pm. movement was 34.068 men.
Because shifts were staggered bet
ter in the big district congestion
there at the afternoon peak was less
than half as much as in the smaller
district. Changes of shift were spread
rather evenly over the afternoon IN
the big district. There resulted a
relatively small flow of trafic. In the
other district the changes were al
most simultaneous. They tended to
congest traffic.
The day workers at one of the
largest plants start to work at $50
am, with shifts going in every 20
minutes until 7:30 am. In the after
noon the same arrangement holds for
in-going shifts between and 4:30
o'clock The outgoing shifts like
wise are staggered.
IN THE wake of protests of race driv-
ers who competed in the 1886 event
at Indianapolis, the Rules Commit
tee of the Contest Board Of the Amer
ican Automobile Association has de-
cided to lift the restrictions on fuel
consumption for the 1887 speedway
classic AS a result, there will be
no limit to the amount of fuel the
cars in the race may use, but the
gasoline must come from the same
pump that serves the public.
The first restriction on fuel was
placed on the 1884 race. The figure
was 43 gallons. The winner, Wild
Bill Cummings, was we'll under the
quota, with only 35 gallons consumed.
The following year the limit was re-
duced to 42k gallons, but Kelly
Petillo had no difficulty in setting a
new track record This year Louis
Meyer used only 34.59 gallons for
an average of 14.455 miles to the
gallon.
The race drivers and their mechanics
have always doctored the gasoline to
their own needs, of course. Their
mixtures, accordingly, were not al
ways Of the kind that would have
rt,tyr ~
car. The fuel was designed to pro-
duce speed and, in the last couple of
years, to provide economy at the same
time.
The action of the Contest Commit
tee in compelling the adoption of
standard fuels will furnish a better
parallel between the action of the
race cars on the speedway and the
read performance of vehicles built by
the manufacturers for daily use. The
speedway management itself has fall
en- in line with the new policy by
offering special prize of $2,500 for
the best fuel economy performance
under the 1887 conditions.
1FE may begin at 40 because the
forties are the safest on the
streets and highways.
-, In any event. the American Auto
mobile Association has found that the
average safe driver" is 46 years of
age and has been driving for more
than 20 years without a single ac-
cident or violation of the motor laws.
:. The A. A. A. statement is based
on check-up cn driving records
shown in the applications to June
30, from all parts of the United States
In the national contest to select the
representative safe driver in each of
the 48 States and the District Of
Columbia.
These records" said the national
motoring body, which is sponsoring
the contest jointly with the C. l. T.
Safety Foundation. "offer an effective
answer to the alarmists who contend