Evening star., 1937-01-06

police department Is to ind out what
violations are causing accidents.
Most cities make at least . gesture
at Investigating" accidents, but IN
many this amounts to merely . lick
and q promise, when compared to the
scientinc and aggressive Northwest
ern program"
What Kreml has done In other cities
is first to have assigned to the acci-
dent investigating squad young. alert
officers, provide them with proper
equipment-a camera, tape line, de-
celerometer (brake tester), first-axd kit
and fiares-and ther show them how
to get the facts ON an accident.
1.-THE more information we can get,
the better chance we have Of finding
out the cause Of the accident and cor
recting it," Kreml says. I'VE try to
reconstruct what happened; how fast
the cars were going, for example. by
the skid marks; whether any violation
was committed.
Failure to Analyze.
Most cities analyze only about 40
per cent of their accidents, and these
incompletely. They are inclined to
the the serious ones and let the others
go-which does not give true picture
of what Is going on and, particularly,
why. Almost any minor accident
might have been serious"
Reports made by many investigating
squads are ridiculous, Kreml says. Like
two cars collided" or "car hit BIZ
cycle, throwing boy to pavement"
They tell nothing. To be of any use
reports must tell the whole story.
The second step in Kremls system
comes after proper records have been
accumulating in a city for period OF
some 60 days. He then returns to the
city and aids in an analysis of the
records, which show the where" and
"why" of crashes, instructing officers
on the key points. From this analysis
it can be determined where the police
should bear down" to best advantage.
THE next step is to call in all motor
cycle and foot traffic officers and ac-
quaint them with the real situation,
what violations to watch for and how
to handle them" Kreml says. Par
ticularly 1t should be impressed on
them that their function is not just
to write tickets, but to protect the
public. From that point on, accidents
start to decline"
A couple Of years ago, under aus
pices of the National Safety Council,
a model enforcement program" was
tried for 80 days in several cities, with
no public announcement.
The number of officers on traffic
was increased. They were centralized
in high-accident areas. They were on
duty in hours when accidents were
occurring. (When Kreml went to Ev-
anston he found 70 per cent of acci-
dents occurred after 4 pm, but &c
per cent of traffic officers went of
duty at 4 or earlier.) Particular at
tention was given to violations which
we're causing accidents. Ticket-fixing
was stopped.
In Chicago this resulted in a drop
of IL per cent in accidents in 80 days;
in Akron, Ohio. 40 per cent; in Des
Moines, Iowa, so per cent-and this
was in September, month when &C.
cident records ordinarily zoom. Ir
the same period, officers were taken
OF traffic duty in Minneapolis. Acct
dents increased.
You can't lay out selective pro-
gram unless you know what the score
is-and that means modern accident
bureau" Kreml said.
ut has been an axiom Of police work
for years, if burglar is running loose
in a city, to make detailed reports O