Evening star., 1937-01-09
BY BLAIR MOODY.


N.A.N.A.).-The two principal men
aces to public safety, in the opinion
of officers whose record is most i'm
pressive in cutting the toll Of traffic
deaths. are:
Public enemy No. 1.-The drunk
driver and, especially, the fellow who
has had a couple Of drinks, but Is
all right" and
Public enemy No. 2-the driver who
Is always 'in hurry'-and who
speeds at the wrong time.
Haste-often unnecessary haste
which saves no time, yet courts dis
ester and alcohol - injudiciouSly
mixed with gasoline and overconfi-
dence-were the leading murderers OF
1886.
They killed and manned thousands
Of men, women and children, who were
not in a hurry and had had moth
ing to drink.
Hundreds of other peoples homes
paid tragic penalty of heartache for
the whims of impatient, intolerant, II
sometimes clever. speeders. Many
innocent bystanders" face years OF
sorrow or pain because some stranger,
who felt like making whoopee," in
sisted on turning liberty into license,
took a few social cocktails" or
''hoisted a few beers"-and then got
behind the wheel of an automobile.
Experienced safety men declare that
the speed of modern automobiles, II
properly used, may be a factor for
safety, rather than danger.
Fast Driving May Be Safe.
Under certain conditions, they
point out, reasonably fast driving may
be safer than slow, uncertain driving.
A car lacking the power which makes
high speeds possible obviously would
also lack the surge Of pickup which
can carry it away from danger spots
that might prove fatal to a sluggish
vehicle.
But speed in the wrong place-a
restless determination to get ahead"
and superficially smart" in-and-out
driving-is loaded with dynamite.
THE great menace. next to alco-
hol," says Alfred Reeves, vice presi-
dent and general manager OF the Au-
tomobile Manufacturers Association.
"is not speed alone-but speed mixed
with bad judgment; speed out OF
harmony with traffic conditions,
weather and light.
Under some circumstances, SO
miles an hour is as safe as could be
expected-in the country. on a
straightway, well-built road, with a
good driver in modern car.
But conditions may make a speed
Of IS miles an hour reckless and un-
safe, though the law permits 25.
The fastest professional drivers on
the Indianapolis Speedway are
notoriously careful in traffic. They
know enough to be-"
Speed itself, then, Is not an evil
II properly handled. But if that
fatal slip" occurs, which frequently
Is not the fault of the driver, but of
another driver or defect in the
road, it's much more likely to be
curtains.
Drunk Driver Greater Menace.
But an even greater menace than
the driver who speeds, but Is still
IN full possession of his faculties, is
the drunk driver.
And then there's the driver who
cannot be proved to be drunk, but
has been drinking.
This fellow can still stand pretty
steadily. He can converse and will
assure you he's "all right" He al
WAYS sincerely thinks he is and, for
ordinary purposes perhaps, he is. But
the safety men rage against him
when he gets into an automobile.
For the same liquid refreshment
which has made his general attitude
bolder and more adventuresome, has
dulled his reactions and dimmed his
Judgment of distance and the speed
of other vehicles. He is inclined to
be inattentive and reckless.
This combination, merry soul that
he may be, makes him as dangerous
q killer as any stick-up man with an
automatic. He has merely been exer-
cising one of the modern social graces,
but he may at any minute send
himself, or some innocent victim, to
the grave.
And this mot very drunk" driver
Is increasing rapidly in numbers since
the repeal of prohibition made liquor
easier to get. Dry leaders, who want
liquor banned again, are using this
slaughter as their strongest current
argument. If prohibition ever does
return, he will be principally re-
sponsible.
Number Increasing.
1.-The number of had been drink
ing drivers involved in fatal acci-
dents has increased % per cent since
repeal" says R. L. Forney, statistician
of the National Safety Council.
The number of had been drinking
pedestrians killed has jumped So per
cent.
Drivers under the influence of
fiuuor in non-fatal accidents have in
creased so per cent and pedestrians 64
per cent.
Between S and 10 per cent Of all
drivers in fatal accidents are reported
by city and State authorities as drunk.
But this does not reflect the true pic
ture by any means, for, until re-
Gently, in most cities, only drivers
were charged with drunkenness whom
the arresting officer could easily con-
vict by testifying that they had stag
gered or been incoherent in speech.
The seni-stewed driver was usually
booked on reckless driving charge.
Scientific experiments by DR.. H. A.
Heise of Columbia Hospital, Milwaukee,
which is a city with an outstand-
ing safety record, revealed meas
urable loss of driving efficiency when
as little as l ounce of whisky Is con-
sumed.'
Problem Worse Than Before Repeal.
IF thorough tests for alcohol con-
sumptions we're made by agencies COL
lecting accident statistics, the per-
centage of drinking drivers involved