Evening star., 1937-06-13

training in high schools is the Sports
manlike Driving, a series of text
pamphlets prepared by traffic special
lists and educators and made available
to schools by the A. A. A. In the
Summer sessions at colleges and uni
versities the teachers taking the train
ing courses will devise teaching out
lines to be used in the class rooms,
with the aid of special training ma
terials prepared by educational spe-
cialists of the American Automobile
Association.
The 'dawdling' driver is the tar
get of automobile club criticism.
The too slow driver is not only a
pest, but an actual menace" says
George E. Keneipp, manager of the
Keystone Automobile Club, adding:
While statisticians have busted them
selves with proving the hazards Of
fast driving, the pokey driver has es-
capped all blame, whereas he is indi-
rectly responsible for many crashes
attributed to other causes"
Keneipp doesn't want to be under
stood as advocating high speed. "Rea-
sonable speed within the legal limits.
governed at all times by road and
traffic conditions, is what We believe
to be necessary and desirable" he
said. There is nothing reasonable
or safe, for example, about Sunday
driver who dawdles along at IS or 20
miles an hour on the open road, hold
ing up long line of vehicles in his
wake.
This type of highway pest takes all
the JOY out Of motoring. He holds up
traffic to the unreasonably slow pace
he has adopted and in so doing he
creates innumerable hazards. With
other drivers chafng at the delay, at
tempts are made to pass him in the
face OF heavy oncoming traffic, often
with serious results. Thus. the slow
poke may have his Sunday afternoon
drive in perfect safety to himself,
unmlndful of the mischief he has done
IN causing other operators to take
chances in passing and in travelling at
high speed to make up for the time
lost unnecessarily while held in the
slow line"
The typical motorist in the United
States rides 40 eight-hour days each
year in his automobile and then works
seven days, or more, to earn enough
money to pay gasoline taxes on the
motor fuel he consumes, according to
the American Petroleum Industries
Committee.
Last year, explains the committee,
the typical motorist used Sal gallons
of gasoline, on which he paid s3O.e3 in
State and Federal taxes At IS miles
to the gallon, that gasoline provided
9,6l5 miles of travel. Figuring an
average of 80 miles an hour, that
mileage is equivalent to 800 hours or
40 elsht-hour days. However, more
than half of the motorists in the
United States earn less than 81 500 a
year. and the committee estimates
that the typical American motorist
must therefore work seven or more
days to earn enough money to pay
his gasoline taxes.
Especially burdensome are high gas
ollne taxes on workers using their
motor vehicles for travel to and from
work. A man living 10 miles from the
factory or Office where he is employed
travels 20 miles daily, or nearly 5000
miles during the year. Gasoline taxes
on that travel to and from work will
aggregate $40 a year. or more than is
paid for license plates.
The committee estimates that more
than 100000 wage earners in this
country use their automobiles in get
ting to and from their jobs.