Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1939-04-06
Traffic Safety Drive
Reported Gaining
In Many Cities
Crusade Has Reduced
Death Toll During
Lost Three Years
BY BLAIR MOODY.

DETROIT, April 6.-You may be
next!
In the coming IL months at least
Is 900 American families. and prob
ably more. will suffer the sickening
shock-"Your little child-or your
husband, your wife or mother-has
just been killed on the street"
A hundred thousand more persons
will be permanently diSabled-more
than 100000 injured.
1t is easy. of course, to treat these
figures as Just another statistic
and forget them!
Like Uncle Sans debt, the toll
of traffic tragedy has become so
great that it is difficult to visualize.
Even when it is said that more lives
are snuffed out in traffic every 18
months than there were American
soldiers killed in the World War it
is hard to realize-unless some eve
ming it strikes home-in your home!
But these ghastly statistics are
not pulled out OF the air or from
crystal ball. They are. as matter
of fact, an optimistic estimate. II
deaths total only $4,000 in 1889 it
will be the best record of the last
Is years. During 1898 $4,000 were
killed. In 1887. $4,000 The opti-
mistic estimate anticipates that the
reduction this year will be as great
as it was last-When it was the
greatest in history.
Crusade Under Way.
But that very fact, that record
gain" was registered in 1888 and an
other is hoped for in 1899, means
much. 1t means there is under way
in this country another great cru
SADIE such as licked the scourges of
previous centuries. smallpox and
diphtheria; such as is now cutting
the toll of deaths from tuberculosis,
such as the safe and sane Fourth
drive which keeps thousands OF
youngsters from being killed or
manned every year.
In the three years since the in
tensified drive was started to mold
into one unit the sporadic and scat
tered efforts of prior years the
Nations traffic death rate has fallen
from TIA killed per 100000 900 miles
driven in 1885 to fewer than II in
1888.
Despite a total of tragedies that
is still needlessly high, that record
is not only good on comparative
basis. it is steadily getting better.
For Is consecutive months, begin
ming in November. 1887, the total
of traffic fatalities has been steadily
less compared with the same month
of the previous year.
Deaths in February. 1899. for ex-
ample. were u per cent under
February, 1898. according to the
National Safety Council. January
and February together were down
10 per cent under the same two
months of last year.
36 Per Cent Decrease.
According to Paul G.. Hoffman.
president of the Studebaker Corp.
and leader Of the safety movement
in the automobile industry, in II
cities where accident prevention bu-
reaus have been installed by the
International Association of Chiefs
of Police under direction Of 1t.
Frank M. Kreml of Evanston. Ill,
there has been reduction in traffic
deaths OF So per cent.
Cities in which the National
Safety Council has organized &C
tive local safety councils with a
full-time manager had a combined
reduction of 80 per cent.
And those cities which both "in-
vited Kreml' and installed safety
councils showed slash of 40 per
cent. This compares with a reduc-
ton in all cities of % per cent.
Unquestionably the finest record
established in any large city, with
the possible exceptions of Milwaukee
and Providence. which have been
safety minded" for years, resulted
from former Mayor Frank Couzens'
invitation to It. Kreml to reorgan-
lie Detroit's enforcement system.
When 1t. Kreml came to Detroit
the city's safety record was horri-
BILE. TWenty-three persons had been
killed in one riotous Christmas holi-
day week end. In 1896, 357 De-
troiters were killed in traffic, more
than 81 for every 100000 of popula-
ton.
Seriously Handicapped.
It. Kreml came to Detroit under
trying circumstances. His system