The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-08-19

Observance of traffic rules and the exercises of caution and common sense in driving will aid in reduc- ing Waterbury's accident total, he states.
 Weekly Statement Supt. Roach,s statement follows:
 If you were to be told that in this present year some epidemic which could be prevented, would kill every man, woman and child in a city of say 10000 inhabitants, there IS no doubt that you would take steps to save that city. Not only would you act, but you would call upon your neighbors to join with you.
 You would move in a body upon the proper authorities to see to it that the catastrophe was avoided. Every human instinct would demand that you do something. I have spoken of disease and perhaps a little emphasis should be placed upon that. Back more than fifty years ago here in our country the yellow fever was the scourge of the south. People were awakened to the gravity of the situation, the causes were discovered and removed.
 "Yet today, you, the public, are devoid of any emotion in the pres ence of 8 Scourge which annually causes the death of more people than in the city I mentioned; it is killing more people than yellow fever or typhoid, and is injuring, often maiming permanently, more than million people every year. The situation I speak of is due to the automobile, or rather the opera tion of the automobile.
 "In the hands of driver, the modern motor car is either the saf- est, the most convenient, the most economical means of transportation ever devised for man; or, it is the most frightful instrument of death ever invented. It is worse than war, worse than any epidemic, and the economic loss it causes annually is more than $500 100000
 "It can be said that our streets and highways will be safer for the automobilist and for the pedestrian only when both the motorist and the pedestrian are persuaded that safety is virtue, that is the smart, intel ligent way to live. Authorities work unremittingly to persuade the mos torist to drive more safely. Men and women are punished by the au- thoritieS for infractions of rules, but that makes little difference. Licenses are suspended or revoked from the more reckless, but the tragic roster of the dead grows and grows.
 951o Avoidable
 Tt is estimated that 95% of all accidents are avoidable. We can appreciate this when we study the eight traffic violations or driving er- TOTS which cause 85% of all acci- dents. They are: CD Speed too fast for existing conditions; @ Failure to slow down at intersections; (3) Passing other cars with view ahead obstructed. (D Failure to keep to the right. (O Failure to slow down on approaching pedestrians. (6) Failure to park properly. CD Failure to obey traffic signals. (0 Failure to observe the law in passing stand ing busses.
 "If we were to add to this the l09o due to defective mechanism we have the 95%. Each of these violations concern some simple traffic rule, ob- servance of which cannot lessen the rational enjoyment of the motor car.
 "On the other hand, strict ob- servance of the rules will go far to- ward reducing the annual death and injury list. In time it will affect, as can be seen by the insurance rate reduction in our city. favor ably the rates which the motorists himself pays for his protection from consequences of accidents.'