The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1939-11-23

| Minnesota entered upon the 1883
heavy traffic season with the best CO.
ordinated, most effective organization
for traffic accident prevention in its
history.
Enlightened by experiences of the
past, strengthened by improved laws
enacted by the last legislature, and sus-
tanned by more alert, cooperative and
effective support from civilian safety
and civic groups, the states traffic
regulation and accident prevention
agencies set out with determination
to curb motor vehicle fatalities to a
new low mark-and bring lives saved
to a new high mark.
During the first nine months OF the
year, through all of the heavy travel
season when Minnesota's streets and
highways were congested with resident
and tourist traffic, motor vehicle deaths
were reduced IA per cent.
Then, when the tourist and vacation
seasons were over, when the state and
county fairs had closed their gates,
when most of the farm market hauling
had been completed, and even after the
schools had been open for month and
both children and grownups had once
more become aware of the hazards of
traffic interSections--when all of the
accepted general excuses for traffic
miShaps had been accounted for and
disposed of, MinnesotaS traffic fatali-
ties began to soar.
Five more men, women and children
were killed during the past October
than during october of 1888.
A veritable wave of motorist and
pedestrian deaths, claiming II lives,
swept the state the weekend of Nov.
HIP, gruesomely remindfully perhaps
of the fact that more Americans die
each year in traffic than were killed
in battle during the entire World War
Unless this outbreak of fatalities is
checked, unnumbered other homes will
be yelled in sorrow and tragedy before
the holiday season has come and gone
And, not that records in themselves
have any integral worth, but Mime
sofas proud accident prevention record
for the first nine months will be dealt
a stunning blow.
Accidents do not happen-they are
caused!"
Then a study of the death toll of
October may, by getting at the causes,
help to prevent a continuance of traffic
fatalities through November and Dec
ember.
Out of "a persons killed in October,
SO of them were on rural roads, out of
congested traffic. Only Is of the %
urban fatalities occurred in cities of
more than 100000 population.
Of the "a killed, %, or more than
one-third, were pedestrians. Nine of
these pedestrians were killed on rural
roads, and only six in cities of more
than 100000. Of the A motorists who
met death, % of them collided with
another vehicle, and II rolled off the
road or otherwise met with a nom
collision accident, both types indicating
excessive speed, improper lights, care
less driving of failure to obey markings,
signs and signals.
Fourteen died on Saturdays, Is on
Sundays and 16 on Mondays, Is of the
16 Monday fatalities occurring on rural
roads.
Twenty-one of the "a fatal accidents
occurred between midnight and 4 A. M.
when traffic is extremely light, and IL
of these 81 took place on rural roads.
Nineteen occurred between the hours of
P. M and midnight, and Is of these
were on county highways.
Of the 70 drivers involved in the "a
fatal motor vehicle miShapS, % lived
in st. Paul, Minneapolis or Duluth, only
eight of them being involved in rural
accidents; 81 lived in municipalities of
less than 100000 population, Is of them
being involved in rural accidents; 16
were rural residents of which IA were
involved in accidents on rural roads,
and 8 were out-of-state motorists.
Fifteen of the drivers involved in
these "a fatalities, and three of the