Evening star., 1940-01-01
Why Must They De?-eres the Answer as Given During 9
Punish Crossing
In Middle Of Block,
Van Duzer Urges
Traffic Director Seeking
To Reduce Fatalities
Among Pedestrians
By JAMES E. CHINN.

A real" pedestrian control regu-
lation instead Of the existing half
way" plan was advocated today by
Traffic Director william A. Van
Duzer as one means of materially
reducing the size of Washington's
traffic tombstone for 1910.
Pointing out that II per cent Of
the number of 1899 fatalities were
pedestrians and that SO per cent
were pedestrians who crossed a
street legally enough in the middle
of a block, Mr.. Van Duzer wants
the Commissioners to carry out his
original pedestrian control recon-
mendation. This would make the
jaywalker who crosses a street be-
tween intersections just as guilty
of violating the law as one who
disobeys a signal at cross-walk.
Compromise Is Costly.
Mr.. Van Duzer said his original
proposal for complete" pedestrian
protection regulation was "just a
little bit too sweeping for the Com
missioners, so they compromised
and adopted the present plan. But,
he declared:
You can't compromise with
death"
The traffic directors statement is
borne out by the carefully kept
statistics in his Office which show
that 81 of the "a traffic deaths in
1889 (the Traffic Bureau does not
bn QEt1 oiol,
private property were pedestrians
who took chance crossing a street
between intersections-at a point
where an automobile driver least
expected to find them.
There's not thing in the present
regulations which prohibits a pc
destrlan crossing street at any
point he feels like crossing if he
doesn't choose to cross at a cross
walk. But at the cross-walk he must
obey the regulations or take a
chance of getting ticket" from
policeman
The pedestrian control regulation
Mr.. Van Duzer wanted the Com
missioners to adopt included pro-
vision which read: mo pedestrian
shall cross or attempt to cross any
roadway between street intersections
at any place except within a cross
walk"
Original Proposal.
Let the traffic director tell in his
own words what happened to this
proposal after it reached the District
Building:
Much opposition to this proposal
led to modification The modifica-
ton was designed to make the pro-
posed regulation more readily en-
forceable."
The 81 pedestrian deaths in 1899
those who recklessly gave up their
lives between intersections-Mr Van
Duzer said should now convince
the Commissioners they made a mis-
take in not approving his entire
pedestrian control program. He is
confident if his anti-jay-walking
recommendation is approved now
even though 81 lives were sacrificed
to traffic last year between inter-
sections-the 1910 traffic fatality list
will carry the names of fewer VIC
Tins
Mr.. Van Duzer bases his prediction
on the results so far of the pedes-
trian control regulation as it applies
to intersection crossings. 1t is true
that 10 pedestrians were killed last
year at controlled" intersections.
two of whom were walking on a
proper signal. but the traffic director
insists the comparatively new pedes-
trian control regulation, in its "modi-
fed" form, has served to make the
walker traffic conscious, and un-
doubtedly has cut down the cross
walk death records of former years.
Mr.. Van Duzer pointed out the
District has had an experience SINH
lar to that of other cities as re-
CARDS pedestrian injuries and fatali-
ties. From 1881 to 1888, he said,
such deaths constituted from 63.5 to
1853 per cent of all traffic deaths.