Henderson daily dispatch., 1941-02-18
Death Works
Overtime
On Highways
Daily Dispatch Rureau,
IN the Sir Walter Hotel.
By HE Try ASERHk


Raleigh. Feb. 18-Death worked
overtime ON street, and highways III
North Carolina during January,
claiming SO victims in highway traf-
nc accidents. according to provision
al figure of the highway safety d.
,ision.
This is an increase of 20 over Jan
u;fy. 1910. and there remains 4 good
chance hat the fatality figures wit
climb even higher when all the re-
turns are IN; because they are pre-
Visional only and not final.
Reckless. speeding and drunken
drivers combined with careless and
perhaps pie-eycd pedestrians to ac-
count for the greatest single item in
the long casualty list. with no less
than 36 pedestrians numbered mid
the slain.
Not only was there no letup in the
chastity slaughter ON the roads last
month, but this month promises to
provide even grllnmer evidence that
those at the wheel in North Carolina
are, in Far too great 4 proportion,
needless Of the hazards Of handling
nigh speed, powerful motor vehicles.
Next to the running down of pc
destrlanS, the crash ol motor vehicle
with motor vehicle was deadliest in
January, with % dead. Thirteen per-
sons died as the cars they were driV-
ing or in which they were passengers
ran off the roadway and overturned.
Four races between trains and
motor ans for crossing rights fin
ished in dead heats-&nd nine dead
yer streWn along the tracks-four
dying in n smashup in Johnston.
three in another in Halifax and one
each in Durham and Orange.
Two bicyclists We're killed in Sur
ny. Three persisted in car-fixed OBJ
Ject collisions, and two were killed
in what is technically termed "other
non-collision' accidents.
| There were fifteen more persons
killed than there were fatal accid-
ents, this accentuating a recent ten
dency to kill EN- off wholesale rather
than one by me.
There were nine accidents in al.
which claimed more than n life
apiece. In addition to the four-deau
and three-dead crossing tragedies, al
'eady mentioned, there were three
other triple-header Cor rather triple
deader) accidents and four double
tons.
With Charlotte killing off more
than all the other cities Of North Car
Gina combined, Mecklenburg TOOK
an early lead in the annual race for
Glshonorable mention. though john
ston, thanks to its quadruple killing,
and Wake, with a three-in-one NOR
que filler, were tied for second place,
within easy killing distance of the
top. The tally showed eight for Mack
lenburg. half a dozen apiece for
Johnston and Wake.
No city other than Charlotte had
more than n death-dealing wreck
during the month. Durham, Green's
boro, kinston, Wilmington, Green
Vile and Raleigh had one each.
Killings by counties We're: Ala
nance 8, Arson /, Buncombe q,
Burke /, Caldwell l., Chatham 3,
Cleveland |, Columbus 2, Cumber-
land 4, Currituck |, Duplin |, Dur
ham 2, Edgecombe |, Forsyth /,
Gates |, Graham l, Greene !, Gull
ford 3, Halifax 1, Harnett |, Hoke |,
Johnston 6, Lenior 2, Macon l, Madi-
son l., Martin |. Mcdowell |. Neck
lenburg 8. New Hanover g, Orange
/, Pasquotank !, Fender 2, Perqui-
mans |, Pitt |. Robson l, Rocking
ham l., Rowan |, Rutherford /,
Sampson |. Stokes |, Surry 2, Union
8, Wake 6, Warren 2, Wayne !, vii
kes 8, Yadkin l.