Evening star., 1941-10-22
Suggests Stressing
Accident Causes
Correspondent Wants Police
To Try 'InstruetionoI Work
With Traffic Rules VioIutors
To the Editor Of The Star.

To the Editor of The Star.
1t has been interesting to follow your
feature why Must They Die" Any
campaign for traffic safety that produces
any result is worth while, but I have
wondered if it might not be well to be
more specific.
Is it not of some Importance to stress
the elimination of the causes of
casualties?
Instead of trying to create public senti-
ment in a general way, it might be well
to take up, one by one, the visible things
that make for casualties, and consider
what can be done about their removal
Any one might make list of his own.
Here is a beginning:
Children riding two or three on a single
bicycle; bicycles without lights; children
and adults dashing out from behind
parked cars; roller-skaters and bicyclists
hitching on cars and trucks; motorists
and bicyclists weaving in and out of
traffic lanes; failure of bicyclists and
pedestrians to stop at stop signs; making
left-hand turns from right-hand lanes
and rlght-hand turns from left-hand
lanes; absence of a distinctive and audi
BILE signal to indicate a drivers intention
to back leaving and entering a Car on
the street side; permitting trucks to
line up at right angles to the curb, bot
tle-necking traffic; stopping of trucks at
corners where they interfere with visibil-
ity of signals and pedestrian and We
hicular cross traffic; glaring headlights;
poor timing and uncertainty of officers
signals; difficulty in seeing traffic officers
at night; failure of motorists to hold
back when traffic congestion prevents
their clearing intersections; inability to
see onComing cross traffic; siding up
of one car too close to another moving
car; crowding against pedestrians at
Intersections confusing signs; massed
signs, and so on.
As you think of other reasons why
they must die. if die they must, you can
add them to this list. You will need no
expert for that purpose. Your only
qualification will be that Of motorist,
pedestrian, practitioner of common sense.
1 have not had the experience of ap-
DCdL III III dlAlC SOul DuI Inc IIlN
brother motorists and pedestrians. I
shall get there some day, if not killed
prematurely.
They say the traffic courts are over
taxed. Cooling your heels or tWiddling
your thumbs while waiting in Office, at
home or on the street for your case to
be called is, no doubt, added punishment
for the offense you did or did not commit
but does 1t reduce casualties? No,
casualties have increased. What are We
to conclude?
There are two ways of relieving court
congestion: First, more judges; second,
less cases.
Fewer cases, in my opinion, would
result from more regulatory and instruc-
tional work on the part of traffic officers
and fewer tickets, warrants and arrests.
If an officer sees a man getting into
or out Of a car on the street side he
should make him try it over again and
do it correctly, on the walk side. If
motorist tries turn from the wrong
lane have him try it again from the
correct lane. What he thought to gain
in time he will lose in learning his lesson.
A traffic officers duty should go beyond
handing out tickets and bawling out
drivers. The time an officer must spend
in going to and from court and testifying
there is lost to the street. Why not have
the officer straighten out the motorist
by putting him through the correct
PAGES at the very spot where he offended,
or at least adopt the principle involved?
We have lost ground with our generaH-
cations. 1t may be that we can get
somewhere by tackling tedious details.
EWART w. HOBBS.