Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-07-09
Auto Mishaps
A Disgrace
To America
j o hnson Asks Severe
Penalty for Violations
BY HUGH S. JOHNSON

cently Deen III one Oh THESE
shattering automobile crashes
this piece may not be altogether
objective. But TO avoid this
very possibility, I waited several
days.
BY some kind of miracle only
one of the occupants of our car
was injured,-cracked rib. But
the whole left side of that auto
mobile was either ripped away
or crumpled. and ii wound up
in the bushes about so feet from
the wrong side of the road.
II was a lovely little light car
at 9:59, and at 9:59 plus one
half second, ii was as much Of a
mess as if a dive bomber had
scored a direct hit.
OF course, that isn't the point
of this piece. Such things hap
pen too frequently to be of the
slightest public interest unless
somebody is killed or mangled.
That is the point of this piece.
The neglects and faults that
make the appalling casualty lists
on American roads are exactly
the same things that make 10
times as many such incidents as
this 10 which nobody pays any
attention because no b ody is
killed. Most Of those things are
illegal and all Of them ought TO
be. They ought not to be. as
they are, erely what the
lawyers call "malum prohibiten"
things not bad or criminal in
themselves but. for convenience,
prohibited bv law and carrying
no special stigma. and no pun
ishment except light fines.
THEY ought 10 be regarded, by
Il both law and public opinion.
as what in the same four-dollar
professional language. are called
"malum in se"-eVil. vicious and
in themselves dangerous 10 So
ciety.
When a man takes out on
crowded highway a mass Of ma
chinery weighing many hundreds
and sometimes with its load,
thousands Of pounds. and hurtles
il through the air at high speeds
or without-proper care. he is
Subiecting his fellow-men 10 the
dangers of terrific SCATTERING
force-the mass of the great
thing he is plotting. multiplied
not merely by its velocity, but by
its velocity squared.
His responsibility for any In
jury ought 20 be absolute, with
punishments as severe AZ would
be handed 10 a man turning a
dangerous weapon, like a ma
chine gun, loose in crowd. But
more than that, whether he in
lures anybody or not. his willful
violation of the rules that could
make such traffic relatively safe
should be a felony.
LIVERY driver knows what
~ they are:
Careful regulation Of speed in
relation TO the speed of other
traffic and conditions Of light
and weather.
No passing on either a "verti-
Gle or horizontal curve Chill or
bend in the road until sufficient
room to pass is visible through
out and safe beyond question
Meticulous care TO stay on
your side of the road whether
passing, being passed or just
driving.
Signaling. blows. stops and
turns in ample time 10 warn
others.
Keeping eyes and alert atten-
ton constantly on the traffic
and hands and feet constantly on
the controls and last but by no
means least. dimming blazing
lights at night for every passing
car.
The worst offenders in the
"road-hog" category are heavy
trucks and busses. Ask any
taxi driver. Their accident rec
ord is fine. Sure il is. Their
weight and momentum arc so
great that il is safer 70 let them
take as much as they want, than
for any light car 10 take the
slightest chance.
Unlike Secretary Ickes, ]
don't think their use of the road
should be restricted. They serve
too many of us in relation 10
other cars. But they certainly
ought TO be far more rightly
regulated than is the case today.
THE accident that set off this
Il piece wasn't to my car. |
was just a passenger. don't
drive. 1t happened at moderate
speeds by both cars because a
five or siX-ton truck wouldn't
dim its lights after several sig
nails in a fog and because its
left wheels were well on the
wrong side of the center line.
1t was hardly scratched. Every
thing seemed TO be settled
amicably. Our very efficient in
surance system apparently at
tended 10 that, as usual, smoothly
perhaps too smoothly. That
may be part OF the reason for
our indifference anyway.
l didn't get really heated up
until next day, when j began TO
think of at least three corpses
IL the speed of either car had
been faster or the roadhogging