Evening star., 1944-02-03
Bus, Streetcar
Accident Record
Studied by PUG
Hearings Subject to
Reopenine; Van Duzer
Offers Safety Plans

The Public Utilities Commission
had before 1t for study today a mass
of testimony and figures submitted
BY police and trafiic authorities and
of1cials Of the Capital Transit Co.
on bus and streetcar accidents.
The pubic hearings, ordered by
the PUG because of the increase in
deaths caused by streetcars and
buses, ended late yesterday, but Is
subject to reopening on the call Of
the commission.
Traffic Director William A. Van
Duzer, in presenting list of recon-
mendations for improving the safety
Of operation Of the transit company,
said he thought "the time was COM
ing when streetcars will have gov
ernors or some kind of speed con-
troll"
Cites weakest Point
Our weakest point is that We
have a speed limit Of rs miles an
hour, but there is nothing for oper-
ators OF streetcars to go by" Mr..
Van Duzer declared.
Mr.. Van DuZer said he thought 1t
would be desirable to require all
streetcar operators to have motor
vehicle permits, preferably District
permits, because they would then
be more familiar with local regula-
tions. He admitted under question:
ing, however, that in the case Of
25 streetcar operators involved in
fatal accidents between July, 1912,
and June, 1943, that 16 of the oper.
ators did have drivers permits.
In analyzing 81 deaths in street.
car accidents last year, Inspector
Arthur E. Miller of the Police De-
partment testified that in 20 cases
the streetcar operators were not at
fault and II cases were attributable
to violations of law or bad prac-
tices" by the transit operators. In
breaking down the II cases, Inspec-
tor Miller said were classified as
excessive speed" as careless
ness" 2 for failure to give right
Of way to another vehicle and one
for failure to give right Of way to
a pedestrian.
Worry Over Schedules.
Inspector Miller said that opera
tors of transit vehicles should be
instructed to make allowances for
pedestrians and drivers of other
vehicles mot doing the usual or
right thing" In talking to opera
tors, police find they are too con-
cerned over the speed necessary
to maintain schedules" Inspector
Miller added.
More emphasis on the speed fac
tor in accidents was made by In
spector Miller than by Mr.. Van
Duzer or by the accident preven-
ton engineer of the American
Transit Association. Merwyn A.
Kraft, who testified Tuesday.
Pointing out that i've persons had
been killed in the last three years
crossing from one loading platform
to another, Mr.. Van DuZer recon-
mended streetcars be made to sound
their bells before leaving a loading
zone, as well as when entering it.
Surveys of the records Of bus and
streetcar operators should be made
to determine the number of acci-
dents they have had on the basis
of the number of miles they have
operated.
Fencing Discussed.
Discussing a suggestion for. q
fence between parallel platforms on
Pennsylvania avenue to prevent Pc
destrians from crossing one to an
other, Mr.. Van Duzer said 1t was
found such fences would not leave
enough room for fire engines to
pass between platforms. 1t was also
thought. he said, that pedestrians
might be caught between a plat
form and the fence by an oncoming
streetcar.
Mr.. Van Duzer said that of the
1909 buses inspected between Octo-
Der and January, 668 defective
speedometers were found, but said
he realized the company was in
difficult position because~of the i'm
possibility of repairing or replacing
parts.
M. o. Eldridge, assistant to Mr..
Van Duzer, entered the following
chart in the record: