Milford chronicle., 1955-08-05

tioning period during World War
III, between 10000 and 10000 per-
sons have been killed every year
for the last % years.
IL traffic volumes increases by
so per cent in the next 10 years. as
estimated, accidents at the pres
ent rate will take $4,000 lives a
year
Testifying recently before the
Senate Subcommittee on Roads
Sidney j. Williams of the Safety
Council commented: I'VE are on a
treadmili, running faster and fast
er, just to stay where we are"
The death toll on the highways
last year 1954) totaled 36,300.
That was more, Williams noted,
tnan the accidental deaths in all
the homes of America 1t was more
than twice the accidental deaths
of people at work in factories,
mines. construction and all other
gainfui operations combined.
In addition to the deaths, 1885,
600 persons were injured in traf-
h1 100000 of them suffering per-
manent disability.
AS pointed out by President Els
enhower in his message to Con-
gress on February %, 1855, stress
ing the need for the national high
way program, the suffering and
grief of the accident victims and
their families cannot be calculated
in dollars.
But in money alone the highway
accident cost for 1854 was esti-
mated at a whopping $3.50, 100000.
The total bill included $150,000,000
from reduced earning power be-
cause of temporary disability;
$3.50, 900, 900 from reduced earning
power because of permanent dis
ability: $750.00o,000 estimated net
value of future earnings of those
killed. This makes a total wage
loss of s1,250,000,000 according to
the Safety Council.
Add 800, O,000,O 900 for medical and
hospital expenses: $1,000, 100000
for property damage and S1,400,-
900, 900 for overhead cost of insur-
ance for the grand total.
According to the Automobile
Manufacturers Association, the an
nual loss to motorists on the pres
ent interstate system alone totals
s2,100. 100000. The cost is broken
down as follows: $3.50, ,O00,0 900 for
operating costs, that is extra gaso-
line, brake and tire wear because
of inefficient roads; s725, 100000 for
traffic accidents, and $825,000,000
in time lost by commercial vehicles
due to traffic delays. The total an
nual loss for all roads is $3,000,-
100000.
How quickly does highway de-
teriorate? Well. in Westchester
County, New York, the Hutchinson
River Parkway 25 years ago was
touted as the highway of tomor-
row. Now it is obsolete and dang
erous, outmoded in design, and ac-
counts for more than 55 per cent
of all Westchester's traffic fatali-
ties.
The plain truth is that the pres
ent highways are loaded with
death traps. For instance, of 10,-
$50 bridges in the rural Interstate
system, S,1S7, or 81 per cent, are
below standard width, according to
the Automotive Foundation.
And the Automobile Manufactur-
ers Association says that two out
of every three miles of the ma
tion's total of 3,366,000 miles of
highway are inadequate and at
least one-third are unsafe for driv-
ing.
The u. S. Bureau of Public Roads
says that only $4,000 miles, or
one-fourth of the total, are paved.
The Automotive Safety Founda-
tion also says that on the rural
portion of the interstate system
throughout the country, 15,115
curves are sharper than standard;
500 grades exceed the maximum
and GIG other grades are too steep
for prevailing traffic conditions.
These are contributing factors
to the higher accident rate on roads
in rural areas. Of the total of 36,-
300 killed in 1854, 5000 resulted
from accidents in cities and towns
over $500 population; three-quar
ters, or 1900, were in rural areas
including towns under $500.
THE rural death rate was more
than twice the urban, says Will
liams of the Safety Council. THUS
the lions share of the problem is
on rural highways.
What we all want" Williams
adds, ''is an adequate, efficient
highway transportation system by
which persons and goods can move
quickly, comfortable, economically
and in one piece. Anything that in
terferes with such movement, whe
ther it be an accident, congestion,
or other delay is symptom of in
in the system"