Evening Star Newspaper, September 16, 1923, Page 65

Cites Improved License Plate One-Way Street Abolishment . As Urgent Need of Motor Car Held Five-Year Step Backward Vi R A o 7 7 7 Y 7L A i A, A 7 W 74 A 7 ’;,”//74///’//7/’// ) /' il Better Tags Necessary to Replace Pres- ent Cheap, Illegible Markers W hich Defeat Purpose of Auto Laws. BY WILLIAM ULLMA | ] That frrther development of the | motor car must take into considera- tlon that time-honored annoyance, the Ilcense plate, is the consensus of opin- fon among students of the automo- bile. Radlcal changes have already be- come history in the development of brakes, super-tires are now being ex- perimented with, and even an entirely new type of engine——the Diesel—is predicted for motoring. Hence it re- quires no great stretch of the imag- ination to forecast that the present method of numerically designating cars is due for a complete overhauling. This move will no doubt be hast- ened by the present agitation against the “obscured marker,” a matter which has already occasioned the motor vehicle commissioners of some states to recommend to car manufac- | turers new methods looking toward a better way of providing for tags. Apparently license tags are nec sary. No one seems to tioned thei ue or the right of the states to disfigure ca But there is much agitation against the cheap- ness of the tags supplied to car own- ers and it Is upon this basis as well that the need for decided improvement in license plates is founded. Sole Tag Improvement. About the only tag Improvement in recent years i{s the hyphenating of nuferals where they run into the ten thousands, but even this step has not been gene adopted, and one won- ders at the surprising backwardness in this long-time the motor car. The flimsy nature of the tags, the insecurity of their attachment. the disregard of the principles of ght, reflection and vision in the color | sghemes, the laxity with regard to the way tags are attached ang cared for, as well as the inconsistdncy of using all numerals when the letters of the alphabet would simplify the markings, leads to a suspicion that the states do not consider tags of necessity beyond their conventional use as evidence of registration. 1t license tags are to be continued as 5 unit of the automobile, common sense demands that they bé used to full advantage. This calls for some immediate changes, with some rather radical changes when the public accepts the fact that, despite the remarkable strides made in automobile design, the motor car is still in its infancy. Obscured Plate Under Fire. The agitation. against the obscured plate will unquestionably result in better provisions for attaching tags. The manufacturers are usually alive to the demands of the time and though they may seem slow with ref- erence to this particular subject, it must be kept in mind that the adop- tion of anything new in the way of automoblle design cannot be brought about over night under a quantity essory to production basis. ing to be standard equipment. with the inevitable result that the license plate brackets will not be placed where bumpers can obscure the tags. Motorists have been forced to juggle the license tags around in order to accommodate other accessorles. If the front tag is dessgned to be car- ried on a bar extending between the headlights the car owner frequently finds that in such a position it s an obstacle to the attaching of a radiator winter protecting device. Automati- cally. and quite unintentionally. he transfers the tag to the pan below the radiator, where it is obscured by the front bumper and placed so low as to be easily splasheq with mud. Rear Plate Dificulties, The same sort of difficulties are en- countered with the rear tag when some accessory is to be added. If the tag is carried on a bar between the sides of the spare tire carrler the addition of another spare obscures the plate when viewed from the side of the road. The motorist himself has to walk directly around to the rear of the car to make sure that his tail light is working. With the license tag and the tail |light partially obscured, therefore, the chances of a rear-end night when the car is parked are greatly increased. Rear bumpers nat- urally add to the difficulty, unless the motorist exerci; are in seeing that right kind for his seldom the case. Obviously it is up to the manufac- turers to “cover these points. The motorist himself is not likely to worry his head about the fact that his plates are obscured, but if pressure is brought to bear upon him by the motor vehicle authorities he will au- tomatically demand that the manu- turers solve the problem. But that will be but one step in collision at | the improvement process. Cheap Plates Defeat Purpose. The motor vehicle departments of the several states owe it to the public to supply better and more readable plates. Tt is not so much that the plates look cheap—which in itself is sufficient reason for a little improve- ment—but that they are cheap, and as such quickly wear out and defeat the purpose for whien they were de- signed. The only legitimate need for cense tags of the present size a! prominence is to enable police offi- cers and the general public to report violations on the part of motorists. only making a mockery ot E first work and motor vehicle regulation to offer licenso tags that are not leglble throughout the entire ear and which will not stand the abuse to be expected in an article used so constantly as the automobile New Idea in Tags. There are too many other matters of importance regarding the improve- ment in license plates without linger- ing over the fact that the car owners, and perhaps the car designers, should have a say the matter of using proper color schemes. A development, for instance, which may automatically cover this point and offer a new idea in plates is the work now being done with plates in which the numerals are punched out. For this system it More and more bumpers are com-is claimed that the figures are always legible regardless of dust’ or mud, whether in daylight or under the rays of the tail light. The state ing the This plan state, of Connecticut will use letters of the alphabet denote certain sections of the state, thus minimizing numerals and render- licenses eusy to remember. is a distinct advance many ways over the long, bulky plate which, as in the case runs into must’ have a good memory to recall and sinc such figures, uncertain in an emergency it is evi the multi-figure tag is a or at least an dent tha plain source of troubl incentive to accidents because it sim- plifies getting away with vilotions. License tags have gone along for ame 0:d Wi yoars in the becoming wor: plicated and flimsier. change. Motordom has again entered » period of progress, and it is gen- erally predicted that the improvement process will not overlook the matter of revolutlonizing license tags. (Copyright, 1923.) of New York seven looking, more com- 75 A e A Hy 74 % 777 705 . 77 7 DG l 0y ’// ’;// 7% 7 . A 77 Z 724744 ’/,,/,/,,A//’ /r‘., 77 7 7 % 724 7 S /%///'///‘/// 77T, L . BE FINISHED IN TIME .TO USE OVER THE HOLIDAYS AND FIND THEY HAVENT EVEN STARTED ON in 1924 to BALTIMOR in rice J. Davidson, figures. One license by motor, sioner's office. stipulated by | that Davidson while driving. The veteran |1ast April. as memory is w: merely | h%s right arm. G. Cooley, appeared Stump and a Jjury mandamus, but But times erick, D. John Markey, G ONE ARM FOR DRIVING. License Issued Maryland Veteran After Protest. ptember 13 one-armed veteran of the battle of the Argonne, another long fight yesterday, when [iof motorists by local he was granted an automobile driver vehicle The only condition the commissioner was wear an artificial arm Mau- won commis- refused a license he was considered in | capable of driving a machine without His attorney, Charle; before with a writ of the jury and a license again was refused Following the directions of a reso- < lution passed by the recent conven- |question, but in tion of the American Legion at Fred- Judge disagreed commander, "WILLYS - KNIGHT price reduced to %1175 The finest Willys-Knight ever made. Including all im- provements and refinements. We invite your personal inspection. We know of nothing which equals these values: 5-pass. 2-pass. 7-pass. 5-pass. 5-pass. 5-pass. 7-pass. ‘OVERLAND PRICES ALSO GREATLY Touring - Roadster Touring - - - Country Club - Coupe-Seda: Sedan Sedan Now $1175 Now $1175 Now $1325 Now $1635 Now $1550 Now $1795 Now $1995 * All prices.o. b. Toledo. We reserve the right o change prices and specifications without notice The Engine Improves Wi_th Use REDUCED R. McREYNOLDS & SON DISTRIBUTORS 1423, 1425, 1427 L Street N.W. Phone Main 7228 '\ . - OPEN EVENINGS .. ELUDING SPEED TRAPS. Clever Motorist Saved Self From Fine. Since motor vehicle authorities gen- | erally do not favor promiscuous fining sheriffs there can be no harm in relating the story of how a clever driver saved himself a shaking down. There was a speed trap along a nd Warren S. Lloyd, adjutant, ap- | peared before Gov. Ritchie to protect | against the injustice being done to the ex-soldier, who was deemed capable of driving a car. The governor expressed an interest in the case and promised to look into the the meantime the commissioner decided to issue the license. prompt TR v e . i main highway where speeds of thirty miles an hour or more were not con- sidered dangerous or unltawful the township had a fifteen-mile limit and an empty treasury. Something had to be done. As usual the town officials decided on the motorist as the handiest goat. The unsuspecting motorist chanced upon the first sentry of the speed trap at a speed of forty miles per. sentry thought he had som money and phoned ahead to his part- ner to be ready to nab the speeder. But a member of the local automobile club happened along at the same time. He shouted to the speeding driver to cut down and whispered the significant words “speed trap.” The motorist came to Within seeing distance of the second séntry, came along to a standstill, dropped intq low #nd snalled to the finish. His average was about eight miles per. The second sentry is still looking for the speed artist he was told to catch. Star Car Now available for delivery But | Pressure Brought BY THEODORE P. NOYES. The Commissioners of the District of Columbia are to be congratulated on their stand on the one-way street proposition for this city. Although pressure has been brought to bear on them to discard this type of street, they have, after carefully consider- ing the matter, decided to retain one- way traffic on the streets now desig- nated. From a modern viewpoint it is diffi- cult to see logical objections to one- way streets in any city the size of Washington. Five years ago they | | were perhaps unnecessary, but with the steady increase in traffic and volume of automobiles, one-way streets are as necessary as traffic offi- cers to direct motors at busy inter- sections. Reasons for Opposition. In order to discuss the matter from all angles the following objections may be set down as the principal rea- sons given for abolishment by the opponents of the plan. The merchants object to one-way streets because they say that access to their stores s blocked on account of lack of parking space. Certain automobile operators claim that the one-way idea causes con- fusion because drivers are not famillar with the plan and drive the wrong way rese street Pedestrians im that walking is made all the more hazardous by c being operated on onesway streets The merchants also claim that rush hour traffic jams southbound streets in the morning and northhound at night, leaving the others practically empty. These.. as ' far as 1s known, form the. principal ammunition of the op- ponents of one-way streets. There are probably other reasons why some individual does not want them, but they have not been given publicity. Parking for Shopping. Taking up the first objection, that of the merchants regarding parking for shopping: Motorists are certainly in the same to park on one-way streets are_on the two-way thor- What difference is there? There is the same amount of space, cars can park on each side of the | street, and besides that, can pa with the minimum of confusion to other motorists, on account of traffic moving only in one direction. This parking situation, which has been offered as one of strongest objections, ix, in the final analysis, one of the weakest. |~ Automobile operators whe find one- | way streets difficult to understand | and confusing showia never be al- |lowed at the wheel of a car. They are just as Ifkely to be unable to understand a gear shift or the brake construction and in this way cause many accidents. Sympathy for Tedestrian. Every sympathy should be | position as they oughfar tended the pedestrian who has cross intersections in the hea 7 Durant’s sensational low-priced car —-More than 120,000 delivered to individual purchasers Commissioners Congratulated on Deci- ! sion to Retain Single Traffic, Despite to Bear on Them. traffic, but one of the hardest things for proponents of the plan to un- derstand .is why it is more dificult for a pedeptrlan to cross the street when he only has to look one way for traffic instead ov two. Those who claim that rush-hour traffic shows up the deficlencles of one-way streets might think back & bit and consider what rush-hour traffic involved before the change. Is it logical to assume-that more traffic could travel in a given Girec- tion single file, with frequent delays, than two, or perhaps three abreas with no delays? That is the situ: tion with one-way streets. They do away with much of the former con- gestion in morning and afternoon. Old Plan Stalled Cars. Even opponets of the plan can casily remember when they were stalled, single-file, a block behind the leading car. Does this happen on onc-way streets? It does not. TraMg moves freely and it is safe to sa% that two one-way streets, in opposite directions, can handle almost double the trafic that two two-way streets can in a given time. However, aside from all these things one-way streets in big citles have been found to be the solutiow of much traffic hysteria. There {8 no city comparable in size to Washing- ton that does not route much of its c in this way. hington's thoroughfares are probably as wide or wider than mest cities, but that-fact does not lessen the necessity for one-way traffic. In two-way traffic cars try to crowd by each other to the peril of on-coming dri With one-way streets this situation is done away with, there is no danger in passing another car or having a head-on collision. Modern Regulations. hington must keep up with the in traffic regulation. The Com- ners and the police have shown disposition in putting into effect the gratifying change from obsolete two-way streets to modern one-way streets. Washington motorists and resi- dents and merchants should adjust themselves to, the new order of things with the littlest possible de~ lay. One-way strects as a partial so- lution of traffic problems have proved themselves in every city in the coun- try. To abolish them would be & five-year step backward. Change Created Confusion. That there has been confusion on account of the re-routing of 13th and 13th streets is admitted. Motor- ists will undoubtedtly take a short time to gct used to it. But it seems perfectly simple to realize that now you should go south on 13th street nstead of north and north on 12th street instead of south. Now that the change has been adopted every effort should be made avoid this confusion. Police should be on the job to warm motor- ists who try to drive to the wrong way, and motorists should see to it that they do evervthing in their power to contribute to the friction- less moving of traffic through the cit Worth the Money Increased production has made it possible to catch up with back orders after a year’s effort. You can now get a STAR CAR without DELAY. 900000000009 All the Latest Model URANTS Now On Display at Our Show Rooms .- Immediate Deliveries “Just a Real + Good Car” Open Evenings and Sundays Distributors: Durant and Star Cars 1128-1130 Connecticut Avenue HARPER MOTOR CO., Inc.