Evening Star Newspaper, June 8, 1924, Page 59

Drivers Urged to Attend Safety | Conference to Block Bad Laws Absurdities in Motor Vehicle Regulation Loom As Real Root of Traffic Troubles, Says Expert. Auto Touring Opportunities Declared Finest on Record A. A. A. Bureau Cites Diversity of Routes Offered and Accommodations Available. 1,850 Camps Ready—Gas Is Cheaper. BY WILLIAM ULLMAN. Recent investigations into such im- portant problems as accident preven- Hon, traffic control and highway mafety are -bringing to light somc strange inconsistencies which have momehow escaped the spotlight for wears. One investigator recently startled his audience by asking those assem- bied if they thought it was sensible *o allow frail women in their sixties t6 operate ten-ton motor trucks. A mpple of laughter went over the zToup, only to be followed instantly by a significant silence. Suddenly they caught his meaning. The motor vehicle license issued to operators in the state where the in vestigator was talking reads: “Thi certifies that the person named below has complied with the provisions of law concerning the licensing of mo- ter vehicle operators and is hereby licensed to operate a motor vehicle on the highways of this state.” Typieal of Licensing. Since the license named no specific make of car, or tvpe, the term “a mo- tor vehicle” is ‘construed to mean “any motor vehicle.” Tt is typical of tho licensing of motor vehicie opera- tors in gemeral, and is by no means cenfined to the particular locality. Just picture for a moment what this means. Here is the law granting Mary Doe the right to drive « ten-ton track should she feel inclined to do sn. Here is John Doe privilezed to drive any automobile. resardless of whether it is safe or unsafe. The inconsis the oxperts. are too numerous t r of de- railed discussion of any B stage of the investigation iast now is interested p discovering how lax and whole situation is. Wh “leariy fixed in the public mind folt that there will be some rat wurprising action. all calculated to result in important changes ior the better. A number of experts—are nothing xhort of alarmed over the present in- consistency in traffic regulations at congested points. It iz pointed out that while regulations are heing de- aizned with the idea of saving human 1ife automobilists are being urged to hurry at crossings. Yet hurrying is reeognized to be inimical to the basic rules of safety Walking Speed Factor. The speed at which the human be- Ing can travel is definitely limited. which means that in all tlon allowance should be m fact that a pedestrian can 0 quickly and uo qu 3 setting out anicker than he is rally the same as forcing h in front of a movinz strect despite the fact that th traffic regulation is recognized, mobiles are running at higher and higher speeds at crossings, being en- couraged to do so in the speeding up vehicular traffic. As oné expert points out, the use of talking safety while city appears to be interested prim ily In keeping the strects from be congested? Every one seems to be working on the assumption that there is some- thing particularly dangerous about vehicular congestion. whereas the facts show that most lives are lost where vehicles are at liberty to run along about as they pica There secms to be something about the whole business. Lift Driving Restrietion. Take it from another angic. The easualty insurers recently revised their rules and regulations so as to eliminate the necessity of restr inconsistent | public liability and property damage coverage to a specific driver. with in- dorsement if others were permitted to drive the car. Obviously this pre- vented a lot of motorists from allow- ing any Tom, Dick or Harry to run their machin and it is only a mat- ter of noting that insurance rates were reduced to see that this precau- tionary coverage helped to cut down the number of accidents. It is argued by many that the insurers should have kept the lid down now that they had started something worth whi There is something rather startling in the faect that the law allows anv- one who claims he can drive onc par- ticular car to take the wheel of any car and that the insurers will indem- nify for any losses which such a driver may entail when he has bor- rowed, with permission, some car upon which insurance has been writ- ten. ‘The alarming increase in automo- bile accidents and fatalities through- out the country is not so alarming when one recalls that persons who | have never demonstrated their ability | to arive cars can operate their ma chines, or machines owned others in states where drivers have been ex amined and where cop! 4t the wheel expect a ce: egree of abil- |ity to be displaved by those at the wheel of other car. Here is an inconsistency that is now receiving serious attention Privilege of Tranxient. The man who hails from a state where examinations are not the rule, or from a section of the continent where the holding of an operator's license is not required by law, |.-alur ileged to drive for a limited period State where licenses and examin- ations are required of local drivers. If he has permission of the owner he is privileged to drive a car that does not belong to him. But, in spite of leniency. allowed to ve a locally vehicle un- he first takes an examination and obtains a license! From the standpoint of safety, what difference does it make whether an unexamined driver happens to be driv- car with forei a local one? There is still the likeli hood that an incompetent- person is at the wheel of an autom 1e As one man has put it. accident pre- vention and traffic regulation make good topics for conversation. All dis- Cussions to the contrary notwith- standing, these subjects are not being taken serious Taking Own Hazards. What, for example, does it mean when a highway department posts the warning, “Road under repair. Travel at vour own risk”’? Some say that this is a clear statement of the fact that the state is more inerested in | repairi a road than in saving a traffic would be re- reuted over detou Thi= is pu it straight from the shoulder.” The fairer view of the matter is that the whole of motordom bas been so muddled with inconsist- encies that even the highway depart- ments are guilty of inadvertently contributing to the menace of high- way hazards. The greatest inconsistency of all, many contend. is the present apathy toward the subject. The facts are no secret, vet far too many officials are proceeding on the assumption that we must look to some hidden cause of present problems. The general motoring public could do motoring a great service by at- tending the many traffic and safety councils being held around the coun- try and by helping to focus atten- tion upen these inconsistencies—the real root of the trouble. | (Copyright. 1924.) s GAME FOR TROUBLE HUNTERS You can telt how far an automobile jump Dby letting in_the clutch | will but only trouble hunters abruptly, do it. Hupmobile n license plate or | ( MOST AUTO CRASHES OCCUR IN DAYLIGHT Accident Map Shows Straight Roads More Dangerous Than Curves and Grades. | BALTIMORE, June T.—Twice aa many automobile accidents occurred | during daylight in 1923 as in the night hours. Almost twice as many of these same accidents occurred on straight highways as en curved or winding highwa The accident map of the state roads commission jost tabulated shows this result, acoord- ing to Harry D. Williar, assistant chief engineer of the commission. Mr. Williar inaugurated the acci- dent map two years ago. With the aid of the map he was the first engi- neer to develop the theory that the straight road is the most dangerous. His theory drew comment from sei~ entific papers all over the country. There were 438 a Genuine balloon tires—standard cquipment on passenger cars. TREW MOTOR CO. S satat. 220 T of those in Baltimore and in incor- | highways, 158 on curves, 14 on porated towns. Of this number 292 | grades, 1 on detour, 56 at highway occurred in_daylicht and:.146 in the |intersections and % at raflroad cross- darkness. There were 217 on straight | ings. Those at railroad crossings, on may be Included in curves. grades and at intersecting highways either of the EToup oecurring on straight roads or Now 1s the time to be glad you own an automobile and that you are one of the fortunate many who know the thrill of the open road and the pul- sating motor. This is the message being broad- cast by the touring and transporta- tion bureau of the American Automo- bile Association, following an ex- haustive study of the touring p bilities of the 1924 season. According to the A. A. A. bureau, the coming secason is unique in a number of ‘respects, not the least of which is the fact that touring facili- ties have been stimulated by the rad- ical increase in motorists themselves. It is pointed out that, as a direct con- sequence of a record-breaking na- tional _registration, motorists will this vear have available a record type of touring service. Propositions for Owners. “There was never a better time to own an automobile” the A A. A, re- | port reads. “Approximately 65,000 | miles of new roadway have been con- | structed within the past two years. Dealers’ service extends to every hamlet, so that the tourist necd never be concerned over the functioning of his faithful steed. Routes are care- fully marked throughout the country. “In addition, a, large proportion of road building is being accomplished without the nuisance of detours. ix hundred and fifty new and well equipped motor camps will be added before the season is under way, bring- ing the total to 1,850. Gas is cheaper than during several previous touring scasons. Automobile club service has Dbeen improved and developed through the addition of thousands of new members, as well as by the recent consolidation of the old A. A. A. with {the N. M. A. Hardships Crossing . S. “While much has been done 1o fa- | cilitate more extensivy touring so | that more motorists |selves of the vari tion centers of the country, a from the Atlantic to the Pacifie b motor car is still something of a sporting _proposition. _Those who want luxory and ease on a transcon- tinental trip should take a de luxe train, for it differs from a toar of the Adirondacks or any of the many Jor Economical Transportation drives over the paved roads of the northeastern part of fhe Unitod States. You must cheerfully put np with ‘some unpleasantness as w31 would on a hunting trip in the wood of Maine Yet, according to Senator Jone who recently drove with h i Washington, D. ¢ tate and return, the tour i oughly possible. He said, 'If 1 cr drive across the country and b again, any onc who can steer a can do the same thing’' The or thing which might make a coast-t coast tour arduovs now weuld lack of proper cquipment and us a car unfitted for hard travel, Roads Vary With Climate. “In using the transcontinent whether working from ea to west, west to east, or working ca or west from any midway paint, it Important to keep in mind the varia tion in climatic and therefore roar Tourists from now or t be concerned over the mu conditions encountered in the natura | dirt road sections in the Rockies an: the middle western states during th prin, but the natter of temperatur land clir should be considered the tour is 1o be as nearly ideal s possible. “It is safe to sax that the Nation:i Old Trails road. which goes through Wheeling, Indianapolis, St. Loui Santa Fe. Flagstafl and Needles, or the Lincoln Highway through Pitts burgh, Chicago Heights, Omaha, enne, ‘Salt Lake City and Reno, for most part are the best central rout to follow during June, or for return ing east later in the fall, while thr Yellowstone Trall. which _ passc through Chicago. Milwaukee, St. Pau! Minneapolis, Fallon, Mont.: Missoula Tdaho and Spokane. and the Nationa Parks Highway via La Cro s Minneapolis, Fargn, N. Dak . and then over practically the |same course as the Yellowstone Tra arc the two best northern routes ar most_desirable during Jul ugust, when cxtreme heat in the arid country farther h would i very disagrecable Park Cireuit Planned | or tourists who are out for rea { pleasure. particularly those startin- from the central west, there planned a national park-to-park cir cuit _highway., which starts from (Continued on Seventh Pazc.) ‘Buy TRANSPORTATION-— Not Merely a Car! Drive Shaft and Pinion. The pinion (that is, the gear) is one piece with the shaft, the whole being dmg-fupd. 314 per cent nickel steel, case-hardened and double heat-treated, unusually heavy. Each pinion is checked for uni- form hardnessbythe Rockwellmethod. The shaft revolves in two chrome nickel steel taper roller bearings. Common construction calls for only a pinion mounted on a tapered shaft— both of ordinary straight carbon steel —with merely case-hardened bearings instead of chrome nickel steel. tion 2;..0 -hat the price of the car itself is only one factor of that cost. They have learned that including purchase price, operating cost, and maintenance expense, Chevrolets average the lowest cost per mile of any car made, at any price. Why is it so many buyers of asecond car choose Chevrolet? Experience has made them wise. They have learned that the average cost per mile is the item of greatest importance .in motor transporta- Quality at Lowest Cost Vital Factors That Make A Car Cost Less to Keep Everyone knows what Hupmobile is They show the finer, costlier practices and what it does—the finer construc- - of Hupmobile manufacturing—and tion of Hupmobile parts is one of . you can contrast with them the lesser the vital reasons why it is what it is Practices which frequently obtain. S:H ) are —then mn the t h”flun! the l-ih:;nl::?e st type, what the common practice is. Know whether your next car is a Displays—one of which is a feature' product of the highest grade constrac-- in our salesroom. tion, or the other kind. STERRETT & FLEMING, Inc. ™ Champlain St. and Kalorama Road ‘Columbia 5050 Branch Salesroom, 1223 Conn,.Ave. The Chevrolet owner also enjoys the com- fort, convemgnlc!e; andsansfactmn of owning a modern, -equip| quality car in which his whole am y can take pride. Superior Touring Delamxs Soperior4-PamengerCoupe - $725 SeperiorCommercial Chamis 3410 mufi,w..fi SuperiorSedmn - = = = + 795 UnilityExpressTrock Chassis 550 Prices f. o b. Flint, Michigan See the Nearest Chevrolet Dealer