Evening Star Newspaper, August 9, 1925, Page 53

STATES DIFFER ON TESTS FOR LICENSING MOTORISTS Many Require No Examinations of New| Drivers—System Traffic ! BY WILLIAM ULLMAN. Can unfit and undesirable automo. bile drivers be weeded out by the driv ing test s is a question on the minds of police authorities and motor ve » officials, if not the entire motor blic, and some very definite de- Iready have been reached Connecticut of. most consistent automobile driving test, but somethigg akin to alarm is felt throughout the State as a result of the di ry that 3.403 persons had their driving rights suspended during the first half of the present year Only seven States and the District of Columbia require the examination of non-paid operators. These are Con necticut and, Ma Michigar w Hampshire, New . and Pennsylvania. Vermont, how requires an examination for first ense. while Delawar York. Rhode ton and West by law to exar ask for proof o so frequently cisions has been one the pplicants or to mpetency, and do Law. Thirty-three Stat ake absolutely no provisions whatsoever for the ex amination of non-paid drivers. In the face of this clear-cut division of opin fon and pronounced unpopularity of the driving test or examination, two general schools of thought have de. veloped Those in favor of an examination for all operators point to the unpopu larity of the driving test as having an important bearing upon there being 22,000 fatal serfous personal injury ! streets and highways 1923, official figures upon tional Conference on § way Safety bases its conclusions. Those opposed to examination system point to the failure of exam ination States in curbing accidents and to such admissions of inability to weed out the unfit as just revealed in Connecticut In an effort to determine what could be learned from testing drivers F. A Moss, staff psychologist of the United States Bureau of Public Personnel Ad ministration, has just completed a series of standardized tests for auto- mobile drivers. These were divided into eight general tests, which, in turn, were composed of numerous individ- ual tests. One of these general tests was a very accurate method of mes uring the applicant’s ‘‘reaction time™ to the signal stop. It was shown that the average reaction time for the va- rious groups of persons tested was ap- proximately half a second, though there were some reaction time as high as one and one-half seconds. Hasty conclusions drawn from this No Examination the administrators of the | Fails to Cut Down Accidents. particular test lead to the belief that | the quicker a driver acts in stepping on the brakes the more competent he is as a driver, but experienced drivers «nd motor vehicle officials know bet ter. This may explain why there is | no landslide in favor of driving tests and examination, While Dr. Moss has gone into the matter more thoroughly perhaps than it ever has been gone into befor does mot hold that the stan | tests are the answer to the a question. He cautions _specifically against drawing any sweeping conclu- sions from whatever facts he has re- vealed In his opinion, the human side of iriving has been | neglected he | says, ¢ in_driving | automoblles must come primarily from giving attention to the human factor rather than to mechanical thing: Those who have stu 1 Dr. Mos: paper carefully lean to the opinion | that a_standardized test for drive { will be considered upplement but these tests could nc be considered as absolute methods of keeping the unfit from the wheel 5 clearly demonstrated by | erated report drawn from the | to the effect that woman better than men. All the Moss investigation showed was | that “the average reaction time of three college women was 56-100 of a second as compared with 59-100 of a second for men from the same in- | stitution. This might be taken by nany a practical psychologist as evi dence that women are too impulsive and that they skid more in driving they are too quick to lock | | | | | drivers are the facts bearing upon en’s role in these earnest studies were subjected to too. sweeping con. | clusions, which Dr. Moss specifically cautioned against, many traffic officers { have felt obliged to declare that in | every phase of automobile driving women are inferior to men, despite | the 't there are some excellent woman drivers, and many who are better than the male average. © No Rating Agreement. Clearly, there is no agreement as to how drivers can be rated as to their undesirability. A bill provid ing for the licensing of all Illinois | drivers as a means of weeding out the unfit failed to pass the House, and Illinois is still among the great majority of States which assume that every one’s a driver until he's proven |to be unfit. This often is a costly way to ‘“‘examine” operators, since it means the State must wait until the operator is involved in an accident or a serious violation before suitable | | action can be taken against him. Prominent motor vehicle authorities who are not in favor of testing driv- THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, AUGUST 9, 1925 DOWN THE ROAD—It’s Enough to Irritate Any Motorist. WHEN YOU COME OUT AND FIND YOUR CAR HEMMED IN To THE CURB BY A BIG TRUCK AND NO DRIVER IN SIGHT— s FUORMITUR MOVED AND STCRED PART ests primeval,” the call of nature—Maine, sistible welcome. spects unique, especially | imparting a grand to the scene. is dotted [] suggest the “Evangeline.” The Automobile Club of point to the inherent| weaknesses in even the most ad- vanced of tests. In the Moss test, for instance, the applicant is asked 50 questions bearing upon driving prob lems. Four suggested answers are printed with each question, and the applicant is asked to select the cor- rect one. In New Jersey they have sking such questions for years any who consider the Moss tes will recall the reply made by a wom- an applicant when asked which car had the right of way at a street in- tersection. Her reply was, “The one that gets there first.” Any observer who stands on any street corner anywhere will note that there was as much truth as humor in_her answer. Obviously the majority of States ers, however, Entertainment features, arranged by R.'J. Murphy, chairman of the en- tertainment committee, include songs and dances by Miss Leona Davis, Miss Ethel Adrian and Miss Gertrude Clifton. AUTO TRADE ASSOCIATION MEETS TOMORROW NIGHT In cleaning Talk on Lubrication and Song and Dance Entertainment Are Scheduled. The monthly meeting of the Wash- ington Automotive Trade Assoclation, which was postponed last week, will be held tomorrow night at the City Club. E. F. Hallock, manager of the manufacturers’ division of the Vacuum Oil Co. of New York, will talk on “Lubrication from the Marketing and Technical Standpoint.” (Continued on Sixth Page.) Cleaning Spark Plugs. be sure to adjust replacing the plug in the engine. taking the plug apart one is apt to destroy the original adjustment. HUDSON COACH takes the motorist through a descriptive tour, as follows Starts from Boston. leads first to historic H., a ton | mouth, into the & Ogunquit to the town of “Just beyond Wells a off to Kennebunkport, a It has a beach North—that makes an “After leaving Wells, its wate: | 1sland: ered more a two-part spark plug the points before In mer visitors | dents. or run to Portland Springs with scores of lakes, The Maine landscape is 1n many re along coast, where the mountains come down to the sea in great cliffs and crags, nd rugged beauty In the interior the State their activities, and in the valleys and foot- hills there are pastoral scenes that Arcadia of Longfellow’s America Maine “Our tour of Maine starts from Bos. thence runs along the coast through ells. 1d branches 1 farther « there is a road to Old Orchard B which in one respect presents a cl analogy to Ormond Beach in Florid: the only one ideal in Harpswell and Merryconag Sou th varying from the small rock, barely large enough for a single cot- | tage, to islands four miles in length, ach with its little community of Sum all-year-round “On leaving Portland for the 30-mile run through East Deering, North Deering. we the | ach, | motor track at low tide, and wonderful time has been made on the beautiful five- mile stretch of this natural speedway. proceed Vaughn Bridge to Portland, the For- est City, at the head of one of the the world resi- SCENIC BEAUTY OF MAINE LURES MOTOR TOURISTS Pi(:turésque Lakes, Crags and Ocean Meet on Route Outlined by Auto- mobile Club of America. To motorists svho would leave the West Falmouth, Gray landscaped paths of ordinary travel and experience the thrills of the “for- | exhilaration of jagged peaks and the serenity of sil ery lakes and answer the perennial the State of a thousand allurements, extends an irre- | Sabbath Day Lake to Poland situated on a broad pla by terraced foothills. “The outlook from the top of Ricker |HM is superb—a beautiful country of forest, lake and farm, wit} the peaks of the Presidential Range on the horlzgn, sometimes a gray-b in the distance or snow-capped in the Spring and Fall. *“A visit to th ring where we known Poland water gushes forth and to the bottling house where the water is prepared for shipment all over the world is very interesting. “On the route to Belgrade Lakes our next des e turn due east to Danville yugh the cits of Auburn and cross the bridge over 0scoggin to Lewiston. Lewis may be seen on the left while the bridge. Thence through t h to Winthroy t apple coun th on | the cente |try. About 19 m and_just bef: of Belgrade views in all D before our eye a ridge. one of the finest ngland lies e reach th Chain of Seven Lakes. [the hunting and trading coun Kennebec nd at various places in the round _ stone hearths are to be seen, where the coun. cil fires of aborigines were wont to ba The Pilgrim Fathers ed_ex tensively with these Indians. The early records show that the colonists were in debt to their London agents {to the extent of some £1,800, and that under the Miles Standish, John Alden and Wil 1 Brewster this debt was paid o means of the profits from the fun Kennebec Indian, via on Moosehead Lake, we run to Guil ford, the center of the agricultural re. glon which borders the Piscataq | River: thence west to Abbot on gh (Continue 1250 Freight and Tax Extra “Delivered Price, $1,345.00” f “This is my idea of a fine motor car’ All talk about the new 1926 Chandler reveals a warmth of enthusiasm seldom encountered in discussions of automobiles. b People who previously owned higher priced cars—people who previously owned lower priced cars—people who perhaps never before considered Chandler are today swelling Chandler sales. The fine ease of handling— quiet, effortless shifting of gears— smoothness—the great mountain- taming power of its Pikes Peak Motor—everything about the car makes the owner glad he owns it! Only Hudson Can Build It Being the world’s largest builders of 6-cylinder cars permits Hudson togive the greatest price advantage, with the finest quality in Hudson history. Everywhere it is called “the World’s Greatest Buy” because it is universally acknowledged that no car gives like quality, reliability, performance and fine appearance within hundreds of dollars of its price. And Hudson economy, which the praise of a vast ownership has made famous, consists not onlfi in the important first cost savings, but also in the way Hudsons retain their new car qualities and performance in long service with little need for mechanical attention. The public is impressed with Chandler’s new beauty—won to admiration by the style and good taste of its design. People are singling it out on the streets with admiring eyes —rec- ognizing and remembering it by its distinctive new radiator design. New 1926 CHANDLER THE CHANDLER MOTOR CAR COMPANY v+ CLEVELAND David S. Hendrick Dealer 1012 14th St. N.W. For those who desire, special arrangements have been made Hudson-Essex World’s Largest Selling 6-Cylinder Cars $ $ Lambert-Hudson Motors Co. R gy T Franklin 7700 Neumeyer Motor Company ASSOCIATE DEALER Salesroom Service Station 1823 14th Street North 7522 211 B St. N.W. Frank. 7690 DEALERS— Raly Chance, Bowling Green, Va. g Baker, Crosby & Cowherd, Columbia, Va. Culpeper Sales & Service Co., Culpeper, Va. Hargrave & Lewis, West Point, Va. e ‘Winchester-Hudson Company, Winchester, Va. University Hudson Motors Company, Char- A'C. w lottesville, Va. C. W. Hubbard & Son, White Stone, Va. White House Service Station, Hyattsville, Md. Hamner Motor Company, Scottsville, Va. Perry, Boswell, Mt. Rainier, Md. Herbert J. Fry, Leesburg, Va. Service Statio 633 Mass, Ave. N.W. Lindsey Motor Company, Alexandria, Va. Bates Brothers, Orange, Va. Dent’s Garage, Great Mills, Md. Robert V. Norris, La Plata, Md. Auto Si Company, Saluda, Va. Maribore Motor Company, Marlboro, Md. W. V. Miller, Surratsville, Md. Universal Service Station, Front Royal, Va, . Earle K. Trone, Clarendon, Va. Brosius Brothers & Gormley, Rockville, Md. ‘Woodstock Garage, Woodstock, V 'w Market Motor Co., ., New Market, V. W. Earl Dungan, Callao, Va. A Bruce, Inc., Greenwood and Crozet, Va.