Evening Star Newspaper, January 20, 1929, Page 61

WHALEN WILL ASK JAY WALKING LAW New York Believes Time Is Ripe to Adopt Pedestrian Ordinance. BY JOHN WALKER HARRINGTON. Out of the new plan of traffic regu- lation announced last week by Police Commissioner Grover A. Whalen of New York will be evolved rules for the stricter control of pedestrian traffic— the suppression of the gaping jaywalker. At a traffic conference in Washington only a few days ago Ernest F. Goodrich, an engineer, said that in many respects the regulation of traffic was less devel- oped in New York than in many other cities, especially the movements of the walking public. There is, for instance, no ordinance under which a citizen can be punished for erossing thorougfares in the middle of blocks or risking his life by plunging into a stream of moving .vehicles. “Beating the lights” is one of the fa- vorite amusements of New Yorkers. It is now believed that the time is ripe for putting footfarers under an ordinance for their own protection. After a conference with Chief Magistrate ‘William MecAdoo last Tuesday night Mr. Whalen decided to ask the Mu- nicipal Assembly to enact such a meas- ure, which will be drafted by the mag- istrate himself. Balk at Ordinance. ‘There have been several efforts to pass an anti-jaywalking ordinance with teeth in it, but so far both the City Legislature and the police have hesi- tated to sponsor it, because they felt that the time was not rips. Mayor Walker, at the recent dedication of York avenue, when a new traffic signal system was put into commission, said he hoped lights would be sufficient to regulate pedestrian traffic without re- course of drastic penalties The reasons for New York not deal- ing summarily with the jaywalker as some other large municipalities do are not “political.” as some critics say. ‘They spring from the elements of her traffic problem itself—a problem differ- ent from that in any other community in "this country. The peculiar shape of Manhattan Island, where there is the greatest congestion, and the diverse na- ture of the population make pedestrian control unusually difficult. As Commissioner Whalen very frankly said last week, there have been certain weak points in the existing rules which have prevented as strict a control of the footfarers in practice as would seem possible in theory. The first thing to do before the enactment of new legislation is to make it physically possible for the pedestrian to have an even break with the vehicular traffic. Life-Saving Is First. ‘The prime object of an anti-jaywalk- ing ordinance is to keep the people Virginia Town Gets Big Thrill on Seeing Its First Automobile FREELING, Va. (#).—Cutter Creek, isolated Virginia-Kentucky border set- tlement, has seen its first automobile, Carter McFall drove the car, attracting great attention in the hamlet. e GIVING HIKERS LIFT DANGEROUS AT BORDER Warning Is Issued to Motorists After Driver Is Fined on Liquor Charge. Picking up roadside “thumbers” is a dangerous practice in any part of the country, but it is liable to cause more than usual grief at an International bor- der, according to the American Auto- mobile Association, which has just been successful in having the Government remit a $100 fine to a car owner. The national motoring body says that a Massachusetts motorist saw no harm in giving a lift to two youngsters near the Canadian border, but after allow- ing them to alight, a customs officer witnessed the incident and investigated. Moreover, a pint of ale was found on one of the “hitch hikers.” The upshot of the affair was that the car owner was immediately penalized to the extent of $100 for discharging a passenger with liquor before reporting at the first United States customs office. Acting in his behalf and supported by afdavits, the American Automobile Association interceded in behalf of the innocent motorist, and Government red tape was unwound to allow a refund. The A. A. A. says, however, that the incident has dealt a body blow to hitch- hiking in that vicinity and should serve as a national warning. make possible the enforcement of this form of control with the men which our department could reasonably devote to n®” ‘The views of the police department. are those of the previous regime, not those of Mr. Whalen, as these confer- ences were held before the New Year. It appears on the face of things that the left turn is one of the engineering reasons, “an exceptional local condi- tion,” which have weighed against the whole-souled co-operation of the gen- eral public. Although the motorists of New York, as a class, give the pedestrians a fair opportunity to get across when the red light shows, some are inclined to rush on before the green light appears. There is an interval or dark period of five seconds between the two signals, but sometimes this is disregarded. Pedestrians are caught in midcourse and are often marooned between two streams of traffic in the middle of the street, where they are likely to be side- swiped in both directions. Sometimes the “Go” signal is flashed while there are walkers still on the crossing. Oc- casionally an unwary citizen is badly bumped or thrown to the ground by a collision with automobile fenders. from being killed or injured; the re- lief of traffic congestion is important, yet secondary to life-saving. “There are three elements in any effective system of pedestrian control,” sald Julien H. Harvey, resident man- ager of the National Safety Council, yesterday. “They are engineering, edu- cation and enforcement. These may.be compared to the three sides of an equi- lateral triangle—they are of equal im- “It stands to reason, however, that it is not fair to the public to expect it to comply with re;uhtiom ‘without mak- hw possible for them to obey them ‘without - great hardship. ‘The cities Rencling of {0 rkiie are those which . are whic! baye first overcome the physical difficul- ties, which, as I understand it, the po- ll':edeommlnlon here is now endeavoring 0. “If the pedestrian feels that motor traffic has the preference over him, and that a little common sense would make things equal, if applied, he is likely to be deflant and to take risks.” Having provided a place where pedestrians can cross without waiting an un-easonably long time, a city can then proceed with & campaign of education. Police and Citizens Co-operate. “In some cities this has been done in & perfectly good-natured way, and new regulations have been put into practice by the friendly co-operation of police and public. “After all excuses for the violation of anti-jaywalking rules have been nulli- fied by engineering skill, the majority of a population can be soon induced to observe the signals and the rules after & little instruction and publicity. + _“Rigid enforcement may then be ap- plied to bring into line those persons who are careless, unruly or stubborn. Only a few fines and penalities seem to be necessary, however, in communities where the other two elements of the problem have been attended to by the suthorities.” One of the most serious drawbacks. of fthe present system of traffic control in New York City, so far as the pedestrian is concerned, is the left turn motorists are permitted to make. The automo- bilist, for that matter, can turn either to the right or left in traffic, in manv sections of this city. In the scheme of ‘things trafic halts when a red light 1s shown, and goes forward when the green appears, Cut Off Pedestrians. Pedestrians are then supposed to have the chance to cross safely to the other side between the walls of the parted Red Sea of automobiles. But do they have it? They certainly do not, Currents of traffic in many places set in from the right and left, cut off the stream of pedestrians at the will of drivers and make them scamper in all directions. Automobiles are not only crossing the cleared street at right angles, but they are edging in on -he foot passenger from the right and left, Kh{;nx him only a grudging leave to exist. In the traffic plan Mr. Whalen will put into effect in the congested theater district these turns will be abolished. In one-way streets especially, as ‘he commissioner said {o this writer, it is very hard for the walkers to find any chance to cross the thoroughfares on account of the turns. Therefore in the tests now to be made extra policemen will be stationed at corners who will see that there is free passage for pedestrians. Moreover, 10 feet back from the curb, on the side- walks, there will be details of police, ‘who will see to it that the public crosses quickly when the way is open and :hat no citizens loiter on the corners and thus obstruct the stream of those who wish to pass Ceriain cities have greatly lessened congestion by abolishing the left turn, adopting this provision from “the model municipal traffic _ordinance, drafted by a committee of traffic ex- perts under the direction of the Na- tional Conference on Street and High- way Safety. Uniformity Is Sought. ‘The purpose of this document is to Akt the regulations of all cities uni- form, so that motorists traveling long distances will not be inconvenienced or embarrassed by varying traffic rules as they pass from city to city. Only a few days since the committee on street traffic of the Merchants' As- sociation of New York, which has been making a study of *he congestion situa- tion here, annourced it was in favor of all the provisions of the model ordi- nance except those requiring the con- trol of pedestrians and the elimination of left turns when red lights were showing. & “The police officials,” the report reads, “are convinced that, while the public in this city is less hostile to pedestrian control than formerly, it has not as yet reached the point where it would give sufficient co-operation to THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D; C; FJANUARY 20, 1929—PART 4. RLES FOR SUGEES N DRING LISTED | Care in Watching Safety and Knowing Machine Are Cited. BY H. CLIFFORD BROKAW, Automobile Technical Adviser. It would seem like carrying coals to | Newcastle for one to discuss the matter of learning to drive an automobile, With a car in almost every family and many ple about who do not own automobiles but can operate one, it would be easy to conclude that prac- tically everybody can now drive a car. However, it is asserted that during every 24 hours in the United States about 6,000 adolescent young people de- velop into maturity. Back of them is a vast army of children growing Into adolescence. And that is not all. There are thou- sands of adults who never have learned to drive an automobile who will buy cars-in 1929 and must learn to operate them. There are also thousands of people who now own cars and are ac- tually using them on crowded highways who aré far from being good drivers. Because a person has passed a test and secured a driver's license does not hecessarily mean he or she is a com- petent driver. There is need of more information on this matter of efficiently operating a motor vehicle. Drinks Cost License. It appears that more automobile licenses in New York State are revoked because of driving when in- toxicated than for any other reason. Other practices which get motorists into trouble are reckless driving, speed- ing, inability to read signs, using the wrohg plates and driving by immature youths. Practices related to these items constitute a primary consideration for automobile drivers and are to be avoided. There are numerous generally recognized qualifications for a com- petent driver. It is difficult to say that one is more important than the other. Some would maintain that the first requisite to be listed is that of a gen- eral knowledge of the automobile as a mechanical product. Certainly a per- son must know a good deal about the automobile as a machine. This infor- at & good school, in elementary auto- mobile mechanics. To be a competent driver, one must learn how to drive in addition to know- ing the machine. It is difficult to learn how to operate an automobile by read- ing in 4 book. It is much better to receive personal instruction from some one who knows how to drive. This instruction is usually given by some friend or neighbor or possibly by the | concern selling the automobile. It is suggested by some that a better way - $1,449 Delivered Fully Equipped FFORTLESS steering . . s Thousands of “400” owners will tell you that to them driving is never tiring. For the Nash *400"”.has “World’s Easiest Driver Control.” IMPORTANT ‘400" FEATURES-— Twin-Igaition motor 12 Aircraft-type spark plugs High compression Houdaille and Lovejoy shock sbsorbers (exclusive Nash mosnting) New double Torsional vi mation can be secured to some extent | by study, but can best be obtained by | receiving instruction, either private or | action . . . quick brake &csponse—thesc are features of the Nash 400" that give new de- light to motoring. Salon Bodies Aluminum alloy pistons (Invar Strats) than this, even, is to go to some rec- ognized automobile school and take driving lessons. Concentration Important. In the early stages of driving a car it is very important that the driver be able to concentrate his faculties on his manipulation of the car. Later he may be able to do a good many things about driving an automobile ‘automatically. He probably would never get to the point, however, when he can be com- pletely oblivious to the fact that he is the responsible director of the ma- chine’s destiny. Taxicab drivers with a vast amount of experience seem to drive almost automatically. Not many drivers attain such an accomplishment. ‘The driver of a car must have plenty of confidence in himself and especially in his ability to meet situations effec- tively as they may arise. This, in turn, | means that the driver must be quick at making up his mind. The automobile driver is frequently getting into situa- tions which require rapid calculations. At such times the only way accidents can be avoided is for rapid calculations to be made and acted upon wisely. A first-class driver will be able to judge the speed of his car, first, in re- lation to the highway over which he is | moving and, second, in relation to the | speed of automobiles coming and going. | Those .who have this sense of speed (are able to apply brakes in an | emergency in plenty of time to avoid disaster. It will be seen from the | points already suggested that steady | merves constitute one of the require- | ments of a competent driver. Safety and Success. | The successful driver must be a safe | driver. He must have an honest de- | sire in his heart to protect the lives of | others as far as it is possible for him |to do so through the use of caution | in his procedure. Something about the rules of the road should be known by the operator of an automobile. He should be able to so direct the machine along the highway that the other oc- cupants of the vehicle, as well as him- | self, will proceed in as much comfort | as_possible. It is especially difficult to drive an automobile at dusk. It seems to be a period following sunset when the road is less easily distinguished than during either the daytime or later at night. At this twilight time the darkness is not sufficient to make the car's lights effective. The best drivers will insure them- selves against skidding dangers by using chains when -necessary and by using extra caution when proceeding along wet streets without chains. The safe driver will know how to drive backward, in addition to frontward, and how to turn around in a com- paratively small space and how to park at the curb, The successful driver also will see to it that his automobile is kept in first-class condition, so that it will respond most _effectively to his driving technique. The principal factor in efficient driving is really a point of view which sees to it that courteous con- sideration is given to both motorists and pedestrians along the highway. (Copyright, 1929, People used to live without trains, doctors, telephones, electric lights or automobiles. Who says they are lux- uries today? Special Six “400” Sedan oftness of clutch nished, a We invite you to test it. Ask us fora Nash **400” to drive. Take it through the severest traffic, up to and away from stop-lights. Try parking in difficult places. 9 Sedans from $970 to $2,462 delivered fully equipped AIM 7O LIFT FULL CROSSING BLAME Motorist Taking Complete| Responsibility at Rail Tracks | Declared Unfair. Legislation designed to lift from the | motorist the full responsibility for grade crossing accidents, which he has been | held to assume under the United States | Supreme Court's interpretation of the | law, is now being sought by the present | Congrms, according to announcement of the legal department of the Ameri- can Motorists’ Association. Bills have already been introduced in the Senate and House by Senator C. C. Dill of Washington and Representative Frank Murphy of Ohio which have as their object the changing of the present law, under which a motorist must not only stop, look and listen at a blind crossing, but must, if necessary, get out of his car and make certain a train is not approaching. The two measures differ in minor respects, but the authors are willing to make such changes as may be necessary to facilitate action. Measures Declared Important. These two measures, of the utmost importance to every motorist in the United States, are now before the judi- clary committees of the Senate and House, and the authors have been un- able to obtain committee action because motorists have not displayed an interest in them. The association has urged its mem- | bers to get behind the two bills, in the | hope that the law may be changed at the earliest possible date. “‘Motorists perhaps do not fully ap- preciate the necessity for a change in the present law,” Thomas J. Keefe, gen- eral manager of the association, de- clared. “The effect of the Supreme Gourt's decision places the entire bur- den of care on a motorist who is com- pelled to cross the track, and his failure to exercise the proper degree of care bars any recovery fér damages against the railroad company. The Supreme Court in the Goodman (Ohio) case held that if a motorist could not get a clear view of the track at a railroad crossing it was incumbent upon him to stop his automobile, alight #nd go over on the track to make certain that a train was ot approaching.” All Danger Not Removed. Authors of the two bills now pending point out that in many instances where the crossing is at a curve a motorist might even take this extreme precau- tion and still be killed by a train, the train approaching between the time he had looked for same and getting back in his automobile and started across the track. “Railroads, excused from legal liabil- ity in such cases,” Mr. Keefe explains, “may become less willing to abolish grade crossings in the future. The as- | the larger cites. | sociation holds no brief for a careless “Worlds Easiest Dri This is a strong claim, but we make it earnestly, and with the firm belief that it is an unvar- ccurate statement of fact. Baltimore Council Rewards 600 Truck; Drivers for Safety | Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, January 19.—Approxi- mately 600 truck drivers of Bnltlmorei received safe drivers' certificates this week at a meeting of the commercial vehicles committee of the Baltimore Safety Council and representatives of concerns owning trucks that have had no_accidents for the last six months. Twenty-seven concerns of the 75 companies entered in the interfleet | safety contest, conducted by the safety bureau, had no accidents of any kind from July 1 to December 31. These companies received certificates of award. The 27 firms employ. about 100 drivers. CITIES FAIL TO BUILD Tourists Complain of Confusion Caused in Finding Way Through Larger Congested Areas. “Why aren't the standard route markers of the United States Highway System more generally erected in cities through which the routes pass?” a cross-continent motorist recently asked the Bureau of Public Roads of the United States Department of Agricul- ture. “I started from the western coast last Summer over one of the United States routes and had no trouble in following the road across the country,” he explained, “except when it crossed There were no mark- ers to indicate when I was on the route or when I was off it. It is through the cities that we motorists are most Hkely to get off the route, cspecially at five- point intersections,” he asserted. Officials of the bureau explained that the route markers in the various States were erected by the State highway de- partments only upon the highways un- der their jurisdiction; that city streets which are connecting links, are under the jurisdiction of municipal authori- ties, and that the erection of the mark- ers within city limits is up to the city | officials. A few cities have recognized this need of the motorist, the bureau says, and have erected the standard markers on | their streets. | Since the standard route markers | and danger and caution signs were | adopted in 1925 for use on the United‘ States Highway System, 28 States have | completed the marking of the system | within their borders and under their | jurisdictions, eight States have marked from 75 to 99 per cent of their roads, | and four States have marked from 50 to 75 per cen motorist who crosses a track without every precdution, but the decision re- quiring a motorist to alight from his automobile and go over on the track, placing the entire burden upon him at such blind crossings, the association be- lieves, is unfa | limits, but, at the same time, give little | SPEED NOT THE ONLY MENACE ON HIGHWAYS Maryland Auto Qo;nmissioner Crit- icizes Drivers Who Are Careless | on Curves and Slippery Roads. Special Dispatch to The St BALTIMORE, January torists who never exceed 19.—Mo- | the speed attention to traffic and weather con- ditions, curves, slippery roads and other dangerous situations on the State highways are as great a menace as the reckless driver,” declared E. Austin Baughman, motor vehicle commissioner, “and are responsible for a needless toll of deaths and injuries.” The motor vehicle law, Commissioner Baughman pointed out, specifies that | the speed of a motor vehicle shall at all times be ‘‘reasonable and proper, having regard to the width of the highway, proximity of intersections, condition of traffic and weather. Ap- proaching _intersections, curves, sharp | turns or hills there is an especial re- quirement for slowness and caution, Commissioner Baughman contends. | A rate of speed that reaches or stays | | just a fraction under the legal maxi- | | mum, without regard to the highway | | surface or condition, is often reckless | |in the extreme, according to Commis- sioner Baughman. “Driving fast on wet pavements re- sults in scores of ‘skids’ every rainy day,” says the commissioner, who adds: These ‘skids’ result in overturned ve- hicles or collisions with other vehicles | or stationary objects off the highway, | when attempts are made to reduce speed upon approaching such hazards or meeting an emergency. “Approaching curves at a dangerous speed where attempts to slow down | come too late, result in the ditching of | the car, serious collisions and smash- ups, or a crash into poles or buildings. “Dim lights and fogs often are dis- regarded as indicating necessity for T cautious operation, and as a result pe- destrians and other users of the high- ways are not seen until too late to stop, because the speed was too fast under the conditions outlined. “Speed, like fire, may be & servant, but when either get beyond control they become bad masters and the agents of death and destruction. “How easy it would have been to have avoided killing and injuring so many people if the operators had common sense in governing the speed of their vehicles to conform with safety as regards the conditions efisting on | the highway. “Future accidents can easily be pre- vented if operators will at all times govern their speed so as not to exceed a rate at which they can safely stop in a clear distance which can be seen ahead on the course they are proceed- ing or about to take.” America’s railroad cars can seat 2,300,000 people. 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And you’ll know what a truly remarkable car 8 Coupes, Cabriolets, Victorias from $970 to $2,043 delivered fully equipped Leads the World in Motor Car Value 1709 L drop frame 1509-1 Nash R ion da brstion damper 1419 1 World’s easiest steering Hawkins Nash Motor Wallace Motor Company Distributors—Retail Salesrooms St. NW. Co. 1 14th St. N.W. inker Motor Co. 650 Wilson Boul rving St. N.W. Ve Decatur 2280 Hall-Kerr Motor Co. 131 B St. S.E. Birvon Nash Motor Co. Clarendon, Va. >7-bearing crankshaft (bollow crank pins) Bijur centralized chas: lubrication Electric clocks ard plated over nickel Exterior metalware chrome *NASH 400 Short turning radius s Longer wheelbases '=NO OTHER CAR HAS ALL OF THEM One-piece Salon fenders Clear vision front pillar posts Nash Special Desiga front and s bampery T ©%7)