Show highways have become a death symbol the nations highways havi have become more a symbol of death and tragedy than have the battlefields ot of war according to a research brief issued by utah foundation the private nonprofit non profit tax research organization more americans have been killed in traffic accidents than have lost their lives in all the wars battles skirmishes and police actions from the ame of the american tion down to the recent korean conflict the item continues utah foundation points out that it if present trends continue in utah one out of every 53 children born in the state can expect to meet his or her death in a traffic accident moreover one out of every two children born this year will probably be injured in a traffic accident sometime during his life utah foundation issues the grim prediction that of the ren r e n born bo r n in i n utah U t a h last 1 a s t year will become c 0 me t traffic r af f ic f fatalities a t al i ti e s the foundation reports that recent experiences in pennsylvania and new jersey indicate that modern engineering and technology in themselves are no substitute for sate safe driving and the rigid enforcement of the traffic laws in solving the growing highway accident problem the 1953 experience in pennsylvania shows that the death rate on the tamed famed pennsylvania turn as nearly 50 per cent greater than the fatality rate on other pennsylvania roads the report notes new jersey had almost the same experience with respect to its new jersey turnpike prior to the adoption of a rigid highway enforcement program with the more determined enforcement of traffic laws last year the death rate on tho tha new jersey dropped from 61 fatalities per hundred million vehicle miles in 1952 to 41 in 1953 the same rate as for or other state highways during the year foundation analysts conclude by stating there Is a growing recognition that the human factor Is the chief cause of nearly all traffic accidents while highway engineering can contribute co greatly to the improvement me nt of driving conditions the man behind the wheel still remains the primary factor in reducing the death and injury toll from motor vehicle accidents in the final analysts analysis safe drivers make safe highways |