Show lf L V ta ilk gk T v x W afy y t 4 X v ni N i I 1 tv tt aa w 1 s U N n W r W rv mzx 1 at y sk 6 i y s 31 fy VA WM h 1 4 X lax y Cs 1 i lV laff ff U y V 1 fi ff hw I 1 Ife inesm SM y A WR ys ri fe IWI MY zozan 2 I 1 of america are arc backing up their careful crossing caell campaign alan with the expenditure of millions of dollars ifor for construction of death proof crossings in nn an effort to halt the steady advance e of fatalities at track and highway intersections A toll of lives that has mounted from 1031 in 1915 to a high mark of 1701 1791 in 1020 1920 with it very minor decrease to 1702 in 1021 and totaling more than han in seven years has brought and motorists face to face with the absolute necessity for safeguarding the public through ell elimination minn of grades wherever it Is possible complete reports of the ole interstate com commerce merco commission for the seven years from froin 1015 to 1021 inclusive show that more than lhnn persons were killed in highway crossing accidents and that nearly were In injured jurea the casualty toll for each year follows killed hilled injured 1916 1 I loss 2981 2916 4 1917 I 1 A ai ima lf iM aw 1919 I 1 1677 lm 2921 1703 another interesting sidelight on the direful careful crossing campaign la Is a report of the safety committee of the chesapeake ohio railroad which claset fled grade crossing accidents which occurred during a period of four months tho alon showed that crashes bashes wore attributable to the following causes stalled on track 20 trying to beat train across 63 68 running into wide bide of train 26 breaking Creak inar down safety gates jad 16 skidding into side aide ot of car i 1 into signal posts posta 4 6 the lackawanna railroad ono one of the lenders leaders in fix the movement for modernization of its track astern try stem issued tho the following bulletin in the third month of the careful crossing campaign grade crossing heel accidents dents lu in the united states have recently increased at nit im alarming rato rate seventy six per cent of the deaths and accidents ut at euch in 1020 1920 involved automobiles to mobiles the present camp campaign alkil la Is being waged 91 by tho the Am american eilean railway nas whit loii in n an effort to induce the bublie to exercise a higher degree of cure care yet it if Is iii recognized that only by it continued effort to elevate or depress 3 the frequented frequent eI crossings can fatal batul occurrences best ile be avoided alls title work pk la is being pushed forward as rapidly its aa possible tile D lr NV Y mone alone letting contracts contract ii for briore more than worth of viaducts inducts bridges and to grade cross ings it la ii estimated however that to bucata fully do awny away with grade croe crossings sings throughout the united ettles tt the would bo be forced to ape spend nd ap pp twelve e and a half bup billion dollars education of the motorist and the of grades have both been to nathe c the most practical maija tot gaining immediate results ins inc care tu to approaching danter danger spots ins the road Is ie op apparent parent sume the ra 00 kw R ta X campaign opened according to safety officials the feeling that a lack of 0 co opera tion existed between road building cities and counties and the rall railroads roads tins has been dissipated with the new drive for improved rights ot of way at crossings A badly constructed crossing bed often la Is it a leading factor in killing a motor just as the auto bumps across the tracks to lessen this possibility lity many railroads ore are lending financial aid to highway programs and permanent safe concrete or metal slabs are being laid at the track in steep grades leading to crossings which force the driver arlve to shift gears and thus tend to throw his car dead ad on the tracks lend themselves admirably to the construction of nn an un for tra traffic file but where ails ats Is impossible many are being cut down as new hard surface roads aro are constructed ted the separation of crossings if done at the time that a new road Is being built adds little to the originally estimated cost while similar work done after a modern highway tins has liken been con strutted ted often proves prove i ii an expensive lm provement for abis reason highway engineers in operation cooperation co with the safety officials ore are attempting to incorporate separation specifications on W where tile the tracks wind in and out ut and cross crom tile tho highway ma many ny times more than lis Is necessary illustrating tho the demand for eternal vigilance in tile the matter of safety nt at crossings statistics published by the american automobile asso association clation show that the number of cars cara operated in the united states has increased from in 1912 to lu 1921 nn an average ownership of one car to every ton ten persons with better high wair wayn carrying this enormously increasing number of automobiles the danger increases proportionately california with oi its great stretches of improved roads plus the fact that it t ranks near the top in the number of registered automobiles shows an increase of wore more than 1000 per cent in grade crossing accidents dents during the lust tive five yeara taking the van in tile the move to further af dath ath proof highway construction from the huil builders ders standpoint the bu read of pulle public roads af pf of the depart ment of agriculture was has announced that there will be no nd grade crossings whatever on new federal ald aid highway projects constructed under the supervision of tho th federal highway act bridged and underpass eo will bo be utilized untilled to t eU llala mInate at abes laachr 11 VS W f iw aff V af r aft K MW V M i tw i as v iss spots the report says and important trade routes ninny many of which cross and railroad rights of way at grades hereafter will be hullt built entirely en on one side of tho tracks paralleling the course of the rund rond despite tiny resulting increase in construction ual railroads will be forced to meet half the cost or of nit nil bridges or under underpasses passes where these steps are unavoidable it xan can be seen that tile the majority of accidents in this classified list may be charged directly against foolish driving with 08 68 res resulting alting from attempts to beat the train across find and 10 cherge ablo to crashing through gallety gates careful will eliminate this type of I 1 and it Is for that reason that tha t chii th rail association Is spending tile the large wins on its cross crossings propaganda on tho the other hand many grade 4 ross ins ings are so BO hidden by embankments we woods ds and corn fields that it 18 1111 possible for motorists to see approach ins ing trains A campaign to gain legislative remedies for this manner anner tu of highway approach h also Is being prosecuted and one of the strongest arguments ln in favor of the underpass Is that it auty be bd installed fit at many crossings cr oss now coming under thle this class of lot death tb traps trap with relatively ex ec pense are lending their space with repeated attacks upon tax enforcement at 6 existing laws or pal designed to curb 0 th 1 crowing death mat list everywhere tl ti 6 oot motorist orist and the taxpayer tile the two clafin with which thi the railroad be in par perfect fett harmony in their campaign are confronted with slin posto and and horrible exi examples exam plea ito 10 brittig bring ho bore M J the lesson more clearcy cle ariy y ope county cor coroner coraier even went benio so tar far ax a to conkli conal pate cate a mass masa of twisted twitted machinery that once had been no an automobile nna placed it on S with a buca sign blen calling th e bf b di delvera ivers to tile tho fact thata that a fatal crossing crash had occurred at that spot no I A buthe 0 the pictures shows 0 ing in virginia where he tr orfed eo to bent beat the cannon ball acroca no 2 let IB noeo recognized nihed sit at a glance fer a typical death trap there are so oo wally many of tile the crossings shown in n no 8 that it bould vou id cost coet it Is IB estimated more than to put in overhead crossings hard blabs are ara being wild laid to ald aid safety no 4 chowe how an crowing in now new york the motorist woo waa forced to climb a steep hill to the tracks before rood road and railroad wex aerated co pe rated on OB tw |