OCR Text |
Show THE LEADER. 1953 Thursday. October 22. Tramonton, Utah SEE I Memo For Speeding Drivers I " In one of the dozen states which still permit a driver to travel at any speed so long as it is considered "reasonable and I 1 1 proper", a motorist recently faced a charge "j of speeding at 90 miles an hour. A state highway policeman had clocked him at that 1 speed, yet the driver was freed by a judge J I j who rules that under good driving tions, 90 miles an hour was "reasonable and proper" as defined in that state. condi- f I H I - j I I Common sense alone should tell all lawmakers and thinking Americans that speeds of 9fr miles judges included m " an hour are obviously unsafe on public I highways- Such speeds are, nevertheless, 1 witnessed every day on the highways of 3 H 1 any state, even in those which have clearly - Ig i defined speed limits. I It is fortunate, indeed, that this was an g extremely isolated case, but the court's an- ruling does help to center attention on the fact that even judges are included in 1 the millions of misguided Americans who I have been sold the false bill of goods that Wl&Glttlk!? CfeSffi I I high speeds can be safe speeds. The truth is that all speeding cars are potential "traffic tornadoes" when they go out of 1 control. They wreak death and destruction 1 in larger measure year after year because speeding drivers are roaring along the I highways in record numbers. In 1952 alone, I about 13,500 peTsons were killed and near- " ly 600,000 injured in accidents where driv- ers were exceeding speed limits. I When racing drivers are out for new speed records, they pray for a clear, fast track. But those same conditions on the nation's highways produce different records deadly records! Last year 80 per cent of fatal accidents, 26,280 occurred in clear weather on straight, dry roads. Only one answer too much speed, too little control. Highways are not raceways, but every road has its dread quota of "race track fringe" drivers. One highway safety authority says: "It is not a question of what is a safe speed now it is what is a 'survival speed' for the average driver? It isn't up in the 65 miles an hour and plus range, where sustained momentum hypnotizes the senses, where impact is deadly. Now we must slow down to live!" In the last four years average speeds have been creeping up until more than half of all rural driving, .passenger cars and buses, are now "exceeding fifty miles per hour with many of them doing well over sixty. This high speed hysteria must be tamed. It has become a national emergency to be met by indignant public demand for more and stricter law enforcement. Let's stop this losing race with Death! If any one doubts that more drivers are traveling faster on highways everywhere, I their skepticism can be quickly dispensed by official studies of the U. S- Bureau of 'Pub-- ' lie Roads showing that average speeds are jj hitting record highs in every section. In the East, 28 percent of all traffic on rural roads exceeded 50 miles an hour during 1952; in the central and western sections, 54 percent exceeded that speed, which is con- sidered relatively safer than faster paces under the best driving conditions. Com- pared with 1942, all drivers exceeding 50 - mph increased seven percent, those going over 55 rose five percent, and drivers hit- ting more than 60 went up three percent. I Percentages of drivers traveling faster than a 55 and 60 increased even more sharply in the central and western regions. I 1 I Must drivers learn only the hard way that speed is the No. 1 killer? That the typical driver is not adjusted physically or emotionally to speeds in excess of a mile a minute? The sooner he learns that truth, the better for him and the nation at large- SLOW DOWN-LIV- ES ARE IN YOUR HANDSI iiiiiiiiiiii)(Wiiiii(tiiiiiiiiii(iiiiiiiu(tii)iiwiiiiiii - I |