Show I I TIMELY 1 TOPICS 4 1 tl f SPEED AND ACCIDENTS It was not so BO long ago as history Is is written when the London Philosophical society viewing with alarm the a advent vent of ot the locomotive decided with solemnity that the speed eil limit for tor the n View nw w carriers must be set at twelve miles an hour these learned men warned men and women living along the right of ot way would be driven insane by the spectacle of ot great bulk moving so so fast and by the fear tear of ot consequences in n case of ot q accident No No long trains snort up the he mountains whisk through the tunnels and race from one end of ot the country to the other The object is the maximum ot of speed and safety y and except for those who drive in the way at t the crossings th the v object Is attained Today the attention of ot those who w would uld safeguard safeguard safe safe- guard human life Ute is directed in another direction The National Bureau of ot Casualty and Surety Underwriters Underwriters Underwriters Under Under- writers has made a survey sut of ot the automobile situation situa situa- tion and found that In both the fatal and nonfatal accidents the leading cause Is oper operating ting too fast for tor conditions Of Ot fat fatal l accidents and 1000 nonfatal ones considered speed caused ed deaths and Injuries The analysis shows shows' that In the great majority of ot cases the motorist was at fault bult but that In third one-third of ot the Ole fatal accidents the pedestrian was to blame Reckless driving Improper lights broken mechanism Intoxication weather conditions conditions con con- cars on wrong side of ot road and narrow culverts and bridges are listed as among the more common causes It Is appalling to think that In 1922 the automObile automobile auto auto- mobile death rate made mad on a survey of ot sixty American cities of ot an an aggregate population of ot is 12 per cent higher than the 1921 rate for tor the same cities This Is a figure calling for study and action It means deaths In one year But there Is another side which points to lo the effectiveness of ot the safety council and other agencies Interested In educational and legislative remedies for existing conditions The number of ot automobiles has increased fivefold since 1915 while th the number of ot fatalities has but little more than doubled While the Ule death rat rate based on population Uon has In Increased increased increased in- in creased the rate basel based baselon on number of ot automobiles registered has decreased considerably This can only mean that the education education of ot motorists and pedestrians alike the themore more stringent regulation of ot traffic and the institution of safety campaigns throughout the country have produced remarkable results There is proof In this this report report that there is a way to solution and argument for tor public support for any movement In In that direction Oakland Oakland Tribune tribune |