Salt Lake Telegram | 1936-06-01 | Page 6 | Holiday's Death List

1 I Holidays Holiday's Death List List CONGESTION of the highways on Memorial l C CONGESTION V l day is bl blamed med for 32 deaths in a tabulation of fatalities over the nation The The figure takes no account of the accidents involving injuries injuries' and property damage The outcome of some of the nonfatal mishaps may be worse than death for victims Feeblemindedness helplessness as asan asan an n incurable cripple ghastly disfigurement or lifelong pain and invalidism arc consequences to weigh against sudden death Pro Progress ress in safety education seems slow in in- in deed Perhaps over many years it may turn turnout turnout turnout out to be the one thing above all others that will have been the most effective remedy for present appalling traffic conditions Safety courses in schools hold great promise of bringing on a generation generation gen gen- fration that will be really safety-conscious safety but that lies in the years ahead What n needs eds be now is to deal with those who wont won't or cant can't be educated Even heavy penalties pen pen- seem to have bave no effect on them them and and worse luck so many of the highways highway's various kinds of fools never never- come to grips with the law If If without danger to sane and careful motorists they could be left to their own devices eventually eventually eventually ally they wOL would d kill themselves off There would be no widespread public mourning or regret So in the lack of success in trying to deal with those of microscopic intelligence the en engineers engineer's engineers engineer's engineers engineer's en- en job is a sign significant one at the moment He must fence off the wits nit-wits so they can can do the least possible harm on the th-e road It applies the padded cell idea to highway engineering Most state highway authorities seem to be trying to tomake tomake tomake make appropriations produce the greatest possible possible possible pos pos- sible mileage rather than the greatest number of safe miles In contradiction to general practice authorities authorities authorities ties in a few states are trying to get away from the single-ribbon single highways Whether wide enough for two or four traffic lanes traffic flowing in two directions at the same time is unnecessarily hazardous More and more interest turns to the divided highway two highway two strips separated sepa separated separated sepa sepa- rated from each cach other by parking or longitudinal curbing making two way one-way lanes Cars cannot meet on such construction and passing certainly certainly certainly presents a minimum of hazard In Utah there is essentially no highway of that type of considerable mileage Why not admit as so many highway commissions com corn missions and arid safety engineers do admit that the single strip construction is obsolete It too is a heritage from horse and buggy days Why not build one mile of safe highway rather than two miles th that t are unsafe In human life we are paying a higher price for outmoded construction construction tion than could be counted in the money required required required re re- re- re to build roads fit to carry the volume of traffic moving at legal speeds When speed speed- crazy reckless and drunken drivers are reckoned with the theold old fashioned highway even when traffic traffic traffic fic is light becomes an invitation to suicide and murder The pity is that the hazards are arc just as great for the alert and careful drivers and their passengers as for the heedless fools menacing them Lets Let's start to think of building for safety instead of mileage It will take a little longer but in hi time we can have both