Show Careless are ess Driving as Destructive As Bombs Official icia Asserts is NEW YORK April If 21 UP UP-If UP If Japanese and German planes drop tons of bombs on American cities they probably could not do more damage to the war effort than carelessness already is doing Joseph B. B Eastman dir director of the office of defense tion said Monday night The fact is Eastman said atthe at atthe atthe the tenth annual award dinner of the he national traffic safety contest that they accidents are more helpful to the enemy because they cost ost cost him nothing We do not even have lave the grim satisfaction of making making mak- mak ing ng him pay dearly for the losses we re suffer I I am told that traffic accidents alone lone last year cost us man hours of f labor enough to build 26 battleships battleships battle- battle ships hips That leaves out of account the ic tragic loss of life Nor does doest it t take into account the loss in transportation equipment You know now what that means today Eastman said the nations nation's 33 automobiles were as precious precious pre cious ious a stockpile as it had and must be conserved by trading rides and nd staggering work and school hours ours to level traffic peaks Oklahoma New Jersey and Oregon Oregon Oregon Ore Ore- gon had the best traffic safety records with a composite mileage- mileage death eath rate 30 per cent lower than the he national aU nal record and were awarded bronze plaques as were the he six cities with the best records of f the 1293 municipalities in the I contest I Memphis Tenn won the gran grand d prize The other five which re reduced reduced reduced re- re their traffic fatalities 3 30 0 per er cent are Pittsburgh Omaha Neb Jeb Manchester N N. H. H Fond d du duLac duLac u Lac Wis and gild Aberdeen S S. S D. D Providence R R. I. I and Milwaukee Milwaukee kee k ee Wis re received the first awards award s ever given for high safety records record s in n the contests contest's year 10 history |