OCR Text |
Show New Year Fatalities Emphasize Need for More-Safety-Work Continuation and Enlargement of Utah Traffic Program Given Impetus by Auto Toll Since Arrival of 1940 By BOB HALE The traffic accident experience recorded before 48 hours of the new year were past showed Tuesday mora clearly than anything else the need for a continued and enlarged safety program pro-gram in Salt Lake City and the metropolitan area around it Already three persons are dead within this most populous area of Utah, which Includes Salt Lake City and county, Davis county and Utah county. A Davis county crash, occurring when 1940 was only a little more than an hour old, has claimed two Uvea and others are in danger. A Salt Lake City pedestrlsn died Tuesday morning from accident Injuries. It was admittedly a bad start for Salt Lake City and Davis county, but It docs not mean that the death toll cannot be kept down to or even reduced below those of 1939, In which year Salt Lake City had 22 traffic deaths and Davis county eight . . The Telegram In 1940 will extend ex-tend its continuing traffic safety program through this three-county area, in which Is concentrated the heaviest motor travel In the state. A glance at a road ma. Indicates why this area should be the object of a concentrated program of engineering, en-gineering, enforcement and education edu-cation and their components. The heavy traffic in the area forms In Davis county to the north and Utah county to the south. V. 8. Routes Swell Traffic four Important national highways high-ways figure in the road systems In these three counties. . U. S. SO, from the east enters Utah county and U. S. 91, a major north-south system, traverses the county. U. S. 40 and U. B. SO cross Salt Lake county and U. S. 01 bisects it from north to south. In Davis county there Is I). S. 91 north and south. U. S. 30-S, a major transcontinental aystem, from the east fringe the county. Utah county haa escaped traffic death In 1940, but It wound up 1939 with 23 fatuities compared with 18 In 1938. A large county with several Important cities and town, It has an extensive highwsy system, comparable to that of Salt Lake county in mileage. Center ea Rural Highways Utsh county's 1939 experience Indicated In-dicated Its major aafety efforts mint be directed at Ita highways outside municipalities, for it was on these rural stretches that traffic traf-fic death was predominant Davis county likewise hsd Its wont experience on country highways. high-ways. In these two counties. It will bt mainly a question of efforts by sheriff's officers and the state highway high-way patrol. Analysis of accidents and their cause and the measurement of enforcement including uniformity of penalties or lack of them, will (CMlhiut4 M P. rourl iCoJnma klitkll '40 TOLL POINTS HEED OFSAFETY 1 (OmUmmS til Pact Om be among factors subjected to J study. Engineering needs, such ss high-wsjr high-wsjr lighting and traffic control, I also are to be subjected to scrutiny. The state, through the traffic engineering en-gineering division of the road commission, com-mission, now la la better position than ever before to carry out a traffic engineering program en Its highway system. The engineering program of the commission already has shows it value In Salt Lake county, for It ' has been carried out In cooperation coopera-tion with the sheriffs office, with the result that engineering etudles are made la an effort to prevent accident. Salt Lake county, outside Salt 'i Lake City, came through 1939 with an admirable record of traffle safety, reducing deaths to 23 from i 50 in 1938. But what was done In 1939 means nothing in 1940, save as a criterion of what can be ac I complished. ' ' New Problem Faced The new year Is certain to see more automobiles and more drivers on the highways, particularly In populous Salt Lake county. Salt Lake City has a difficult ' task ahead of It It 1939 record of 22 deaths was the best In 19 i years and the percentage of reduction reduc-tion from the 43 fatalities of 1938 i was 49, an outstanding record that Is expected to compare favorably with any set elsewhere In the nation. na-tion. But the 1939 record wss set for good reasons. There was Improved enforcement of traffic lawa and an enlarged police department to do the work. For the first time, there wss specialised traffic engineering, although al-though not on a full-time scale. Safety Needs Realised There was more education and ' certainly a better public consciousness conscious-ness of the needs of traffic safety. There was cooperation among all public officials concerned and private pri-vate safety organizations lent untiring un-tiring aid In all possible ways. There was no ballyhoo about safety, bat actual and tangible efforts. ef-forts. All this must bs continued and advances made In 194a The police . traffic division should be kept at . full strength. Increased If possible. Much engineering work lies ahead. Many authorities feel that an Important Im-portant forward step would be the crlatlon of a permanent traffic engineering bureau within the city r engineering department as recom- ' mended by the traffic commission. This matter has been before the city commission for some week, unacted upon because of the change of administration that took ' place Tuesday. , |