Show DRIVER INJURE GATES motorists begin to realize there Is more room behind a train than in front the great volume of propaganda directed at the evils of carelessness when a railroad crossing stop look listen sign looms up has brought post motorists to a realization that there Is more room behind a train than before it it Is with something of a shock then that one reads a report of the chicago safety council showing that 27 per cent of the motor lats who approach railway crossings carelessly are so blindly impatient and foolhardy that they damage the crossing protection equipment provided in an effort to make the dangerous spots foolproof drivers in haste railroad crossing watchmen of 16 roads in and about chicago last ear reported cases of careless driving at their crossings to the safety council of these reports or 27 per cant indicate that the drivers were in such haste to get over the tracks to beat the train to it that they damaged the equipment provided to keep the crossings safe disregarding warning bells and the whistles of the watchmen many of them hat going even after the crossing gates had started to descend it Is this type of driver that causes the safety engineer to tear his hair and have a moment of terrible doubt as to whether trying to save life Is worth while fifty per cent in some cases in some cases the number of in stances in which the gates were dam aged amounts to more than 50 per cent the chicago and western indiana reported SC 30 cases of which 17 resulted in damaged equipment indi eating that a driver tried to beat the gates of 69 cases reported by the illinois central 35 showed damaged gates eight out of the 12 reported by the north shore electric line were damaged gates the work of the safety council has done much to spread the careful crossing idea effectively railroad batemen have been instructed by their officials to note the license number of any car driven carelessly at their crossings these reports go to the safety council which sends a letter to the car owner calling attention to his carelessness and asking for co opera tion in reducing the number of rail ra I 1 I 1 way crossing accidents and in pramot ing motor safety in general the careless crossing evil Is thus attacked at its source |