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Show Let Safety Become A Habit By JULIEN H. HARVEY Managing Director, National Conservation Bureau i Although traffic experts predict pre-dict that motor vehicle accidents will increase tremendously unless un-less traffic laws are enforced more strictly, the enforcement of the law depends more upon the man behind the wheel than s it does on the vigilance of the! traffic officer. The attitude of the average I motorist toward highway laws' and highway safety will, in the opinion of most accident-prevention men, indicate more clearly than any other factor, how good or how bad the driving habits on U. S. highways will be in the future. Each year the proportion of accidents in which law violations are present has increased until nearly three-fourths of all fatal accidents now involve drivers ! who at the time were disobeying jsome traffic statute or regula-j regula-j tion. ! Most fatal accidents, accord-; accord-; ing to the National Conservation Bureau figures, occur on straight ; stretches of the highway and many involve high rates of ! speed. About 15 per cent of the ' drivers in all states involved in fatal auto accidents are exceeding ex-ceeding the speed limit, while 5 per cent are exceeding safe speeds altho they are traveling under the statutory limit. Another An-other 3 per cent are driving too fast for existing conditions where no. speed limit is indicated. indicat-ed. In cities, about 15 per cent are exceeding the speed limit, compared with 9 per cent in rural areas. All safety specialists agree that the greatest single cause of traffic fatalities is speed. They claim that most speed limits are now too high for safety, but agree that the question of what is sane in speed limits depends somewhat upon street and road conditions. In congested business busi-ness districts speed usually is held down by lightt, but in the residential areas, the tendency ij to "let 'er go" a little and on the rural highways the sky is the limit. The American people are overwhelmingly over-whelmingly in favor of law enforcement en-forcement as a primary means of stopping highway and street accidents, according to a nationwide nation-wide public opinion poll made for the National Committee for Traffic Safety, which indicates that seven out of every ten of the people say they want strict enforcement of traffic regulations. regula-tions. Next to speed, 1946 nationwide nation-wide statistics show that driving on the wrong side of the road, including passing, is the most ' frequent traffic violation and that 8 per cent of the drivers in fatal accidents were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident. In addition, another an-other 10 per cent had been drinking. More frequent and prolonged suspension of operating privileges privi-leges for certain serious infractions infrac-tions of traffic laws, police authorities au-thorities and safety experts unanimously agree, would prove to be an effective means of creating cre-ating a wholesome respect for law and law enforcement. No matter how excellent the mechanical equipment of a car may be, there is a point at which it loses its effectiveness, because automotive equipment depends upon the judgment and control ' of the person behind the wheel The most reliable safeguard against accidents is a sane attitude atti-tude of mind toward safety on the highway. Proper respect for law enforcement and the rights of others induces lifelong habits of safety which are salu- i tary assets on the highways. persons for 30 days, to give the grass an opportunity to get a solid root-growth. Matter of an extra marshal to help police the city, was discussed, discus-sed, and Marshal Smith instructed instruct-ed to hire an assistant when he deemed one necessary. The Milford Chamber of Commerce, Com-merce, it was decided, will be requested to sponsor the Milford Race Meet and Centennial Celebration. |