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Show L "" '""' ' - 1 '..' ,j,..imm;.u-,umhm"'.' , , i m 1 1 - Disciplining Our Emotions (Editorial) The statement by safety specialists that the majority of traffic accidents can be traced to emotional disturbances disturb-ances on the part of drivers is not particularly surprising when we think of ourtown days when everything goes wrong. We stub a toe getting out of bed, cut ourselves shaving, slip on the soap, growl at the coffee and snarl at the wife. Then we slam into the car, race the motor, strip the gears, graze the garage doors and are off in a fog from the flooded carburetor. We may be a 4-star driver other days, but today we're a menace to all and sundry and a natural for a bad accident. All this is human nature, of course, but that doesn't mean that nothing can.be done about it if drivers are willing will-ing to make a sincere effort for the sake of safety. Disciplining Dis-ciplining one's emotions Is always hard, but It's nowhere nearly so hard as the physical and mental suffering that follows an accident. What is called for, figuratively speaking, is a Safe Driver Personality, to be donned the moment the motorist gets in the car and kept on until he gets out. Specifically, it means being so safety conscious (or danger conscious) tnat when he puts his hands on the wheel, he automatically automatic-ally puts aside irritations and worries and lets a complete new set of reflexes take over. That isn't impossible: it can be done; it saves livei. Driving is a full-time job. It demands not only auto-maf auto-maf ,,vkills but alertness and plenty of emotional control. con-trol. With thousands more cars on the roads than ever before, be-fore, deaths and injuries will increase proportionately unless motorists will take the trouble to discipline their emotions in the cause of safe driving. 1 |