Ogden Standard-Examiner | 1920-04-11 | Page 25 | Uniform Motor Car Laws is Need of Nation's Tourists

I, : UNIFORM MOTOR CAR LAWS B NEED OF NATIONS TOURISTS IM J5y lt.' Y., Cooke, of the Hacino Rub-Pi Rub-Pi ber Company 11 ,1 Touring' is the motorist's great am-M am-M biliori. To- view the wonders of this JJ great country from a comfortable moll mo-ll tor car is 'surely the iileal way to tr,av-Hj tr,av-Hj el the vacation supreme. B Motor tourist travel will he' sr'ealer HI this year than ever before. More mon-H mon-H ey is being invested in good roads H 1 than in any previous year. The. desire, HI to climb into one's motor car :iiul 1 -f head for tlie national highways may l r be gratified this year with a minimum H. of roadway Inconvenience. The national mind is aroused to. t ho Wft necessity for good roads not only be-E be-E cause of the pleasurable delights af-Hj af-Hj forded by them but because of the . utility purpo3es they serve, j jl would likcto see t lie Various states M ' ' get together and adopt unlfo'nn laws V governing motor car travel. There j3j should be no difference in flie. . re-j jti strictions imposed by one state from; H those imposed by another state, ; l -Thcr are certain sane and sensible! H i rules of the road that should and( ml must be followed. These rules are as' HI applicable in Alaska as they are in' B'i Alabama. 1 Htl ( . :Thcse common-sense rules, obvious, I to every motorist, should be the basis' m for a uniform set of laws, making I; them in effect national motor laws. 1 1 know no one mor eager to obey rules' and regulations than the seasoned: motorist. The laws should be fully. H .adequate so that life and property re-j B ceives constant protection, but theyj PB " should be uniform in every state. j ( In several states it is optional with M the motorist whether or not lie stops i IB, i .thls motor car when approaching a mm street car discharging- or taking on J Bp i passengers. In other states there is a!; k heavy penalty for not stopping. Inj H ..Missouri, for a motorist to drive in ex-! HL cess of 25 miles per hour is consider-i Ejp ed vldence of reckless driving. With I B all due respect to the distinguished j WWi gentlemen who framed this law. 25 Ira miles per hour should not, as every K motorist knows, be considerd a reck-' K less rate of speed. Of course, one can' K? drive recklessly at 23 mile per hour' B or at 5 miles per hour for that matter,' if one is Insistent upon being reck-, 1 loss. In Kansas excess of 10 miles per hour is presumptive evidence of guilt in case of. accident. Compared with-most with-most of the states the legislators of Kansas are speed merchants. J Jn Florida excess of 25 miles per hour for one-eighth of a mile Is prima j facie evidence of speed greater than jj'casonable and proper. 1 Jn Tehnesseee, the maximum legal j speed is '"20 miles por hour, liberally , construed." Sounds like a joker ' iai j hidden in theie. in many' states local regulations I are prohibited while in others, as in i New York, cities of the first class as i Now York City, .Rochester and Buffalo Buf-falo are permitted to adopt local speed ' laws'. - . 'Other municipalities in New York state may establish a minimum speed , law of 15 miles per hour but the local j authorities are bound to .erect signs; for the information of motorists. ! There are various regulations for: headlights and spotlights. In New Jersey Jer-sey the use of spotlights is confined to ( reading sign -and house numbers. Mir-j rors arc also required by the New! Jersey law so that the motorist may, .View traffic in rear. j The majority of the states do not require lights' on horse drawn vehicles Such lights are required in Ohio, Ver- mont, Washington and Rhode Island. The A. A. A. Touring oard has accomplished ac-complished wonders in t lie last few years In the matter of uniform legis-. lniion. There remains however much for every motorist to do to help es-1 tablish uniform laws where up to the present they have not been passed. lf we all, each and everyone of us, use such Influence as we possess In the' needed quarters, the eventual result will be a uniform set of laws. j