OCR Text |
Show Traffic Fatalities Increase Traffic fatalities in the United States, during the first half of 1940, were eight per cent more than during the same period of last year. In the first six months of this year 14,740 persons died in traffic accidents in the forty States making mak-ing reports, says the National Safety Council, which attributes the increase to "war jitters" and an increase of about seven per cent in vehicle mileage. Even in years of peace the people of the United States resignedly re-signedly accept as inevitable the loss of life connected with our automobile traffic. It is not to be expected that they will be amazed at the figures for this year. The unfortunate circumstance is that careful drivers often pay the extreme penalty losing their lives, as a result of the carelessness careless-ness of others. When one drives on the highways it is with the (prayer that he escape the results of the recklessness of others. Most of us do, but every week scores do not. The remedy, so far as we know :s not to be found in restricting reasonably fast speed but in rigidly rigid-ly enforcing safety regulations, automobile inspections and punishing careless drivers with-lout with-lout regard to whether their viola tors of highway safety result in any accidents. |