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Show Motorists Used ' Greater Caution During Past Year SAVANNAH. - American motor; ists apparently were more careful on the highways In the last year than in previous comparable periods, peri-ods, according to the committee on safety operation for the National Association of Railroad and Utility Commissioners. An overaH reduction of 3 per cent in deaths caused by motor vehicles last year was reported to the association at Us convention here. The report showed that approximately ap-proximately 34,000 persons were killed in automobile accidents last year, while the total this year has been about 32,000, or a reduction of 3 per cent from the prior year. C. L. Doherty, chairman of the association's safety operation com-mittee, com-mittee, said that persons injured this year In motor vehicle accidents totaled 1,500,000, of whom some 100,000 were left with some permanent per-manent physical Impairment. Large Property Damage Motor vehicle accidents were responsible re-sponsible for $1,100,000,000 in property prop-erty damage during the year, and the estimated loss for deaths alone was $530,000,000, Doherty added that there were additional costs of $1,550,000,000, which included medical med-ical expenses for the injured, insurance insur-ance chargeable against accident claims, value of services lost to the nation during the year, and even In later years because of deaths or disablements. Doherty said the committee's findings showed that 51 per cent of travel and 35 per cent of deaths took place in urban areas, while 49 per cent of travel and 65 per cent of deaths occurred In rural areas, making the urban death rate in terms of miles substantially lower than the rural death rate. He said 43 per cent of the accidents were in the day time and 37 per cent at night. Vehicles vs. Pedestrian The leading number of accidents, he said, involved collisions of motor mo-tor vehicles with pedestrians, th second highest concerned collisions of two or more vehicles, and non-collision non-collision accidents were next. "Contrary to public opinion and everyday statements heard on the street concerning the safety of airplane air-plane travel," the chairman said, "It may be noted that there were 3.2 fatalities per 100,000,000 passengers passen-gers last year. Passenger automobiles automo-biles and taxis were next from a standpoint of hazardousness, with a rate of 2.30, buses with .20 and railway rail-way trains having the best record t .14." |