Document YYVqQedgVre9J4kXNm8y4BXK

pment ig the in dedgc 9 *h :y are motor fe, die {drivsr. : deftng the istwar mately til the Penn- : acdecaose n that onntry eacriitiooal 3b. It 1$ not leeting minising of tresv.^ closely Traffic Section Executive Committee 1944-1945 General Chairman--W. Graham Cole, Asst Secy., Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., 1 Madison Ave., New York 10, N. Y. First Vice-Chairman--Don F. Stiver, Supt., Indiana State Police, State House, Indian apolis 4, Indr : Second Vice-Chairman--Walter B. Martin, Mgr., Safety Council, Peoria Association of Commerce, Peoria, 111. Third Vice-Chairman--Joseph M. Wyatt, Chief Judge, Baltimore Traffic Court Balti more, M(L Chairman, Committee on Traffic Accident Records--William M. Greene, Dir., Highway Safety Commission, Room 37, State Office Bldg., Hartford, Conn. Chairman, Annual Congresi Program Committee--D. Grant Mickle, Traffic Eng., Auto motive Safety Foundation, 726 Jackson Place, N.W, Washington 6, D. C. Chairman, Membership Committee--Harry E. Neal, Chief Eng., Div. of Traffic and Safety, Ohio Dept, of Highways, Columbus 15, Ohio. Members-at-Large-- Loots E. Coash, Judge, Municipal Court, City Hall Annex, Lansing 7, Mich. Da. B. L. Corbett, Executive Secy, Milwaukee Safety Commission, City Hall, Milwaukee, WIs. H. S. Fairbank, Deputy Commissioner, Public Roads Administration, Washington 25, D. C Earl E. Grover, Dir. of Safety, Columbus & Southern Ohio Electric Co, Columbus, Ohio. L. S. Harris, Executive Secy, American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, 839-41 Woodward Bldg, Washington 5, D. C Boston W. Marsh, Dir, Traffic Engineering & Safety Dept, American Automobile Assn, Pennsylvania Ave. at 17th St, Washington 6, D. C Theodore M. MAtson, Dir, Bureau for Street Traffic Research, Yale University, 311 Strathcona Hall, New Haven 11, Conn. James A. Pryde, Chief, Washington State Patrol, P. O. Box 1166, Olympia, Wash. Robert E. Raleigh, Acting Dir, Safety Div, International Assn, of Chiefs of Police, 1827 Orrington Ave, Evanston, I1L Donald Surra, Managing Dir, Traffic Safety Assn, 1902 Buhl Bldg, Detroit 26, Mich'. C. G. Stoneborner, Traffic Eng, Arlington County Highway Dept, Court House, Arlington, Va. W. F. Rosenwald, Traffic Eng, Minnesota Dept of Highways, St Paul 4, Minn. Ex-Officio Members-- Traffic Court Division Perry A Frey, Judge; Municipal Court, Cleveland, Ohio. Roy A Miles, Judge, Nashville Traffic Court, 706 Nashville Trust Bldg, Nashville, Tenn. Police Division Paul J, Price, Capt, Traffic Div, Dayton Police Dept, Dayton, Ohio. Rulon Bennion, Inspector, Utah State Highway Patrol, Salt Lake Gty, Utah. Past General Chairmen Harry H. Porter, Chief Justice, Evanston Municipal Court, Evanston, I1L Carl J. Rutland, Chairman, Citizens' Traffic Commission, 518 Interurban Bldg, Dallas 1, Texas. Secretary--Harvey D. Booth, National Safety Council, Inc., 20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago 6, 111. 159 i HI ( i!J i. ; i ; i - ' r.4 PLAINTIFF'S EXHIBIT 1 PLAINTIFF'S EXHIBIT I 160 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 TUESDAY AFTERNOON SESSION October 3, 1944 Presiding: General Chairman W. Graham Cole; Asst Secy., Metropolitan Life Insurance Co, New York City. Highlights o! Street and Traffic Section Activities By W. GRAHAM COLE Asst Secy, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co, New York City, and General Chairman, Traffic Section, N. S. C. At the request of many members of the Section, and with die approval .of die Ex ecutive Committee, a Committee on ByLaws, headed by First Vice-Chairman Don F. Stiver, was appointed a year ago to sug gest revision in the By-Laws of the Section. (1) To conform to provisions in the new Constitution and By-Laws of die Council; and (2) To provide for divisions or sub-sec tion organizations within die Section. The proposed tensions suggested by the committee have been approved by the Ex ecutive Committee of the Section and pub lished in TODAY'S TRAFFIC They will be submitted to die membership for ap proval or rejection at the present business session. The Executive Committee offered a num ber of recommendations in connection with the review of the Uniform Vehicle Code. The work of the Special Committee on Post-War Traffic Safety Planning devel oped into a comprehensive program in which 42 national organizations have joined in sponsorship. The report of this project "Danger--Traffic Jam Ahead" was pub lished in tiie name of the sponsoring or ganizations. The Group Committee on Traffic Courts with the cooperation of the Junior Bar Conference of the American Bar Associa tion has made rapid progress'in the pro gram for improving traffic courts. Forty local and regional conferences and meetings have been held--28 since die last Congress, and many more will be held in the months to come. A questionnaire study of the par ticipation of prosecutors in traffic'cases Is nearing completion. The Group Committee on Gty and State Police made a study of police journals and effective contacts for better publication of articles dealing with traffic enforcement They have arranged a luncheon for editors of police journals during this . Congress. A survey was made of police methods for traffic control on "VE-Day." An effective program for the police sessions of this Congress has been developed. The Group Committee on Traffic Safety Engineering has had as its main activity tills year the development in cooperation with the Institute of Traffic Engineers, of the traffic safety engineering phases of the Congress program. The Committee on Traffic Accident Rec ords has been busy on several important projects. One was the preparation of an alternate tabulating plan for state accident record bureaus. Experimental work has been carried on in three states in the matter of accident record forms. Considerable in formation regarding the use of records has been collected, and referred to the Com mittee on Uses of Developed Information of the National Conference on- Uniform Traffic Accident Statistics. The Committee on Winter Driving Haz ards during the past year has conducted the most complete and comprehensive educa tional and publicity program in its history. This program was well balanced, in fact, it covered all phases of the winter traffic problem--including road and street main tenance ; inventory of available regular and special vehicle equipment and parts and their maintenance; and safe practices for winter driving. The Committee on Pedestrian and Bi cycle Safety undertook . several special projects,. including a study of child pedes trian accidents and procedures for solving the problem; a study of changes needed in pt die i the of < tbroi repoi prep: Secti Tl devel ing i subu and j initb nano and revis Publ been A sp mad< A tiie i high* of ti an it been mg a into iheC the I resen mgs highi legisl prese Th by th ation suppl renti objec befoi and : Senai Post brou{ whicl Traffic Section 161 in pedestrian ordinances and legislation and termining alcoholic content of blood, and the preparation of recommended changes in several articles on the subject were pub die Uniform'Vehicle Code; and a study lished. Interest in these tests has been of the promotion of pedestrian safety steadily increasing throughout the year, and Life through educational media. Several special daring 1943 they were used in 26 different reports on pedestrian accidents have been states. prepared and furnished members of the Section. The Committee on Tests for Intoxication developed suggestions for legislation deal ing with chemical tests for intoxication for submission to state legislatures daring 1945, and submitted recommendations to the Com mittee on Uniform Traffic Laws and Ordi Although not a part of the Committee work, a valuable training manual on Chemi cal Tests for Intoxication has been pre pared by the Indiana State Police under the direction of Superintendent Don F. Stiver, Vice Chairman of the Section and Chair man of the Committee. i of nances of the National Conference on Street AH of these committees and groups co tent and -Highway Safety for consideration in operated in preparing package program out tors revising the Uniform Vehicle Code. Two lines for community safety councils. Gen .A Public Safety Memos on the subject have erally, as well as specifically, the committees for been prepared and others are in progress. of the Section were quite busy during the tive A special study and recommendations were year, though limited in some respects to this made of the Army method of tests for de the staff time available.. fety vity tion , of the iectant : an 3aa, H itfe*--*" : injrds omtion orm laz! the uca:ory. fact, affic tainand and for Bicial des igng ided Highways for the Future America By THOMAS H. MacDONALD Commissioner, Public Roads Admit, Washington, D. C. A quarter of a century has elapsed since tiie end of the first world war. Modern highway techniques have been the product of this period.. Research which has been an integral part of the operations, has not been confined to the perfecting of engineer ing and technical clmcnts, but has extended into the economic and social areas. When the Committees of the Congress, particularly the Roads Committee of the House of Rep resentatives, undertook a long series of hear ings to determine the current status of highway improvement as a basis for future legislation, there was a wealth of material presented on which to base the conclusions. The highway planning surveys conducted by the state highway departments in cooper ation with the Public Roads Administration supply data which not only define the cur rent status accurately but indicate the major objectives for the future. Hie hearings before the Roads Committee of the House and also the hearings and studies by the Senate Committees on Post Offices and Post Roads and on Post-war Planning, have brought together adequate information on which the recommendations of the Commit tees have been based. The hearings as a whole brought together recommendations of highway administration and highway en gineering officials and also of the highway user groups covering a complete range. The war experiences have accelerated conclusions that ought not have been reached in many years of peace-time high way use. Not since the motor vehicle be came such a factor in our national economy, has it been possible to reach such a dear conception of the over-all pattern of future highway development fitted to the varying types and degrees of use in all parts of the nation. The Senate has now passed a meas ure which incorporates the conception of an administrative plan fashioned to meet the requirements of highways for the future. Increased Federal authorizations are in cluded to provide Federal aid funds to en large the previous road improvement pro grams, to cover deferred' construction and to overcome the accelerated depreciation and obsolescence during the war years. An important consideration is the need to pro vide employment at the war's end indicat ing the need for a substantial public works '& i. i } 1:1 * # 162 33rd Natkmfil Safety Congress. 1944 program in sustaining the national, income freedom iff movement, inherent in the motor at a high level vehicle* individuals demanded nationrwids The Research Committee of the Committee.; highway facilities . sufficient to free' the for Economic Development in a recent re bonds of mud.. This was the spuit.of the port-states : . ~ period. .' "iflediable studies agree that from 7,000,- Industry Expanded 000 to 10,000,000 more jobs must be The highway officials and highway indus found in. private production enterprise try have done a remarkable job. New tech than existed in 1940, and this great volume niques, new machinery, new'materials -and of new-peacetime'jobs must be created old materials used in new ways, expanded quickly." . /" ' . usable mileages rapidly. The roadsystem This refers to jobs in private -industry: has stood tip under tbe heavy-duty- war rather than employment on public works,: transport far exceeding the normal: peace but die need for markets for materials; time uses, with minimum repairs and with and equipment afforded by public works; necessary replacements denied. More has must be recognized. On public works on: been demanded of our transportation system durable improvements, the employment with less consideration for the day-by-day afforded is in the ratio of one and one-half - needs' than for any other essential of flu to two men in private industry'for each war economy. The proof of the fact that one man employed on the job. A substantial these minimum standards for road construc public works program is clearly indicated. tion have been executed, with integrity and The war years have provided a forced interlude in highway development between two periods which in the future will be* come more apparent The first period,now dosed, was one of rapid expansion of high- f way mileage. This mileage has been im proved with reasonably usable roadways, but reasonable adequacy lies in the results to date.* The condition of 186,000 miles of Federal aid road examined and reported on as of 'January last, shows 22,000 miles is now beyond repair and must be re-built. This is under 12 per cent. But this does not mean that the balance are safe roads. the construction has been held to minimum ' The experiences of the past quarter cen standards to stretch the available funds over' tury, and particularly of these -war years, more mileage. It has been a period of road has defined the principles and sharply etched improvement by steps or stages to obtain the pattern of road development for the next many miles of roadways to keep thepublic period. There is now mote nearly agreement out of the mud. lt has indiided road sur upon the highway needs of the period of faces usable throughout the year to connect re*habilitation and reconstruction after the town with town, to connect more farms with war, than upon any other major element markets, and within the cities, to extend of the nation's internal economy. some type of surfaced streets to serve home The highway .planning surveys have and . business developments which have "taught new research techniques. Moreover, grown.in concentric waves from the old they have delimited the manner and meas urban centers to far-flung suburbs. The ure of rood use by the individual Although motor vehicle brought with itan irresistible not yet existing in any large number, high pressure from the usct for.mileages.irre ways have been built and are in use winch spective of quality. Considerations of -long point the way to efficient and safe- service time durability, bult-in safety, and economy . One example will suffice' to indicate the of operation were sacrificed for maximum possibilities of built-in safety. The lade of mileage. housing and office accommodations in Wash This is not a criticism of either the high ington resulted in providing new office way officials or tbe public. The highway buildings on the Virginia side of the Poto officials correctly interpreted the laws tinder, mac River for the Army, Navy, Marine which they operated. They devised minimum Corps and Army Air Forces. Upwards of standards to gain maximum mileage. The 50,000 people go in and out of this area legislator who made the laws correctly in each day. This is very largely new traffic. terpreted the demands of his constitutents,' All movements are either , by private auto and the public was not wrong. Suddenly mobile or bus. The existing highways had released from horse-drawn travel to the long been inadequate for the pre-war traffic. IdasEfiCQ* and nded stem war aceWuU has stem '-day : the that trueand s to s of d oa ss is Irailt does is. cenears, died next me; i u. * die meat have aver, leas- ough ughduch vice. die kof 'ashiffiee 'otoirine s of area affic. intohad affic. Traffic Section 163 The only solution was a new system of the ways and means to secure adminis- roads to care for die new local traffic and trative policies that permit and encourage for more efficient service to the large exist the best techniques. ing through traffic. Administrative policies reflect public atti A system of roads was designed and built tudes. The first .and perhaps most important by the Public Roads Administration in co function of the National Safety Council is operation with die War Department and public education in safety matters. Before the other agencies, with one-way traffic, sep this audienceJt~seems-= appropriate to em arated - grades at intersections for both phasize the /need for-the support of and vehicles and pedestrians, adequate sight , encouragement-' -of~" administrative policies distances, bus turnouts, loading platforms,' which incorporate- safety" as a major ele easy curves and grades, and Sat side slopes. ment of highway improvement Safe high Paridng was taken entirely away from die ways have to come through administrative mainarteries by parking lots connected with policies first not engineering techniques. the main system of sendee roads which feed in'and out of die parking areas on de In the Senate measure and the approved celerating and accelerating lanes. Other bill which has been placed before the House safety factors were incorporated. there are new principles which: will have a Upwards of 5Q0OO vehicles cross the three very important bearing upon the safety, of the highways which are proposed. Both Potomac River bridges per day, of which measures includes the long-time feature 300 to 500 are buses. Much additional of cooperative action between the Federal traffic conies into the area from Virginia points. One rood from a new residential district opened last February 2 now carries Government and the States. This baric policy requires wide public knowledge and support, since the state highway departments be 10,000 vehicles per day. Since substantial completion of the system in July 1943 there have been no fatalities and only three per come the agencies to include, safety in the designs for new highways. For the first time, there incorporated the principle that sonal injury accidents. Yet every person who comes in and out of the area was new . there are three general classes of highways to be selected as integrated systems. to the system of roads. It has been said , that, the system of roads is unnecessarily expensive.. Reduced to the principle; vehicleper-day use, the cost is less than for many miles of quite ordinary roads. -The real question in this discussion is the reduction of fatalities and non-fatal casualties in every walk of life Can a na tion afford the toll of lives, of incapacitated individuals and property losses which have been exacted by street and highway traffic? It unfortunately has taken the war to give us any comprehension of the magnitude of destruction of human life by street and highway traffic. Are we to continue to pay this price? The emphatic answer of the National Safety Council is "no." First System Federal .' The first is the Federal aid system of main roods--urban and rural. This concep tion continues a policy , incorporated in the first Federal highway legislation of 1921. The first system selected, limited to 7 per cent of the public rood mileage, is not static. Year by year changes are made. The plan ning surveys have indicated the need for a more general overhauling. The improve ments made, the travel habits of the public, shifts in population during the war years, and the gradual development of new terri tory and changes in the use of the older areas; have combined to throw heavier volumes of traffic on some sections of the The real question is what price safety-- system and to lessen the service of others. safety that can be built into ourrtreet$and For example, in one state the planning sur highways over the next quarter, century? veys indicated the greater importance of The engineering requirements for safety some county roads titan of parts of Fed in highway design are quite generally .aider- eral aid system roads selected on opinion stood by highway officials. Relatively,'more rather than accurate, data. Obviously there attention has beat paid to engineering tech should be a Shift if the Federal aind state niques to reach this end than to the admin funds are to be used where, the traffic is istrative policies which permit their utiliza heaviest This is indicative of the situation tion.-Not enough attention is centered upon in other states, and is not surprising con- V iU 164 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 sidering the time that has elapsed since and finds its way slowly through the city the selection of the original system. This streets. system is conceived to cany the main traffic flows in the rural areas and to continue over the principal roads and streets in urban areas. The long-time improvement of the Federal aid system has resulted in dumping at the city boundaries volumes of traffic that were inconceivable only a few years ago, and these volumes have been imposed upon already inadequate city streets. The traffic problems, of cities have been developed at length in the two reports of the Public Roads Administration--"Toll Roads and Free Roads" and '"Interregional Highways." The conclusions^ based upon the nation-wide highway planmrqp surv^ys, are in agreement with the innumerable spe cial and general studies of city planning organizations. Many years ago the urban The second class, .incorporated first in the regular Federal legislation in 1936, is a more adeqate provision for secondary or feeder roads. Erroneously these are fre streets were the best improvements to be found. The attention of the Federal Gov ernment and the states were then fixed upon the rural problem. The condition is now quently called farm-to-market roads. Actu reversed. The Committees of the Congress, ally the Federal aid system itself carries the principal farm-to-market traffic. The requirement is for a system of secondary roads that will provide service to the rural areas not contiguous to Federal aid routes. There is introduced in the selection of the after long study, have recognized and made provision for assisting the cities to over come tins condition. Here again the admin istrative element calls for the cooperation between the states, the city administration and the Federal Government. It places at System the element of cooperative effort be the disposal of the cities the techniques and tween . the local officials, the state highway departments and the Public Roads Admin istration. The pressures for greater Fed eral recognition and financial provision for experience developed through the years by thfcse other organizations. It is not an easy fade to bring these two entities, each of major importance, into completely coopera this class have been intense, including some tive relationships ,on a long-time program to attempts to minimize the necessity for pro meet the traffic problems. vision for the far greater traffic carried on the other classes. This calls for a study of the relative importance of the individual roads to be included to serve the maximum farm.units with the minimum mileage. Be cause of the genera] necessity for lesser ex penditures per mile in the improvement of, this class, the standards adopted must be in keeping with the traffic use. Here alone mileage remains a ruling consideration; but safety must be incorporated by adequate sight distances, the elimination of blind tuihs and dangerous grade crossings, proper de signs for intersections, and- particularly, well planned ingress and egress, where these feeder roads join main traffic arteries. Another major objective in the proposed Federal legislation is the creation of the urban area. This contemplates an entity composed of the city as a nucleus, and the surrounding area delineated by the state highway departments and with the approval of the Public Roads Administration. The influence of the city extends far beyond its corporate limits. Roughly,' this distance varies with the size of the cities, from about 35 miles for the larger cities to around six miles for cities of 10,000. Within these areas traffic disregards the dividing lines. There has always been a hiatus between the city-streets proper and their extensions, into the suburban districts. The multiple juris- The third class are the extensions of the Federal aid system in urban areas. In gen eral,' urban street improvements lave been lagging behind the growth in their use. The concentration of traffic at city boundaries by the improvement of the Federal aid sys tem has been touched upon. Entering the dictions have been the most serious deter rent to consistent planning for these areas, and particularly integrated improvement programs. True, there have been some regional planning commissions, but these have been without authority to enforce their findings. city, this traffic, much of it destined for Another form of administration has been the city itself, or bound through the city the creation of an additional administration to suburban developments or to other urban super-imposed upon existing entities to centers, mixes with all types of local traffic carry into effect certain objectives. Al- tho the plai mu on the the exi efft can Stj mu qui: the san vid pul inti cus sep big of da prii lint of den imp qua the dail 465 the cur. tots the add veh scr mil C in are fer hn( cab of has in ' as inti thai of I city Toll tonal upon vtjjrss, spewnng irban 0 be Govupon now press, made over- Imm. ation ation es at 1 and s by easy h of pera> tm to posed i the artity d f..> sfc) roval The id its tance ibout d six these lines, n die t into iurisleter* ireas, sntnt some these force been ation s to Al Traffic Section 165 though good work has been accomplished, tions of the proposed interregional system there is too much separation of authority to are close to cities of 10,000 and above. The plan and execute on the one hand, and too selection and development of such a sys modi , overlapping and conflicting authority tem to adequate standards must be under on the other. The Federal recognition of taken with a background of intensive the existence of urban areas as distinct from studies, and with the. agreement of the re the city entity, is a step toward utilizing sponsible administrative officials. The impli existing authorities through coordinated cations of this task are so serious that the effort, to achieve desirable objectives. It actual Selection of the system must extend can be one of the most necessary and useful over a considerable period. steps in our administrative pattern. But it must suppress traditional isolation and re-' . quires a broad-minded, tolerant attitude for the common good. It may not achieve the same day-by-day headlines for the indi viduals, but a more adequate service to the public is the end product It is not proposed to discuss here the influence that will be. exerted by the inter regional system upon the city patterns, or the social economic implications, save as to one element The recommended standards are based upon safety and efficiency for the mass of traffic which will nse them. In Interregional Highways Another principle is the provision for an interregional highway system. In this -dis cussion, tins proposed system has not been separated from the three general classes of highways, since it is conceived as a part of the primary Federal aid system, using dements from both the urban and rural primary systems and following'the general cluded in these considerations are controlled access, the separation of intersecting traffic lanes, provision for pedestrian safety, align ment providing adequate sight distance, easy curvature and grades, traffic lanes not less than 12 feet in width, the separation of opposing traffic flow lines by median strips, the complete elimination of parking on the highways and stopping in the traffic lanes. lines of already established highways. Many Because of the limitations on built up of the older roads, particularly in more roadside properties, much of the development densely populated states, which were first to such standards can. be secured econom improved, have long since become inade ically only by new locations. The width of quate. The planning surveys show that in .right of way is the most important consid the rmal sections, 16.79 per cent of the total eration. A perpetual nightmare of the high daily pre-war traffic reaching in excess of way engineer is the reluctance of the public 465,000,000 vehicle miles, was served by generally to recognize the impossibility of the roads that would conform closely to the bunding such highways on an inadequate rural sections of the interregional system, width of right of.way. -There is no.place totaling approximately 29,450 miles. When within .Such highways for billboards, which the city traffic for the city extensions is distract the attention of the driver, for fill added, about 20 per cent of the total daily ing stations or roadside markets which pre vehicle miles in normal times would be sent continuous 'hazards, or for access served, by about one per cent of the total except at controlled points which are ren mileage of rural roads and streets. dered safe by deceleration and acceleration Our population has tended to concentrate lanes. in regions surrounding our major urban areas. The term "region" as used here re fers to these population regions, and the importance of their inter-connection is indi cated by the fact that nearly 90 per cent of the traffic moving on main highways has either its origin or destination, or both, in cities, and that traffic steadily increases as the cities are approached. That direct inter-city traffic is tor greater in volume than the general level cm the rural sections of other primary routes/ Each one of these requirements is an essential of safety, and contrary to unin formed'opinion, the objective of such high ways is not to encourage excessive or unsafe speeds. It is the experience of those who are familiar with highways designed to these standards that the tendency of drivers is to conform to reasonable speeds. The loss of time and perhaps more influential, the irritation caused by delay piled upon delay, by traffic interferences on normal roads, is perhaps the greatest cause of dan Finally, the most heavily traveled sec gerous speed. The experience in using the 1\ * .. j .k $ 166 33rd National Safety Congressi 1944 Autobahnen developed to similar standards They give confidence teat the legal author by Germany prior to the war, sustains this ity is sufficiently comprehensive to meet tire observation;. next, quarter of a century's development At The development of the proposed inter regional system in the United States, must necessarily be slow. It is not-adyanced as an emergency program. The selection should present it Is difficult to foresee any additional major principles that will, be required to cover .tee Federal operations for a long time in the. future. _ ' , be based upon painstaking studies. There As previously stated, public information, must be new thinking concerning die financ particularly as it relates to the safety of ing for such a system. An annual.income the- individual, is the function of the Na for road improvement is assured, because tional'Safety Council. Industrial safety can of die established road-user revenues. It is 'be readied directly. Public safety is more not necessary in any one year to provide difficult One of the greatest fields fair im at any level die funds for the system as provement is street and highway safety. a whole, or for any large part This is a This requires general public education and continuing program for at least^ quarter an intensive support of public officials. ofacenjtuiy in die future. Funds can be made .available for sections, each-one of which,will be useful as soon as completed, within: die current annual budget It is a good place to show faith in the future of the United States--the cause is a worthy one. - The. administrative functions to promote safety need more stimulation, more support tiun do engineering techniques. In the pro posed /Federal legislation the keystone, of tee'Srch of/highway administration is . the state highway department The success of the principles proposed now for Incorpora Standard Code Proposed tion in .Federal legislation trill vest largely Another principle incorporated in the pro posed legislation is the requirement of a standard code for sighs, signals and traffic regulating devices. This recognizes the ffict that the traveler who perhaps most needs thee direction and control devices is the stranger to the particular highway. One in the administrative policies adopted by these departments. The planning of the highway work for tee new period extending into the years; requires state highway de partment.,broad sole planning at ground level, witejbe full .cooperation from bote mrai aaT urban units of government --, such hesitant individual can greatly impede - If we are to decrease the toll , of human ' the utility of a highway and endanger the-' lives, the" casualties and property losses; it safety of others. Perhaps nothing would will be through the success of the admin make him fed more at home and thus make istrative policies adopted by tee state high him a safer driver than -to be assured that way departments in coordinated effort with he win encounter no new, and in same Federal and local highway officials, phis the cases fantastic traffic control devices which cooperation of tee public in their use of the are the result of good salesmanship rather streets mid highways. The active and than good engineering. intelligent support of the highway depart Another provision teat is all important is that which sets aside l$59h of the au ments iq their efforts to coordinate action between the states and the urban and rural officials, and edncational activities to secure thorized funds for research. This is onquestionably the most productive expenditure teat can be made, and with tee new prin ciples incorporated in tee propos! vJegislation, there can be no question as to its importance. This permits studies nib all fields--physical, social, economic--upon which highways have an important bearing. ' a wholly responsible-attitude on the part of the public in thdruse of streets and high* ways, certainly present a charter sufficiently broad to engage the best efforts of the Council and its constitutent dements. In this field the Public Roads Administration whole heartedly endorses every effort of the Na tional. Safety Council and its constituent This is an inadequate review of tee ad dements to . support tee public in vanced principles which have been incorpo this great work dedicated to the safety of. rated in tee proposed Federal legislation. tee dtizens of our country. fts' B.e -<saEBs.tr a &e s R*isa sa<8 &E.a a a eta 2 e ** in horthe . oti ; l to time tion, T of Nacan nore imfety. and note port, pro- of the s.of ora- l' the ding de> Dtmd both man s, ` mL. tighwith t the E the and part ition rural cure t of ugh* tntly the fhlsioleNauent s m( of Traffic Section 167 Targets for Tomorrow; \ By NORMAN DAMON Vice-Pies* Automotive Safety Foundaticm/WeshingtavD. C. We face decisions on future policies once' more stands clearly outlined. It is and procedures in enforcement which are unpleasant to .think what might happen the most important- 'in our generation. in this country if traffic is not controlled The crncial character of this period re effectively during the post-war period. sults, of course; from the' impact of three But we can fervently hope that the de years of war. During the emergency we cisions which are made at this turning have seen the number of motor vehicles point will be the .right-ones;- and that on the road steadily reduced. Mileage of so for as law enforcement is concerned, travel has'beam drastically curtailed, acci our streets mid: highways - shall' not, in dent fatalities in 1943 reached their low Shakespeare's language, be. "bound in est level in nearly 20 years, and the per shallows and in miseries." sonnel of enforcement agencies has been radically- reduced. - Mileage of travel has been radically depleted by manpower shortages. It .seems to: me that' the gauns and losses, which have accrued to the enforce ment program during the war period must ' firstbeiaken into account, as a basis for Today,' with much of the momentum estimating future needs and supplying gone from the traffic control program, we the answers to .some , of -these questions. stand on the. threshhold of change. War To simplity the discussion, I have di time restrictions'soon will be relaxed. The vided the subject into four general classi number of vehicles will begin to increase. fications: More gasoline and tires will be available for the operation of vehicles, many of which are running already on borrowed time. We can anticipate an upsurge of travel mileage and a corresponding in crease in. accident exposure. The ingre-' dients are all there for a disastrous sky- ' rocketing of traffic fatalities. Not for a moment do I suggest that traffic law enforcement alone must bear the fall responsibility for success or fiilure in meeting that grim challenge. That burden is also shared by two other funda mental factors in an effective control pro gram--engineering and education. . ' But the enactmeut ofjjood traffic laws, and their proper enforcement, constitute a basic and indispensable element of safe First;, traffic. lawsand ordinances, which are. necessarily the foundation of the enforcement program. '. Second, police enforcement anddriver license administration. Third, the traffic courts. It is liter ally true that the joint efforts of law makers, police, motor vehicle admin istrators. and other agencies stand: or fall at the bar of justice.;. Fourth, and finally, the public itself. It is true that enforcement activities are aimed phrtictdariy at a minority of citizens, yet in' the final analysis the effectiveness of the entire program rests squarely upon public understanding; ac ceptance and support for it. highway use. Violation of . the tides of the road by a minority of citizens is' involved in an overwhelming percentage of fatal traffic accidents. Traffic Laws and Ordinances We still suffer as a nation from the habit of `let's have a law." -. We forget that there is no law without a sheriff. The growth of traffic both in volume The war has neither caused nor cured and complexity, had imposed this respon this weakness. sibility upon enforcement agencies long before Pearl Harbor. With the war came diminishing emphasis upon the program. Any law, to be effective in this country, must carry the dear sanction of a ma jority of citizens. Beyond that, traffic Now, in the face of imminent changes laws must also meet the test of uniform in traffic conditions, the responsibility ity. Conflicting, rules of the road among im 168 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 local, county, and state jurisdictions are messages there has been substituted one impracticable in modern traffic. shape, two colors and a combined total Despite marked progress toward uni* of 76 messages. formity of traffic laws in tbe. past two The. pedestrian problem is acute in decades with the Uniform Code as a urban areas and requires much greater guide, we still have a long distance to attention. Traffic consists of vehicles and go. Even during the war period we have of persons walking; uhder prevaling legal made some significant gains, notably: concepts inherited from the last century, (a) Enactment of progressive financial it is "half-slave and half-free." responsibility laws. Here again in Detroit and in a limited (b) Legalizing of chemical tests for in number of other communities forward toxication in 4 states and recogni steps have been taken during the last tion by courts in others. three years in the enactment of modern (c) Relaxation of state trade barriers. ized pedestrian control ordinances and Another development of great potential in gaining for them the necessary public importance is the provision in the pend support. ing Federal Aid Highway Bill, already Police Enforcement passed by the Senate, which would mate rially encourage uniformity of signs, sig nals and markings on roads constructed under Federal Aid grants to the states. Many real gains in the police field dur ing this emergency pay tribute to the abilities-and vision of the men who are operating our state and city enforcement The need for a more vigorous and unde- agencies. spread job of interpreting state traffic laws to the public likewise is an inher itance of pre-war years, and goes with us into the future. Too often state and city officials are inclined to rest on the legal The police have developed a substan tially increased interest in training pro grams from which we can anticipate large returns in the post-war era, despite forced curtailment of such training during the support that "ignorance of the law is no excuse," and expect the public to know as they do the contents of lengthy and complicated motor vehicle 'laws. war period. How drastic that curtailment has been is revealed by the fact that.in 1941 a majority of all state departments provided- some kind of training, yet by Other legislative objectives which re 1943 less than a half dozen departments main with us include the stiffening of were continuing those programs. driver license requirements, upgraded to Meanwhile, however, tbe development uniform levels, and in the case of three of training materials and plans together states, -enactment of driver license laws. with support for the Northwestern Uni There is much to be done in defining the versity Traffic Institute, the N.P.A. and legal relationship of pedestrians and ve the limited number of state or local train hicles, and in giving legislative support ing activities is building a constantly to the program for improvement of traffic wider acceptance in the profession and courts. with the public for efforts to raise police While the war period has had less im standards by adequate training. mediate effect on municipal traffic regu lations, progress there is much less satis factory than it is in the state field. You Large gains have been made also in the matter of coordination of police efforts with those of other agencies having juris know as well as I the confusing differ diction over traffic operations. Through ences in city ordinances in the same state the facilities of the Highway Traffic Ad and even in adjoining communities--let visory Committee to the War Department, alone in different states. enforcement agencies of the states have A few exceptions should be noted. De worked closely in cooperation with other troit, for example, has contributed mate state agencies and with the federal gov rially toward simplification and uniform ernment in facilitating highway trans ity of signs, signals and markers. Where portation essential to the war effort six shapes and twelve color combinations Important gains were made in the de formerly provided 406 different parking velopment and adoption of scientific tech- o Traffic Section 169 mques for traffic control. Among these property and money? What is expended were the extension of the "directed" or to prevent crime and fire? A propor "selective", enforcement program, based tionate expenditure to build up police on record analysis; use of speed zoning; forces to adequate size and standards use of coordinated special emphasis pro would, in the vast majority of cases, mean grams, such as the use of road blocks goals far higher than anything contem in California; uniform enforcement policy in Washington; the "selected route" en forcement program in Connecticut; ex panded use of special accident investi gation procedures and techniques; and a tendency toward greater centralization of responsibility for traffic law enforcement functions. plated before. Nor is size alone the measure of future needs. Policies and procedures need re vision and invigoration all up and down the, line to bring about maximum effect iveness. I asked a leading state police executive the other day for his comments and this is what he said: On the minus side of the enforcement picture, we note at once the sharp cur tailment in manpower which has taken place, ranging from 20 to 40 per cent "In spite of the improvements which have been made, I believe that most de partments have only scratched the sur face in attaining those standards which in city and state agencies. This depletion quite generally have been recognized to of forces, together with the inability to be good in the enforcement of traffic train properly the replacement personnel, laws." represents what is probably the greatest single negative factor in the police situa tion. This statement sets forth a strong chal lenge to increased efficiency and effect iveness in traffic police work. Reductions in budget and in equipment also have been felt in many instances, aggravated by the necessary diversion of men, equipment and attention from traffic control to wartime emergency duties. Another phase of enforcement is driver license control. _ Here public officials have tried hard to * hold their own against serious odds. Virginia developed an effi cient corps of women examiners; Colo The most urgent need in police en rado, Texas, Mississippi, South Carolina forcement during, the period ahead ob ' and other states held training courses viously will be the recruitment and train for replacement personnel, tn state after ing of personnel. The problem will be state these officials are still in there swing complicated by the necessity for prompt ing, despite loss of previous gains. action in order to maintain effective con trols. The obstacles can be overcome to some extent by careful advance plan ning. The need for restoring these functions promptly and on a high level of efficiency will be urgent in the demobilization pe riod. Ten million or more men and women What should be the size of post-war of driving age will be released from the forces?^ The answer will depend, of armed services, where they have expe course,'upon local circumstances and upon rienced discipline and training. They the changing conditions x>f traffic But it cannot be expected to have much patience appears certain that pre-war strength will with civilian authorities carrying out ad have to be the minimum requirement, in ministrative and disciplinary jobs without view of the accident fatality record of the . adequate training. Standards will be years immediately before Pearl Harbor. poshed upwards. Bnt the planning job obviously can't stojp there. Some kind of reasonable re lationship must be worked out between the size of the accident prevention forces and the size of the problem to be met At this point a comparison with other public safety agencies may. be helpful. What are the community and state losses from crime and .fire, in terms of lives. We will need examining procedures for new drivers which will screen ont the unfit and give constructive assistance to those needing special instructions or the development of driving skills. Better re examination techniques will be needed, with improved use of suspension and re vocation powers, to deal with the habitual violator. These improvements will depend if; % i ;.i ;i ;l !i i t: .*' ; : &' -J ' Ir, SSk ' e 176 ` 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 upon better-trained personnel, more ade quate records and a general step-up in administrative efficiency. Good traffic Jaw enforcement demands teamwork; it is the product of coordi nated activities by many agencies. Traffic Courts --the state conferences, already have been followed by a series of regional institutes Which have carried the program into tile communities and given impetus to the movement in those states. Similar follow up activities in other states can be ex pected to accomplish equally gratifying results. During the last three war years many developments have taken place which lay the groundwork for improvement of traf fic court administration. And if these events have not yet been translated into widespread accomplishment, at least they give ground for encouragement as to the outlook. The first major step forward was'ac ceptance by the National'Committee on Traffic Law Enforcement of the Warren report on traffic-court conditions. This report has been recently digested and printed in a volume entitled "Traffic Courts on Trial" and copies are available through the American Bar Association and the National Safety Council. Com pletion of this report was followed by gen eral recognition of the bench and bar of administrative .reforms which will make the judicial system more responsive to the needs of modern traffic. This recognition specifically took the form of endorsements by the American Bar Association and other groups in the legal profession, and the beginning of an active program by the bar association, through its Junior Bar Conference, and by the Traffic Courts Committee of the National Safety Coun cil and related groups to put into practice the 57 specific recommendations of the national committee. One. of the problems peculiar to the traffic court arises from the fact that vio lators of traffic laws are not criminals in the usual sense of that word, and resent being classed with criminals in the classification of charges. This makes de sirable a segregation of cases and where feasible the creation of full-time traffic courts. Another complicating factor in many jurisdictions is the revenue-raising aspect of traffic cases. The ample truth is that'impartial justice-- the blindfolded lady with the torch and scales--never is compatible with a system in which some body's budget depends upon keeping up a minimum volume of fines. Strict and continuous'' enforcement of traffic laws is essential to the public safety. On this basis, the public accepts and supports measures necessary to good enforcement But here again troubles crop up because not all of the traffic laws are matters of safety. Many of them are only matters of convenience. Thns we have a driver hailed into court for parking illegally in a curb space re served for the convenience of a taxicab or the customers of a department store, who finds himself unable to relate his offense to the deaths and injuries in the community. During tiie past two years more than I do not suggest that the parking reg 35 state-wide court conferences were held, ulations be rescinded or their enforce bringing together the.judges, prosecutors, ment overlooked. But I do suggest that lawyers and others who have jurisdiction enforcement efforts which are carried on in the program. Initiated originally by in behalf of accident prevention be clearly the National Safety Council and subse labeled, and' that the public be made to quently sponsored jointly by'the Council understand the. .distinction between vio and the Junior Bar Conference of the lations which menace'Iife, equipment and American Bar Association, these meet property, andtbose which interfere with ings were successful, without exception, convenience or comfort This distinction in stimulating greater cooperative effort is important especially in terms of sup within the states and in some instances' port for needed traffic court improve resulting in immediately beneficial im ments. provements in traffic court conditions and ' As an organized program, the subject procedures. is new. I would not want my enthusiasm In two states--Colorado and Nebraska about it to minimize in your minds the Traffic Section , 171 enormous job which lies ahead or the diffi culties which must be , overcome. The purpose of the courts) should not be primarily punitive but preventive. The object is not to levy-fines.and put people in jail, but to provide a certain and im partial penalty-for violators to the end that traffic may be orderly and free from accidents. The-performance-of. the traffic courts, in teamwork with other,.enforce ment agencies, vjnll determine to ,a l^fge degree the standard- of public observance evidence of the possibilities for construc tive effort The outstanding brake-inspec tion program' in' Michigan, sponsored jointly by state, county and municipal enforcement agencies,, comes to mind. The results in decreased fatalities are almost too good to be true. Many other com munity programs throughout the country have been carried out with equal success. Recently.a dozen or more agencies of the Federal government joined in request ing the Office of War Information to of fair rules of the road. ^ Public Attitude It is common these days to hear it said that the war has resulted in p&lic indifference to the traffic-accident prob lem. undertake a nation-wide information cam paign on accident prevention, which will get under way this fall in,all media. It will be a genera! public appeal for care fulness and for support of sound safety programs, with special emphasis on the rising wartime toll of traffic accidents. There doubtless has been a slackening of interest in accident hews, A certain amount of apathy toward, domestic prob lems Is inevitable because Of the distrac tions of global conflict Perhaps a large part of the blame for the general increase in traffic fatalities during the last year can be attributed to this condition. Undertakings of this type offer oppor tunity for many non-official groups to support actively the work of enforcement agencies, through encouragement of a sound public attitude. The operations of enforcement authorities themselves, com petently exercised in the public interest, do much to mould pnblic opinion. A part But I do not believe that public in . of .this official responsibility should be to difference, however much of a faetor .it interpret laws, administrative activities may have been, should be allowed to and policies to the pnblic, so that tite weigh heavily`in our appraisal of future - attitude of citizens can be founded upon problems. It is only a temporary situation, full information and through understand and when the accident tollbegins to climb ing of the objectives, of enforcement. upwards after travel is resumed, public Over the long poll,- an extremely im inattention will vanish like the morning portant factor in pnblic attitude toward mist. traffic law enforcement will be the edu No, it is not a lack of public interest we should be concerned about It is a lack of public information. The great need will be for getting all the facts of the problem before the people, so that the sound and essential programs we have been talking about can be given intelli gent support This phase of the job should occupy a prominent place in the post-war planning of every agency concerned with the con trol of traffic. Public understanding and support must be the cornerstone of prog ress-on. every sector^ in pedestrian con cation and training of boys and girls of high school age. Good courses, properly organized and manned, will equip them first of all to take their places as re sponsible citizens in our modem society. Nearly two million children reach driving age every year, which indicates how' im portant their training could be in catting down the size of the enforcement job. Beyond this, adequate driver education and training for onr youth would estab lish the foundation of pnblic attitude toward enforcement in the future. What is needed is a better knowledge of the trol, driver examination, uniform - laws and ordinances,- coart improvements. Since the traffic fatality, carve started upwards 12 months ago, a good many effective educational campaigns have given problems of traffic, and a clearer grasp by the individual of his or her own re sponsibilities as a driver or pedestrian. This kind of an informed pnblic will make possible eventually an enforcement [i ;( It. '[ 172 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 program that will realize all of the hu manitarian objectives of traffic laws and ordinances. Conchuaons Ont of these observations a few con clusions seem to loom ahead as important: 1. All forces of traffic law enforcement must be cooperatively united to attain results. 2. Laws, ordinances and enforcement policies must be simplified, made uniform and thoroughly interpreted to street and highway users. 3. Enforcement personnel must be ade quate, qualified and trained to high pro fessional standards. 4. Traffic courts, which represent for millions their only contact with the ju diciary, must function impartially, con sistently and in accordance with the high est ideals of justice. Their goal must be the public safety. 5. The efforts of all agencies must be directed to encouragement of strong national self-discipline--to voluntary ac ceptance of individual responsibility for observance of the rules of the road. 6. The outlook for the immediate post war period in accident prevention is se rious because of the setback which en forcement agencies have suffered during the emergency. All essential enforcement and administrative agencies must be re built immediately. During the year before this war--1941 --a total of 40,000 deaths in American traffic accidents was a startling measure of man's "Irresponsibility to Man." Can we--will we-- tolerate again that price for needless carelessness? You know and I know that we will not TUESDAY AFTERNOON SESSION October 3, 1944 Group Session for City and State Police . Presiding: Inspector Rulon Bennion,Utah State Highway Patrol, Salt Lake City, Utah and Chairman, Committee of Gty and State Police, N.S.C Digest of the Chairman's Opening Remarks By INSPECTOR RULON BENNION Utah State Highway Patrol, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Chairman, Committee of City and State Police, N. S. C. The Committee of Gty and State Police, composed of police officers who are mem bers of the National Safety Council, has been active over the years in developing police sessions for the annual Safety Con gress and promoting attendance by other police officers. They have, in addition, been active in securing and furnishing enforce ment information for Council -activities and have assisted in developing and checking materials such as .Public Safety Memos. Early in the past year, following a num ber of inquries from police journals around the country, a questionnaire study was un dertaken. Forms were addressed to the editors of 104 police journals and the infor-' matron secured was used as a basis for re vising the mailing list to furnish such pub lications with the type and quantity of ma terials which could be used most effectively. Included in the year's work was prepara tion of material dealing with the coopera tive efforts between police and local safety organizations. This is included in the text book for safety council managers under the title, "How the Safety Council Can Help Police Traffic Activities." Public Safety Memo No. 62, "Building Support for Police Traffic Programs," was completely rewritten as a result of mans suggestions obtained from members of the Committee. This revised edition has had a wide distribution inducting copies to all students at Northwestern University Traffic Institute. At the mid-year meeting of the Com- lUSt tuf Mtk acfor >stseening ent re- 941 can ure hat fon tah mady. urasrafety text the [dp ling was any the had all affic om- nuttee in Chicago, initial plans were laid {or police sessions of the National Safety Congress. Types of meetings, subjects, and speakers were selected and submitted for the approval of the Executive Committee of the Street and Highway Traffic Section. At the same meeting, the proposed revi sion of the By-laws of the Street and High way Section were discussed and a number of suggestions made Plans were made for a luncheon for edi tors of police journals to be hdd in con nection with the Congress. Approval for these plans was secured, necessary arrange ments made and a successful luncheon meet ing was held. In cooperation with other Council divi sions, a survey was undertaken requesting information concerning accident prevention in traffic control plans for "V-Day," the end of the European War. The immediate response by police officials to this request added greatly to the effectiveness of the informational bulletin on "V-Day" plans which has had a nation-wide distribution. Chairman Beamon explained that a con siderable expansion in membership of the police group and broadening of interests and activities over the years bad indicated the.need for a change in the organizational setup. This need was brought to the atten tion of the Executive Committee of the Street and Highway Traffic Section a year ago and resulted in proposals for revising the By-Laws of the Section. At the mid year meeting of the Committee of City and State Police a tentative revision of this instrument was presented. This tentative revision incorporated pro visions resulting from the work of the committee appointed a year ago to study the problem. Members comprising this group were Chief John F. Gleason, Green wich, Conn, Inspector Joseph B. Kennedy, Cleveland, Ohio, Lieutenant C L. Lycan, Decatur, Illinois, Chief James A Pryde, Washington State Patrol, Colonel Charles L. Sheridan, Montana Highway Patrol, and Superintendent Don F. Stiver, Indiana State Police. Following the mid-year meeting of the Committee, this tentative draft was further revised to incorporate several suggestions from members and was approved in final form by the Executive Committee of the Section on October 3,1944. Under the revised By-Laws tbe name is changed to Traffic Section. Provisions are made for forming a Police Division which will operate under its own officers and an Executive Committee elected by the group. To initiate the forming of the division, it was necessary to present to the Execu tive Committee of the Section a petition signed by 25 or more members. The Secre tary reported that such a petition had been circulated, the necessary number of signa tures obtained, and. that tbe petition was submitted to the Executive Commmittee of the Traffic Section who bad approved the formation of a Police Division. The Chairman reported that in line with the above a Nominating Committee had been appointed to select candidates to serve as officers and members of the Executive Committee of the Division. The report of Captain C J. Sanders, Chairman of the Nominating Committee suggested the fol lowing: Executive Committee--PoKcc Division. Chairman--Captain Paul Price, Dayton Ohio 1st Vice-Chairman--Captain William ^L. - Groth, Virginia State Police 2nd Vice-Chairman--Chief Neal F. An derson, Pasadena, California Secretary--George E Miller, National Safety Council Immediate Past Chairman and Member of Executive Committee of tbe Traffic Section--Inspector Rulon Betmion, Utah State Highway Patrol Captain Herman Crites, Flint, Mich. Captain Cnster A. Dtmifon, Fort Wayne, Indiana Chief John M. Gleason, Greenwich, Coim. Lieut Lionel Harvin, South Carolina Highway Patrol Captain Victor R. Jones, Washington State Patrol Captain M. L. Mittler, Louisville, Ky. Captain John F. O'Neill, Philadelphia, Pa. Colonel Charles H. Schoeffel, Superin tendent New Jersey State Police Captain L. C Upton, Acting Chief, Maine State Police l , . .; f; :i :I 1i i ;r :, J ' ij. 'i - 174 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 Colonel 'Will Zurbucken, Superintendent, Kansas Highway Patrol These officers were dected unanimously. A program for expanding the member* ship in the Police Division was offered by the Secretary. All division members must be members of the National Safety Coun cil in accordance with the Council's Con stitution and By-Laws. To meet this, re quirement, a special four-dollar individual membership, has been created. This pro vides,, in addition to membership in . the Police Division and the Traffic Section, a one year subscription to Public Safety magazine. Accident Facts, copies of per tinent reports, memos, and news letters, and a membership card. Old and New Approaches to Traffic Law Enforcement By BRUCE SMITH Acting Director, Institnte of Public Administration, New York Oar post-war traffic problems do not promise to be materially different from those of pre-war vintage. We shall con tinue to have the same difficulties with traf fic congestion, with control of excessive speed on the highway, the regulation of the incompetent or reddess driver, and the never-ending toll of traffic accidents. But these problems will not reach their former intensity , for some time after .the war's end. Hence we have the opportunity, beginning right now, to reappraise the entire situation and to consider calmly and deliberately the changes that should be made in our meth ods of regulation and enforcement Although our pre-war accident rates, when measured in terms of population, were the highest in the world, they were among the very lowest when computed in relation to the number of motor vehicles. This American achievement is all the more remarkable when it is considered that the congestion of high-powered motor cars, which is greater here than in any other nation, would in itself produce an excep tionally high ratio of accidents per 100,000 cars. The fact that so much has been ac complished under favorable conditions should give us confidence in the basic con trols and techniques that have been devel oped thus far. Those that have proved their value in the past should serve us as well in the future.' But note well this fact: in our efforts to make the general public accident-conscious, we have deprived the traffic officer and traf fic engineer of all credit for their extra-' ordinary accomplishment; and by the same token we have obscured the values that are inherent in many of the techniques thus far employed. The results are incalculable when measured in terms of bad public relations and uncertainty as to future program. From such broad observations three con clusions may be drawn: (1) the post-war traffic problem will be as big as it ever was before the war, and will continue as a challenge to our ingenuity and determi nations; (2) the techniques of regulation and enforcement develops! by traffic engi neers and traffic police should provide the basis for any future program of traffic safety; (3) the average American motorist is not the homicidal maniac that he is sometimes represented to be--if he were, our excellent safety record would never have been achieved With the old, well tested patterns before us, and with full confidence in their use fulness under the new conditions, we can now afford to speculate on possible im provements in the established techniques without the necessity for scrapping all of our knowledge and all of our implements for traffic control. In seeking to produce these refinements we should be quite sore that the need for them is well-established and that they are readily adapted for use by the existing regulatory mechanisms. The problem thus posed is not a new one It has been the abiding concern of many able minds, and the task of many talented bands, ever since we came to recognize the special complexities that surround the reg ulation of highway traffic. Much intelli gently directed effort and huge sums of money have been expended in trying to bring die law-abiding motorist and the law- i far vhea dcms con-war ever e as arcniition mgi: tiie raffic orist e is ver icvt. rfore usecan un does II of nuts dace sore shed me s. one. tuny sited i the regtellis of l to law- Traffic Section 175 enforcing officer to a common plane of narrow down, rather than to widen, the understanding. If these recourses have not scope of his interests. fully achieved their ends, we need not seek far for the reasons. For we have not yet succeeded in producing any great body of motorists that is consistently law-abiding nor any standard of traffic law enforcement to which all policemen consistently adhere. Have we not now reached the point where we can re-integrate oar law-enforcement organizations? Should not the traffic officer and the general patrolman be merged and combined so that all will be skilled in the entire range of penal law enforcement? Even the best-intentioned motorist can not be expected to master all of the intri cate codes of conduct with which he is surrounded, nor to . comply with them under all circumstances'. Through the medium of our traffic laws and ordinances we do our best to make a traffic violator out of the average motorist, and thus far we have succeeded for.too welL We have cluttered-: up our highway intersections with prohibi Can we afford to split our patrol forces in twain, with one fragment largely ignor ing felonies and misdemeanors that are not connected with the operation of a vehicle, and another fragment--a very large frag ment--concerning itself with a wide-range of offenses, bat failing to regulate the- one universal means of rapid transportation. Which is, used by thieves and assassins as readily as by others? 1 tory signs and signals; some of them unduly Unless we can now provide traffic law restrictive to the flow of traffic; some of enforcement all along the line and by all them downright superfluous and at various uniformed branches of police, our motor times and places we have restricted operat vehicle laws and oar host of petty regula ing speeds to such low limits as to threaten tions of the motorist can scarcely be made the utility of the motor car as a rapid more effective than they have been in the means of transport We have done these past The laws and the regulations must things without providing adequate means themselves be simplified and liberalized if of enforcement Under most circumstances voluntary compliance by the driving public we have left it to the motorist to observe is to be increased* Their present complexi these laws and these regulations without ties and unreasonable restrictions are in regard to the need for them as safety meas part doe to our own solemn warnings of the ures. I submit that this is asking too much threatening rise in the number of traffic of human nature. accidents. State legislatures and city coun While we were busy committing errors with respect to the motorist we were also progressively narrowing our enforcement base. Starting with a police establishment of unodest numbers, we have set up spe cialized traffic-law enforcement bodies rep resenting less than one-fifth of the total number available for general-purpose pa trol. Such extreme specialization may some times be justified as a temporary or limited expedient in developing new techniques and testing new methods, but no such process of dispersion can meet indefinitely the wideranging of traffic law enforcement. cils have taken heed of such warnings and have multiplied the prohibitions. The com mon sense of the average motorist has somehow grasped that the increase in traf fic accidents was due, not to less care in driving, but to a vastly increased number of motor cars, and he has accordingly ig nored or cast aside the host of regulations with which he has been surrounded. When occasionally penalized for disobeying them his resentment has been visited upon the enforcing agency. Weakening law observ ance thereby combines with weakening law enforcement to offset the influence that might have been exerted by the whole great Strenuous Efforts Made and burdensomely expensive mechanism consisting of carefully designed highways, Strenuous efforts have been made, to con ingenious signal systems and highly trained vince general patrol officers and specialized enforcement officers. traffic officers that each should play the In these post-war years that are almost other's game. Such efforts have failed in upon us, both observance and enforcement large measure because the generalist tends can be strengthened by unifying the en to be distrustful of the pre-occupations of forcement front, and by simplifying and the specialist; while the specialist tends to moderating the terms of the motorist's code. i: ' if a' * !{ t ;*i 176 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 The value of the motor-car to society consists in its flexibility and speed. These features will be exploited regardless of anything that police or legislators may say er do. Statutes, ordinances and enforce- ment policies must all be revised to fit this basic set of facts. Once recognized and accepted, new and more realistic approaches to traffic safety, which all can use in corn mon, will be opened to us. TUESDAY AFTERNOON SESSION October 3, 1944 Group Session for Traffic Court Judges and Prosecutors Presiding: Judge Perky A. Frey, Municipal Court, Cleveland, O., and Chairman, Com mittee on Traffic Courts, National Safety Council. Report of the Committee on Traffic Courts By HARVEY D. BOOTH Secretary, Committee on Traffic Courts, National Safety Council The Program for the Improvement of Traffic Courts The report of the Committee on Traffic Courts, covering a broad program for the improvement of all coarts in which traffic cases are tried, includes the following ac tivities: a. Development by the Committee of a Courts Division of the Traffic Section, which will make possible a greatly ex panded service to the traffic judges of the nation. The Division was organ ized October 3, and will supersede the Committee on Traffic Courts. b. Development of sessions for judges and prosecutors at the Annual Con gress, with many members of the Com mittee active in 'promoting attendance. The attendance at Congress sessions for judges and prosecutors has shown steady growth during the past four years. c. Study of the participation of prose cutors in the trial of traffic cases, for which the data have been compiled, and which will be published shortly. d. The cooperative project with the American Bar Association, including a grant of funds for employment by the Bar of a staff man (James P. Economos) to work full time on de velopment of interest in traffic courts and their problems among members of the legal profession. e. The Traffic Courts Conference ac tivity, initiated by the Committee on Traffic Courts through a resolution . at the 1941 Congress, and which dur ing the past year and a half has been carried on as a joint project between the National Safety Council and the American Bar Association--with the Junior Bar Conference of the latter affording the active participation for the Bar. The Automotive Safety Foundation, through furnishing speak ers for conferences and other assist ance, has participated in all conferences as one of the national sponsors, f. Preparation of materials for guidance of those interested in improving traffic courts, including articles in various publications by Council and American Bar Association staff, printing of speeches and articles for distribution, and cooperation with the Automotive Safety Foundation and the National Committee on Traffic Law Enforce ment in publication and .distribution of a digest of the 280-page book, "Traf fic Courts" by George Warren, for popular distribution. These materials are especially valuable in connection with the follow-up program of traffic courts conferences. The Courts Conference Activity Since the inception three years ago of the traffic courts conference activity--which has assumed the position of the main ele- Traffic Section 177 meat of the court improvement program --interest and cooperation on a nation-wide scale have been generated, finding expres sion in 40 conferences and meetings touch ing 28 states. The rapid growth and broad acceptance of the activity during the fiscal year now ending is attested by the fact that 28 of the 40 conferences have been held since October 1,1943. The active cooperation of the American Bar Asodation's Junior Bar Conference and of other leaders of the Bar and bench, and the establishment of four regional offices by the National Safety Council have been factors materially adding to the rapid development of the program. These 40 meetings have consisted of two regional conferences (in which more than one state participated); 33 state conferences --more than one conference has been held in six states.as follows: (California (3), Nebraska (2), New York (3), Ohio (3). Oregon (2), and Washington (3); and five other meetings--including participation in state bar convention programs, judges as sociations, joint meetings with peace officer groups and association, etc Distribution of the conferences by states, and the states in which plans are now being developed for additional conferences are indicated on the attached map. The smallest registered attendance at any of tfiestate conferences was 50; the largest, 275. Approximately 4,600 judges, prose cutors, enforcement officers, state and local officials and members of the Bar have been readied directly through these 40 meetings. The courts conference program calls for follow-up conferences in each state as rapidly as the first series can be completed and arrangements effected for the next ones; and for local institutes, usually on the basis of the judicial districts of the state. Three of the second series of con ferences were held during the past sum mer--in Northern California, Oregon, and Western Washington. The second annual conference in New Hampshire is tenta tively scheduled for November. Second and third series conferences will be held in practically all of the other 27 states daring 1945. The program contemplates annual conferences for a number of years in each state The district institute program is now considered an integral part of the courts conference activity. District institutes in two states -- Colorado and Nebraska-- have been completed with highly gratify ing results, while similar meetings on a community basis are now bring held in the Oakland, California, area. Approxi mately 700 persons attended the institutes in Colorado and Nebraska. Details are now being completed for similar local meetings in 12 or 15 other states. Plans are being pushed for conferences in most of the 20 states in which they have not been held. As of the date of this report (October 6) the following ini tial state conferences are bring planned to the end of this year: November: South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. December: Kentucky, Flor ida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas in the order named. Some of the foregoing may not materialize until early in 1945, as dates have not been definitely fixed in some states. Vermont is tentative for this fall or spring. Indiana is scheduled for April. West Virginia has indicated interest and a conference should materialize there for spring. This leaves five states in which no plans have been made, but efforts to de velop conferences in these five states dur ing 1945 will be continued. Other Activities to the End of 1944 In addition to continuing the several ac tivities listed in the first part of this re port, the Council has employed another staff man (Hubert D. Henry) to give most of his attention to foliow-np work in the states which are planning to hold district Traffic Courts Conference Committees and development of definite plans and schedules for the district institutes. In addition, he will assist several states in completing plans for state conferences, will participate in a number of such conferences, and will assist on legislative problems. Forty-four state legislatures will meet early in 1945, and considerable activity dur ing the time the legislatures are in session will be directed to assisting on legislative problems, in addition to planning the second and third series of courts conferences, and to advancement of the other follow-up work already described. A Summary of Results A brief summation of some, of the tangi ble results and benefits of this work in- `t .V:. It-;' S:i l VtV. 7:: * i. ' hi-;. t_L 178 33rd National.Safety Congress, 1944 dades: establishment of separate traffic courts in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, reorganization of a number of courts for separate handling of traffic cases through spedal traffic session or segregated dockets; more adequate use of the public attorney or prosecutor; improved physical conditions by rearranging court rooms, redecorating, providing traffic tables, displaying the American flag, planning for keeping court rooms dean, and plans for new buildings and facilities as a part of post-war construction; uniform handling of members of the armed services in coopera tion with military authorities; understand ing of the war worker and juvenile traffic violator problems, and development of plans for meeting them; better preparation of cases by enforcement officers and how to present evidence in court; uniform fines and penalties for similar offenses consist ent with the drcumstances of each case* and induding more uniform handling of cases by enforcement and court personnel; discovering needed changes in statutes and ordinances with recommendations for amendments; and generally raising the dig nity of the courts through improved pro cedures in the conduct of suefi courts. Of even greater value are the intangible or "hard to measure" results. The whole program is fundamentally educational, aimed at up-grading present judges, jus tices of the peace and enforcement officials; acquainting members of the legal profes sion with the condition and needs of the so-called "lower" courts, and creating a better understanding on the part of the public of the-over-all job of accident pre vention and the specific support which the public must give to their traffic enforce ment officials and to their traffic courts in order to control motor. vehicle accidents. Matty judges of appellate and supreme courts have been brought to recognize that the trial of traffic cases is in fact a spe cialized field of jurisprudence. Probably the greatest value resulting from the entire program to date is the creation of a definite awareness, on the part of the legal, political and business leaders in many states, of the problems and needs of the courts which handle traffic cases, and the relation of this problem to the whole American way of life. In the legal profession this is largely a result of the American Bar Association project, with the staff man employed by the Association carrying on an effective selling job within the organized Bar through contacts with Bar leaders and through bringing such leaders into active participation in the traf fic courts conferences. Continuing the Program As the number of states brought into the-courts conference activity has grown, together with development of other ele ments of the program, the demands and requirements for assistance and leadership from the national sponsors has grown apace. For the next year, two men working practically full time from the home office plus increased assistance through the reg ional staff of the Council will be required. The cooperative project with the Ameri can Bar Association should be continued for the next twelve months, so that the growing interest of leaders of the legal profession may be crystallized and guided into broader organization, as well as indi vidual, support Report and Review of American Bar Association Project By JAMES P. ECONOMOS Secretary, Traffic Court Committee, Junior Bar Conference of the American Association Last year the - Committee had as its objective; -- 1. The encouragement of state and local. Bar Associations to participate in the program for improving the administration, of traffic courts. " 2. The encouragement of state and local Bar Associations to cooperate in co-spon soring state traffic court conferences. The Section of Judicial Administration of the American Bar Association ap pointed two committees, one on `Traffic Courts" and one on "Justices of the Peace Courts." The Section on criminal lav m3 cut cui An Im ori toe cot nit; eve mil int< Co Jos pre 'tali ten tra: on mir 1 Jut pre Coi tini Pre F Cou mg ing grw polfi the netf chat com of t the ana is r i in nts. M) ape- ting the >art iers teds ses, the sgal the nib don thin nth uch raf- into wn, eleand .hip jwn dug See reg ret eri.ued the :gal ded udi- Traffic Section 179 taw appointed a committee on traffic and magistrate courts composed of prose cutors. Judge Parker, United States Cir cuit Court Judge and. Chairman of the American Bar Association's Committee on Improving the Administration of Justice, originally felt that judges were spending too much time on the subject of traffic courts and that this was beneath the dig nity of judges of the higher courts. How ever, Judge Parker has now changed his mini He realizes that more people come into traffic courts than into the Circuit Court, of Appeals, and traffic courts and Justice of the Peace. Courts must be im proved if the American people are to re tain their respect for the American sys tem of administration of justice. The traffic court improvement program is now on the active agenda of the Judicial Ad ministration Section. * The Traffic Court Committee of the Junior Bar Conference assisted in the preparation of the pamphlet, "Traffic Courts on Trial." The Committee is con tinuing its program of last year, and will. in addition, begin to work on state leg islation dnring this year. As a result of the work .of this committee Junior Bar leaders in most states took an active part in the organization and conduct of the various state traffic court conferences. The Committee is being enlarged with the idea of having in every state active Junior Bar men interested in the traffic court program. Judge Earle W. Frost's Committee of the Judicial Administration Section will continue a study of salaries for judges which was started some time ago by the Junior Bar Conference but never com pleted. This -work is bring transferred by the Junior Bar Conference to Judge Frost's committee. There is a great increase in published matter in state Bar journals particularly on the traffic court program. This is effective from the standpoint of educating the Bar to the need for traffig court im provement and as to the actual conduct of the program. It should continue. TUESDAY AFTERNOON SESSION October 3,-1944 Joint Session--Public Safety Education and Traffic Education Association Presiding: R. C Sausbury, Dir., Safety Div., State Motor Vehicle Dept, Madison, Wis. Special Promotional Activities in Traffic Safety By SIDNEY E. NELSON . Chairman, Racine County Safety Council, Rarine, Wis. t For more than six years now the Racine as an official county organization, and rec County Safety Council has been function ommendations approved by the Safety ing successfully in Racine and the surround Council are given full consideration as being ing area. Hu Council is composed of a authoritative and worthwhile. We also have great variety of members, representing the the cooperation of our mayor, the honorable police department, \he sheriff's department, Francis H. Wendt, and city departments. the county highway commission, the coro There is no doubt in the minds of our ion- ner's office, manufacturing concerns, mer Safety Council members that special pro chants' associations, labor unions, city and motional activities are really necessary tion county school systems and a large number occasionally during the year, because to the ap- of active civic clubs. Meetings are held in average person the unusual is more impres tffic the court house each month, with attend sive; .and he is more apt to discuss these the ance varying from 20 -to 50. The Council stunts with his fellow associates, thereby inal is recognized by the Racine County Board spreading safety education among a greater n / 'ft j ;j i ! :i :.. it i i dr'*, d-) 'here y at idea each oar mesever, bt^ prounihelp first- Traffic Section 181 aid demonstrations, and act as ushers for seating the public in our booth where we show safety moving pictures. They also help to carry on the safety dink, supervised by one or more men from the Motor Vehide Department Safety Division of our State, of which our chairman, Mr. R. C Salisbury, is director. He sends us state equipment which includes reactometers and equipment for making vision tests. A reactometer tests the quickness or alertness in applying footbrakes. This test is like a game, every body wants to try it The vision tests also arouse curiosity of "Let's try it!" Written examinations are given those who desire diem. The public seems eager to take these tests. This indudes a great number of the youth who have just become automobile drivers. We believe this to be the best method of reaching the youth we have ever found. No Mishaps Several years ago we ascertained the name of an automobile driver and owner who had been driving his cars for eighteen years without a mishap. We then asked for names of anyone who could beat that record, through the local newspaper. Courteous Drivers The past few months we have been look ing for courteous drivers, and we were able to secure the cooperation of our local news paper, the Racine Journal-Times, which published the names of these courteous drivers, even going so far as to put their pictures on the front page. The city editor stated that news of this type would be quite a change for their readers. He was en thusiastic about this publicity. Safety Posters We also secure the help of our County Insurance Board. About half a dozen of these insurance men are ready each day to fadp us in this work in a supervisory way. And, by the way, we have been very successful in getting them to pay practically all of the expenses to conduct die booth, which amounts to about $100.00 for the three-day showing. In getting a booth ready, we fed that it should be decorated wdi Of course, we carry on a safety poster contest each year in the schools. Of late we have been doing so with the cooperation of the .United Commercial Travelers, who conduct % national campaign. At one time they gave a dinner for the winners, at which time the prizes were awarded. At another time we had the winners taken out to the county fair, where prizes were awarded at the annual Kiwanis dinner. and not by amateurs. We know a well decorated store front arouses curiosity. Fourth of July Float On one occasion we distributed five hun dred sets of the First-Aid Reminder Leaflets which were purchased through the National Safety Council. There were six leaflets in each set We only gave a few leaflets to each person so that thousands could be ac commodated. These leaflets are excellent material We also endeavor to have a float in our annual Fourth of July parade. This parade has become known as one of the finest parades in the United States on that day. Miles upon miles of floats handsomely dec orated, marching dubs, many bands, mili tary units, etc., .are entered yearly. Our most successful float was an open car driven by boys dressed np as road hogs. They Automobile and Home Shows wore the old-fashioned automobile dusters or light tan rain coats and a costume mask At automobile and hone shows we carry hog head. On each side of the car was a bn our safety work in about the same sign reading "DON'T BE A ROAD HOG!" manner as we do at the county fair. How- - This attraction was photographed by more ever, we have been able to secure the booth persons on the line of march than even the grads, so far, to carry on our safety work. prize winning float. The cost is negligible, Here again safety literature by die thou from $7.00 to $8.00 lor the cost of costumes sands is given out to the visitors.'. This and a banner. literature can easily be received from the . average local insurance agency which , gets Radio Recording it from the insurance companies. Of course, We had a recording made by our local no individual agency name is allowed to be radio station, WRJN, of a conversation be printed on these circulars, nor do we allow tween myself and Mr. Sherman Blandin any insurance advertising material. of our Safety Council, regarding the rules ! ;E` lI 1!i A si JI 182 33rd National Safety Congress,TQ44 and regulations of ourhighways. Hus was put on through the local station gratis, and later a squad car, equipped with loud speaker, carried this conversation on at various intersections in the city. . Safety Speakers We had various well-known safety speak ers, such as Mr. Salisbury, Dr. B. L. Cor bett, and our judges at our safety meetings. We have had their speeches published, in part, in our local newspaper in a very conspicuous place. Letter*, Bulletins to On several occasions we mailed letters to personnel managers of our various1 local industries. For the Fourth of July week, we mailed a safety bulletin and requested that this be placed on the safety bulletin board in each plant We know that this went over because one of oar larger indus tries called and requested additional copies. We got die idea of the heading for the bulletin "1#X> AMERICANS WON'T COME BACK.*' from the National Safety Council's magazine. Girls' Safety Patrol We have recently organized a Girl's Safety PatroL The girls are of junior and senior high school age. They are drilled by the same expert who drilled our Elks Safety Patrol, Officer Joseph A. March of our Racine Police Department He also instructs them in first-aid, and rales of the road. -They are given written examinations on these subjects. The girls are chaperoned also by a Mrs. Walter Sched, and .they have lunch after their classes. They are being uniformed with blue skirts and sash, white blouses; blue jacket; arm band and overseas cap. The girls are very enthusi astic in their work; and I am sure will attract unusual attention among the citizens of Racine. High School Member* Our high schools in Racine of late have been sending about three pupils from each school to attend our safety meetings, repre senting the student council. They are con ducting safety work in each school with material received from our meetings. Letter* to Traffic Violators -I would like to- add one type of safety work we carry on regularly. That is, when a car is observed violating a traffic rule, we secure the license- number and check on same as to the name and' address of the owner of the vehicle, with the license rec ords. We mail the owner a printed .form advising him of. the traffic violation in a friendly way, asking his cooperation in the future. This printed form takes but a few minutes in marking die date; place and man ner of violation. We often receive replies denying it was their car which made the violation. But; we have received more let ters from persons; thanking us for tins reminder. As an illustration, a parent wrote to us stating that no donbt either their son or daughter was the one driving their car qt the time of the violation, and they have talked to their, son and daughter and agreed that there will be no farther viola tions of traffic rules. At another time, a public service group was sent a letten Ibis letter was posted on die wall with a warn ing, "Wheu you go to Racine, better drive carefully...." Wmiijfn Radne is a heavy industrial city of about 70,000. To make sure that the message of off-the-job accident-prevention gets to die worker,-full use is made of the bulletin boards. Posters; special holiday messages and dippings of acddent stories call atten tion to die need for obeying traffic laws, not only to prevent acddents but to prevent loss of time from work. Copies of toe state's safety magazine, WISCONSIN TRAFFIC SAFETY, are kept in. a number of places convenient for workers to read during rest periods or lunch hour. Workers all have . had. experiences in driving that they like to talk about with others; and just seeing some bulletin or poster on traffic safety will serve to bring tip a discussion oil driving habits; jay-walking or highway hazards that need correction near one's home or on a worker's way to and from his job. rith feiy hen tile, teck the rec>rm na the few anlies the letthis rote heir beir hey and ola* i, a ."bis imrive not : of th etin iges tea ms, rent & iber ead cers flat fast sffic non my ne's rom Traffic Section 183 Ways of Developing Special Promotion By R. C. SALISBURY Director, Safety Division, State Motor Vehicle Department, Madison, Wis. Ordinarily, promotion is thought of in terms of public meetings, newspaper articles, talks before luncheon groups, putting up a poster, showing a film or giving a radio talk. Any of these channels of publicity can be turned into special promotion by .emphasis on a new slant or different appeal. Let's consider the newspaper first We no longer need to sell editors an safety. They are sold. What they want is material presented accurately and interestingly tor their readers. The usual story for the press is one which gives a statement on so-many fatal accidents occurred, so-many drivers' licenses revoked or a holiday plea for safe driving and walk ing. The press, however, can be utilized for special promotion by the following means: 1. Half-page or full-page ads, made posable through sponsorship by civicminded firms and transport companies. 2. Boxed inserts in advertising, tying in sales with safety, such as bike booklet at sporting goods counter, safety rules in a folder with roller skates, purchase of bright colors for children's clothes, `white lunch boxes, etc. 3. Fatality score box, printed once a week, once a month, or each time a death is added to the total for the year thus far. 4. Score box on drunken drivers, ap pearing with each new story of a drunken driving conviction in the local court. 5. Slogans, used as cme-line or oneparagraph fillers throughout the paper. 6. Quizzes, on knowing local and state traffic regulations, safe driving practices, wartime hints on car care and operation. Radio Radio has proved an increasingly effective means of public education because it reaches into the home so directly. Besides the ordi nary radio talk, this channel of promotion can be used for: 1. Spot announcements or chain breaks, getting across a single idea in a few words. It is advisable to make such an\ nouncements factual when possible, not just preachments. 2. Dramatisations, but they must be good. 3. Sidewalk interviews. 4. Bicycle court broadcast. It is customary to sponsor a speakers' bureau in any worthwhile all-around safety program, thus providing capable persons to lecture before civic groups, luncheon dubs, school assemblies and conventions. Such meetings can arouse interest in accidentprevention, especially if the talks are really constructive and provide ideas and projects that will be acted upon. Special events, how ever, can be worked up as follows: 1. A Statewide Congress of School Safety Patrols. Such an event in Wiscon sin has been held two successive years, each time attracting more than 1,000 dele gates. Entertainment and. instruction is provided. Sponsored fay the Motor Ve hicle Department in cooperation with safety patrol group sponsors from locali ties throughout the state. 2. Encampment of Pdtrols. Held an nually at a lakeshore in Bayfield County, Wisconsin, for all patrol members of the ' county. Three or four days. Sponsored by county traffic department 3. Safety Patrol Dinners, Theater Pro grams, Picnics, Parties, paid for by civicminded merchants, 4>olice protective as sociations, parent-teacher groups, etc 4. A Magic Show, for adults and/or childretv-can be built in part around theme of accident-prevention. 5. Demonstrations, such as driver clinic tests, brake testing. 6. Parades, either entirely or partly devoted to accident-prevention. Exhibits Exhibits at fairs, festivals, conventions and in stores, hotels and other public places can be made attractive and appealing. Merely setting aside a booth space with a* few posters, a table of literature and some com fortable rest chairs provides a means of 184 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 acquainting the public with the department, group or committee working for safety in a community. But a more effective exhibit is one which allows participation of the public, such as testing'devices for steering ability and brake reaction. At the conclu sion of such tests, people like to compare their scores with the scores of others. A department store, during September when children return to school, can easily feature school safety patrols and the backto-school themes in window displays. If an entire window can be devoted to this purpose, fine; but if only a poster or a placard is placed in the window, even that will provide another means of getting across a safety message to people who pass by. An animated display, showing safety activi ties in'pictures which rotate gradually or which are lighted up successively by electric controls, is another effective display method. Small stickers with safety slogans will be used during the Christmas shopping season in Wisconsin. We expect to issue them to merchants for packages, cafe owners for menus and in our own departments they will be used for letters and envelopes. Post age meter stamps, in scores of appealing messages, have been used by state depart ments, civic groups and national organiza tions to promote safe driving, walking and bicycling. In Wisconsin the two most recent stamps used presented the following appeals, "Stop--Look--and Think" and "Do You Really Stop?" This year in Wisconsin the Motor Vehicle Department, as part of its announced pro gram to reverse the rising trend of acci dents, offered without charge sidewalk sten cils to any police department willing to accept and use the stencils. We spent about $200 on this project, paying about one dollar apiece for 200 stencils. Four different mes sages were made available; "Watch Where You Walk," "Cross Safety," "Watch Your Step," and "Lock Both Ways." With, the last message the stencil also lad two arrows, one pointing to the left and the other to the right These stencils have been used in many Wisconsin communities, and we hope they will help keep the pedestrian death rate down. Outdoor Advertising Outdoor advertisers stress the fact that you should advertise where the people are- outdoors. We have used billboards effec tively in Wisconsin, purchasing poster sheets at cost and having them put up through the courtesy of the advertising companies themselves. One of the most effective out door displays ever , used in Wisconsin was a huge electrically-lighted sign above a waterpower and light company in the Fox River Valley region; a picture of which is shown in the charts on display during this session. Outdoor advertising in the form of bumper strips on motor vehicles, especially trucks, or in the form of messages painted on the sides of trades, especially delivery trades, also may be utilized by enterprising depart ments or companies.-And of course, we all are familiar with the use of safety reminders for commercial operators. - People who ride the bases and street-cars always Jove .time to examine the car card advertising. Through such means, a safety department or council can promote safer walking by pointing out that as soon as a* person steps from the vehicle, he is no longer a passenger but a pedestrian. As a pedestrian, it is important that he wait at the curb until the way is dear, then cross the street safdy. Short films on safety for use in theaters and in dassrooms or public meetings can be tied in with any program of safety. A pic ture frequently trill do much more to edu cate people than a great many words. As the Chinese say, "A picture is worth a thou sand words." Contests can be good special promotion, but they must be well planned and well executed Contests can be hdd among cities, counties, schools or chapters of an organization. They can cover an over-all safety program or be limited to accident reductioU, development of safety slogans or posters or the writing of essays. To protect workers in industrial plants, in Wisconsin we have inaugurated a program of publicity designed to help safety directors and plant foremen. A checklist of off-the* job delays at home and on the highway has proved very effective. Entitled Ftp/ Troublemakers Con Make Yon Late, this booklet Has gone out by the thousands all omj. the state. Our total printing was lOO.OOO. 'Periodically we issue a poster-sire bulletin, A Report to Industry, giving latest accident facts and listing fatalities by occu- L.) OUl- nper icks, i the icks, ?arte all iders thoo- ttion, well nong 1 an sr-all ident >garu lants, gram xtors F-the* hway Fivt , this bail /was r-size latest occu- V. l' Traffic Section ' 185 pations of the victims. Many companies have made extensive use, on their own ac cord, of payroll inserts, posters, news bulle tins and other ideas to promote plant and off-the-job safety. The best way to reach the worker is through men and means di rectly associated with his place of work. To reach the foreign-bom population with a special message, we sometimes prepare a Discussion on Special Promotion SGT. HARRY F. BERLIN, ILLINOIS STATE POLICE: The driving habits of people are greatly influenced by their atti tude. Their attitude toward driving can be improved if they fed that safe driving-is a moral and social obligation. Since the church is vitally concemedwith moral and social obligations,, it is a logical channel special story for foreign-language newspa pers published in Wisconsin. These papers also are on our mailing list for all releases issued to weekly newspapers. Farm Journals are on our list for this same service, and frequently we will write ra story directly concerned with how traffic accidents are affecting the fanner. . hr a month or two over 13,000 taverns in the state will be brought into our safety program through use of a series of posters to he displayed in places where people drink beer or liquors. This project is co-sponsored by the Motor Vehicle Department's Safety Division, the State Beverage Tax Division, the Tavern League of Wisconsin, the Dis tillers' Association and the Brewers' As sociation. for safety education. Ministerial associa tions, individual clergymen and church groups are anxious to promote traffic safety in Illinois. Actual pulpit time has been made available to the Illinois State Police. JOHN R. FADER, MANAGER, DEL AWARE SAFETY COUNCIL: Delaware has conducted an extensive pedestrian cam paign. In connection with it, auxiliary po lice were used to make a survey of pedes trian violations. Another program involved painting tirdes on the pavement-40 indicate accident locations. It has been found in Delaware that driver, training programs which utilize police to give road instruc tions are not only of benefit to pupils but have much public relations value for the police We have prepared for city police depart DONALD M. HcNEIL, TRAFFIC ments this fall a set of 12 public address ENGINEER, PITTSBURGH, PA.: Pic system warnings to be used at football tures of vehicles which have been in traffic games--high school college and professional accidents were displayed in the City-County --Similar to those we have used effectively ' Buildings. This display met with the ap at University of Wisconsin games for sev proval of the public and so many requests eral years past Usually the warnings are were received from groups wishing to bor broadcast at the end of the first half, urg row it that two more sets -were made 19. ing that as the fans go home, drivers should The use of so-called "gruesome" pictures is show good sportsmanship at the wheel and an effective means of adult traffic safety pedestrians should avoid blocking traffic or education and is actually showing people doing the unexpected. the "truth" about traffic accidents. it ! ; Si te- 186 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 TUESDAY EVENING SESSION October 3, 1944 Joint Session with Commercial Vehicle and Transit Sections and School and College Division Presiding: Amos E. Neyhart, Administrative Head, Institute of Public Safety, Penn. State College, State College, Pa., and Road Training Consultant, American Automobile Asso ciation. Driver Training A Panel Discussion Participants: Discussion Leader: 'Amos E. Neyhart. Capt. T. N. Boate, Penn. State Police, Harrisburg, Pa. Harold R. Danford, Dir., Educational Div., National Conservation Bureau, New York City. Gordon C. Graham, Supvr., Safety Edu cation Dept, Detroit Public Schools, Detroit, Mich. Ira Gatlin, Safety Div, Wisconsin State Motor Vehicle Dept, Madison, Wis. W. Robert Smith, Insurance Mgn, Scott Bros, Inc, Philadelphia. T. C Wicker, SnpL of Transportation, New Orleans Public Service, Inc., New Orleans. MR. GRAHAM: The driver training program in the city of Detroit rather de scended upon us as the wolf upon the fold along about 1936 when we began our activ ities in driver education and did not indude behind-the-wheel instruction at that time. Our original course was given at a tenth grade level about which there may be some question because of age'of the youngsters involved, but it seemed to fit into our pro gram best at that time and was . set up that way. This program involved instruction in the customary things such as rules of the road, common causes of acridents, the mechanics of motor cars, and things of that kind. Following that there was an additional course that was placed in our high school dries dasses at the twdfth grade level. A few years later we endeavored to con duct our first experiment in behind-thewhed instruction and we turned to the Lane Technical High School pattern in Chicago, in order to find something that we fdt would most satisfactorily meet our needs. Very briefly that program of instruction, which is not as widespread as the AAA method, as far as general use is concerned, consists of having an actual training area or- driving area which is laid out on the high school grounds. W have six cars that are used by these students. The students operate these cars for the first time alone. They are the only person in the car. They have been given, of course, preliminary instruction to a con siderable extent They have at least fin ished the tenth grade traffic course that I spoke of, and in some cases the twdfth grade course, before entering this actual behind-the-whed instruction. Actually this plan is patterned somewhat after the old army procedure of teaching men to ride horses, in which they had a arcular area with horses stationed all around the area and they were all directed to do the same thing at the same time. All mount their horses and go around the drde and go through various evolutions, one fol lowing the other. That is about the way we start our drivers out in operating their cars. They operate the cars in low gear. When any one car stops all the cars stop. The cars were first operated at the state fair grounds, later in one of our dty parks, and now they are functioning on one of our school grounds adjacent to the school class room in the building. We hope that eventually we may be able to extend this form of instruction to all high schools in the dty. That, of course, makes it a pretty expensive sort of thing and I imagine before too long in this pro- J ate so- >ur on, VA ed, rea the esc ars nly -en, onfintI fth ual hat ing !a ah led All rde col our hey any ate ks, our iss- ible all rse, ing >ro- Traffic Section 187 gram there will probably be some discus than to have a large number perhaps poorly sion along that line as to how this can be trained. financed. ' CHAIRMAN NEYHART: We have a MR. CATLIN: It was about four' years man here who has done as much, if not ago that we first became interested in the more, in training army drivers than anyone driver education program, due to the very I know of. In fact, this man turns out bad driving record of the high school age army drivers at the rate of eight hundred group. I am happy to say that at this time .we have three hundred and seventeen high schools in the state of Wisconsin out of a total of four hundred and sixty-three that are engaged in the classroom phase of driver instruction. I might say further that we are more interested in Wisconsin in attitude devel opment than we are in the actual teaching of a person to drive an automobile. It may interest you to know that the program that we have, which is approved by the Depart ment of Pubjic Instruction, calls 'for a mini mum of twenty classroom periods of in struction. However, today the average school in Wisconsin has increased the num ber of periods of classroom instruction to per week, and I am going to ask Lieutenant Colonel John Mutte if he will tell us briefly how they are doing this job for the army. LIEUTENANT COLONEL MUTTE: You might be interested to know something about Camp Lee. So far we have turned out fifty-four thousand drivers. Our sister camp at Fort Francis E. Warren has prob ably turned out at least a third of that quantity. That is just two of the army camps. We have an eight weeks' course for our army-drivers. Of our eight weeks, we first have two weeks in our shops. The first week is on the chassis where the man goes all over it He is taught the nomenclature of the whole chassis, including the points that he, as a driver, is permitted to lubricate twenty-six. The second week is on engines. There he We know that more periods would be de sirable. However, let me stress this one point We are more interested in developing the attitude, or helping to develop the atti-: fade, of the present driver age group than we are in the actual teaching of them to drive an automobile. However, we haven't forgotten that part of the thing either. In Wisconsin, we have what is known as the Home Supervisor Plan of driving instruction where the actual tears down engines and rebuilds them. He is taught the use of hand tools that, come with his vehicle, what they are for and how to use them as well as take care of them. We do not teach drivers to be mechanics, but those two weeks pay dividends because later on when he is out on the highway alone and has trouble with'his vehicle^ he at least can identify where the trouble is. Then he can telephone in and the mechanic, unlike the old plumber, may bring the right tools and right parts to fix it without too instruction is given by the parent or rela many trips lack to the camp. tive or friend, known as a home supervisor. The third week includes classroom in The reason we favor, that particular-plan struction. He takes up rules of the road is because we think there is real merit in it and elementary map reading so he can, at There is a development of attitude in the least,-read a commercial map and interpret school and development of attitude in the the conventional signs and symbols on it home That is a desirable feature inasmuch and prepare a little simple map. He is as it brings the home and the school to taught rope tying. gether. The fourth week, for the first time he We will admit that as far as the home supervision plan of driving instruction is concerned, it is still in an experimental stage We certainly do not reach the large number . of boys and girls of driving age that we comes in contact with an army' vehicle. At the camp we have a driving area one thou sand by six hundred yards. That is laid out in twelve circles; each circle has ten twoand-a-half-ton, six by six army trucks. would like to reach, but we feel that it is We put two men on the trade with twti better to have a few well-trained and per men observing and the instructor stands- in haps to have them as a model for others, the middle of the ring. That is oar control \ \ |- \I I; : ,J * \. !; i: . M 188 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 driving. Fortunately in . beginning We took for the beuefit of the fleet operators, we only men who could drive. They were fa take the cream of the crop and give them miliar with a farm vehicle or passenger car ` three weeks further instructions. During and met the psychological and physical tests that period they get work on trade'and which we had preceding the training. tractor operation. They get a stiff course In addition to that, they have to take an and can handle any truck, tractor, or van L Q. test and if they don't pass it, they don't you have on your highway. drive. Some don't pass the test and we have to throw them out We go along with the controlled driving and eliminate all men who aren't good drivers. If we find a good one, we immediately pick him out and have him act as assistant driver coach. CHAIRMAN NEYHART: I wanted to have you hear from Colond Mutte because he was a practical fleet operator before he ever went into the army. After visiting his setup at Camp Lee, we were certainly satis fied that he is doing a real job down there These men stay there four days, or until for the War Department. it is safe to go on the road in convoy. From there they advance to ordinary highway driving on primary and secondary roads. We also have in the group Milton D. Kramer, who is assistant director of the Center for Safety Education of New York Then they go' cross country. They are University. He will tell us briefly what the taught how to use the front-end drive and War Department is doing to try to meet winch. the driver training need. He didn't know He has one day in the tire shop. The driver has to know how to take off theout- side and inside tire, how to patch a tube with a hot patch or a cold patch, and how to install chains. , anything about this; neither !did Colond Mutte* I am catling oo them out of a dear sky. MR. KRAMER: I would like to tell ypu something about the pre-induction driver He must know how to lubricate his ve hicle with the hand gun that comes with it He is limited to things that be as a driver can lubricate. He is taught how to lubricate with a power gun under the supervision of a mechanic. education program of the War Department Colond Mutte has told you of the army's training program and that is very dosely related to what is being done today in the high schools for the education of potential inductees. He has four blackout convoys during his training period of eight weeks. It may start, the first night with ten miles; then fifteen; then thirty miles. We do that on blackouts and there is the usual highway traffic to contend with around our camp in Virginia. When the war began, the army soon dis covered a shortage of personnel with respect to the possession of specific skills for han dling motor vehicles. A study was made and there was set up in the office of the Quartermaster General an advisory com We don't pick oat easy spots for than. mittee to explore the possibilities of making We push it right through and at the end recommendations to the public schools for of his eight weeks we fed that he meets all the training of beginning drivers. . requirements. Now we have injected into our course this new Weasd that you have heard so much about You have seen pic tures of it It is a full-track vehide and is amphibious. We give him sixteen hours on that Any of you commercial fleet operators This committee induded representatives from the National Safety Council, the American Association of Motor Vehide Administrators, the American Automobile Association, the National Educational As sociation, the National Conservation Bureau, and marry other interested organizations. looking for good drivers should inquire first if he was trained at Camp-. Lee or Fort Warren. If he was and passed the eight weeks' course he has had good training. Following study by committee members there was prepared a manual for the use of teachers in Ugh schools. This manual was immediately made available to public schools I am not saying that a lot of other army. camps haven't turned out expert drivers. They probably have, but those boys, at least, we can guarantee to be good drivers. Also, from state educational departments^and state motor vehkle departments. When the manual was available it was turned over to the schools with the follow- we an *) mt . tse an to ise be his isve D. be irk be set 3W ad ar pu rer nL F'* ely be id is-/ set inide be Br ing for res be de i3e isan, ers of res ols ate res iw- Traffic Section m jag statement in mind: First, there existed education, a splendid opportunity for the de and exists today bis very evident fact, that velopment of good citizen drivers; one out of every four men in the army most MR. WICKER: I am not going to try handle some Ibid of motorized or mecha to tell you how we train our drivers. It is nized equipment at one time or other. too big a job. I am going to tell you, how Secondly, the army owns one motor ve ever, that we have been training bus drivers hicle for every seven men. and street car drivers. We have been in that Thirdly, the inductees in the army were business since we originally started, and we demonstrating a notably had experience and had to do a pretty fair job to stay in busi knowledge with respect to the understanding and attitudes required for handling of motor vehicles; and ness. And some of us went out of business in spite of be fact we did all we could to train these people. Finally, if the public schools of the nation canid help the War Department by provid ing pre-induction fundamentals in motor ve hicle operation they would be helping them in several other ways: First; bey would be conserving the gains they had made in driver education'before the war. Secondly, they, would help meet an existing civilian slant- _ The way we see it now, the training prob lem is more important to ns at this stage of the .game than ever before. Nobody is kidding us about be people that are riding an the street cars and buses; bey are not rid ing in them because they like be traction company. The WPB and all be other folks have something to do wib that age of mature vehicle operators; and, ~ We are hauling people at-be rate of thirdly--and this is the most significant-- twenty-two million a year. That is a lot of they would lay the foundation or ground passengers. When you get jammed in a woric for important postwar driver educa street car or bus remember that you are not tion. kidding us when yon ride wib us. We are In consequence the various state depart ments set up a series of teacher training in going to have to fight for business after be war is over and the only way we will be able to retain this extra riding we are get stitutes and there were held just tins last summer some twenty of these institutes in> ting now is to have good, competent, safe, efficient, polite--be bist word is very essen various states from New York to California. ' tial-drivers. these institutes enrolled teachers and school administrators who spent three days at the state university and one of the three (fays was spent in a field trip to a nearby anny post We are very happy to say that as a result of this work, initiated in the Quartermaster Corps and then carried through by the army at large through its, pre-induction branch, there exist today some' five thousand high schools in this country that ate offering one or another kind of driver training course. "* I don't know much about your business-- you truck operators--but I have a sneak ing suspicion you are in be same boat. One thing we have found out, ladies and gentle men, is that lots of people can drive a bus very well and can make more enemies than bere are cows in Texas. We are going to try to get be ober kind. The Transit Association has two committees working today. They, have been working since April. They have got Professor Clay ton, of Carnegie Institute; and Mr. Kraft, We can see from this work that inductees of ATA, and a sizable committee of in leant fundamentals that make them more dustrial; members. They are what we con amenable to army training and many of ' sider to be be best brains in be industry, them learn things which they will be able and, confidentially, I am not on eiber one to use aspractical drivers in the-postwar of those committees. world to help cut down some of our acd- They are working on two problems. Num dents. ber one is selection. Nobody has mentioned The War Department pre-induction pro selection and I am not going to make- a gram is broad in scope and 1 have time onjy speech on it, but it is one of my main en to describe the driver education which grew thusiasms. You can never make a race from the very significant needs in opera horse out of a nude; and bere is no kidding tions today. It gives to the field at large, yourself that you can. both the safety field and the field of general . The other committee is working on traln- i . i;.f h I I I:,- #: - 190 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 ing. We believe that we are giving the best training that we know how and 1 think the training in the transit industry has definitely improved during the war. It had to do that because riding was heavier and the work harder than ever before and we have had to train people longer. In our case we in creased the training time of our people at least twenty per cent in order to make a man or woman as capable as we though he or she should be. We now have three hundred women_ in our employ. We are pretty proud of them. A good many of them are driving buses and are doing all right We used to think that a bus driver had to be a hairy-chested he man, but there are some pretty girls push ing them around now. We hope to be able to make selection of our people. I am going to put out the word in the transit industry about Army drivers. We are really going after some of those men after the war and you trade operators should consider those army drivers. If they are trained that well they should make won derful bus drivers and truck drivers for us after the war. I think that we will be stupid if we don't get a sizable group of them, and you truck operators, for your information, we transit people have been taking your drivers for a long time. They are the best ones we get You must have a pretty good training pro gram yourselves. CHAIRMAN NEYHART: I believe there certainly most be some questions from those of you who are in the audience. Per haps -some of the things that have been said, or things that have not been said, are of interest to you and you would like to have more information. MR. CATLIN: Someone has asked about credit for these courses. That depends en tirely upon what the individual school wishes to do. We have some schools issuing a quar ter credit Some issue a half credit There is nothing compulsory about it It depends upon the individual school as to how much credit they care to give. MISS MARY WYMAN (Louisville Public Schools, Louisville, Kentucky): What safeguards do you use to keep those people at home who are getting the behind* the-wheel training from getting bad\ atti tudes ? v MR CATLIN: We have issued specific instructions to the home supervisors, calling their attention to the fact that the young sters that they are going to teach have had classroom instruction where an attempt has been made- to develop the proper attitude and we have asked them to cooperate with them rather than discourage them. It seems that is about the least, and, at the same time, the most that we can do in connection with that CAPTAIN DAY (Iowa State Patrol, Des Moines, Iowa): I would tike to &sk Mr. Gatlin who is responsible in the event any of these kids become involved in an acci dent while they are in the process of operat ing these cars during the-period of training. MR. CATLIN: It is the parents' respon sibility or the home supervisors' responsi bility. We have asked them to be sure, if possible^ to see that their cars are insured so that there is a way that settlement can be made in case of an accident. CAPTAIN DAY: If the car belonged to the school, who would be responsible in the event of personal injury or property dam age? MR. CATLIN: In Wisconsin the school has nothing to do with the auto. The- auto is owned by whoever does the instruction-- the. parent or the home supervisor. All of our driver training programs are known as the home supervision plan, where we furnish a set of ten lessons which are handed out by the school, one at a time, to the student who takes them home to the father or mother, or relative or friend who is going to do the instructing. We refer to that person as the home supervisor and those lessons are taught one at a time. We ask for a report back to the school at the completion of each individual'lesson, show ing the number of hours of instruction and the number of miles the car has been driven. When those ten lessons are completed, we act upon the recommendation of the in structor at the school, plus the information that we get bade .relative to the number of hours driven, or, .rather, the number of hours consumed and the number of miles driven. We then issue a certificate which is exchangeable for a driver's license.. *Many of you may. wonder why we fed that we can take the responsibility upon our shoulders of issuing a driver's license upon that kind of driver training. However, as lling img- K') tude with sems ame :tion Des Mr. any icdaatling. ponjnsit, if ured can sd to i the lam- bool anto ORTM are her \ J e, to the who sr to and We : the 10Wand iven. j i | t we . inition r of * of rules :h is i feel i our upon r, as Traffic Section 191 you all know, the average youngster who is physically or mentally in such a condition taught to drive is given very limited instruc as to make them sodally irresponsible in tion, and generally by people who have noth the operation of a motor vehicle. ing to follow whatsoever in teaching him to Then, if that is the case, we eliminate drive. them. Now through the operation of these We feel that any boy or girl who has clinics, while they haven't achievM all actually covered these ten successive steps things we have had in mind, we have in learning to drive is bound to be a far been able to rehabilitate hundreds and hun better driven than the average individual dreds of motor vehide operators and place who possibly is taught how to start, steer them back on the road as safe drivers and stop and from that time on is left on where they had been before operating mo his own. tor vehicles, maybe, with some visual defi CHAIRMAN NEYHART: It has been ciency, for example, which kept them con our pleasure to work on the driver train tinually being involved in aeddents. ing program, using cars all over the nation, for about eight years. We have them fully insured. We recommend twenty-five or thirty or fifty thousand public liability; five thousand property damage; twenty-five dollar deductible collision ; as well as jBre, Or, possibly, they had the wrong attitude toward the operation of motor vehicles which was the reason for their running afoul of the law and being arrested and convicted for some traffic violation and demonstrated than to be unsafe theft, tornado and other things to make it CHAIRMAN' NEYHART: We have a comprehensive polity. several specific questions here that, we In our experience all over the nation we would like to ask Mr. Danford. One is, never had an unfortunate experience with "Why should the public schools be respon these cars, these cars are all equipped with sible for teaching traffic education and. dual control, extra dutch and brake pedals training courses in the high schools?" for the teacher to use. Along with that is the question, "Why Another advantage in using the dual-con is the high school the most advantageous trol cars in teaching this way is that you place to train drivers?" can take them to little used streets, quiet, . MR. DANFORD: Statistics show us streets off from the'heavy, traffic area for. that three out of every five youngsters in the first lessons. a norma! year will be driving a motor ve I have talked this over with lawyers and hicle of some kind within a period of three they tell me that if an accident would hap years after they graduate from high school. pen, the protection would be good; that is, If education is a state function, as it has the insurance would protect the school mem been defined, and if the purpose of edu bers, the school board, the teacher and any cation is to teach* these youngsters to live driver who is bade of the wheel operating and to be worthwhile, useful citizens, then the car at the time. it certainty is the function of education to CAPT. BOATE: We have in Pennsyl teach these youngsters how to live in this vania what we refer to as safe driver motor age. dinics. We have had in the city of Phila Casualty statistics have been broken down delphia a driver's clinic for seven or eight to the point where the statistics have said years and recently established one in Pitts that fifteen per cent of these motor vehicle burgh. casualties can be blamed upon faulty en Our plan calls for the creation of. a num ber of driver dinics over the state of Penn sylvania for these specific purposes of ex amining aeddent-prone* operators (that is, people who have had a. long record of acci dent participation or a long record of con victions for traffic law infractions) for the purpose of determining whether or not they gineering. The engineer is trying to elim inate these hazards that take their toll of lives among operators and pedestrians. That leaves a total of eighty-five per cent of the casualties due directly to faulty driv ing; the personal breakdown; the physical breakdown. It is. either physical or psycho logical, of course. have any physical deficiency that can be What has been done in the past regarding compensated for or whether or not they are this eighty-five per cent? Very, very little : : 192 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 in the last few years, and thank goodness to. show the educator that he has a place for people like Colonel John Mutte and the along with the policeman in the teaming experience of the War Department, and of driver training. especially the replacement training of the I think the whole idea of driver training Quartermaster Branch. is somewhat confused because; by and They have taught us that much can be large; people don't understand what law done in the training of safe, competent enforcement means when we speak of law _ drivers, and courteous drivers, in a very enforcement Wheft'dnty think of law en- | driv short period of time. We can profit much forcemeat they dunlc_ff arrest, they think by the experiences of these gentlemen. of fines, they think of commitment to jail, If, as I said, the primary reason for pub* lie education in the United States is to train our youngsters to be worthwhile, com petent, efficient; living citizens, then cer and all that sort of thing. . ! Law enforcement, under our democratic forin of government isn't that at alt -Law enforcement is the voluntary obedience to tainly it is the duty of the high schools to laws on the. part of the public It is obedi teach these youngsters hovt to live' in a ence to law as a voluntary achievement bn motor age. CAPTAIN BOATE: At the end of the year when: die accidents, fatalities,, injuries and property losses are.totalled up in my particular state and die people of that state the part of (he public and we believe.that is the real way, rather than going out and arresting people and subjecting .diem to fines; although .that/witt always be a part Of toe picture.. .. begin to think of responsibility, I don't be W always have a small .percentage, of lieve* they think of school teachers. people that , most be arrested and fined, , but I believe they think of police forces and they begin to wonder what die police are wfc believe that the maun answer to it is through,education; that'we must get down doing on die public streets and highways and educate our people to look at laws and to prevent this terrific loss of life and regulations as really the means of prevent- property. Now 'that is why police all over . mg the loss of life and property. the country have advocated for years that We say it is the educators* responsibility, we teach the young people how to .drive while rite policemen surely have a part m and walk safely. the picture and can add greatly to it in That is why, as far bade as twenty years helping the educator. \ ago, and I can remember it because I did CHAIRMAN NEYHART: We have,in it myself, we had police calling around, to the group a practical fleet operator, who is (he little red school houses, giving short interested in die safe operation and main talks "on safety, telling children how to tenance of motorvefaides.' . yean stick don yon: luddi ittal to gi cross die highways adjacent to .die school This man can; perhaps, tell us bow he 1 boildtngs. sees tins high school training program be That is why police have been active over cause be had a daughter graduate from one the years in organizing school patrols; and . of the courses. J. W. Lord,-Fleet Safety that is why we appear at schools today Engineer for the Atlantic Refining Com during recesses, when schools are being pany. . dismissed or taken up, to help to .direct MR. LORD: I think the high school traffic and help to guide children, and to . driver training program, where there has help the school boy patrol, so they can been an organized setup 'to do a training carry into school this message of safety. job, not'only teaches the child a real doll . yean In Pennsylvania we have gone farther but it beaches the child many other things. I mg t than that We send out two .men in Penn It isone of the grandest character build- I drivh sylvania folly equipped with modem picture ing things that catnr-be. introduced in high I you a equipment to show safety motion pictures school. It teaches the child.'to meet .other | &e I and give brief talks or lectures on highway people on theroad It is a marvdoustiiing safety. in that capacity. It . Is' worth as much as That is why we have even sent police-' learning the skill itself. . men to colleges. We are not trying tq^take I dunk the actual tearhmg of the skin the place of die educator. We are trying: can't be too carefully taught and I have J. Traffic Section 193 S I' ' i I W M I l l l M IT T * > .' * * t r .? H r f t ' f t i l V * # ! * W l M been a dlsdple of those who believe there tude toward safety education. In the final should be a trained teacher teach the child. analysis you can only put so much water in ) 1 have ridden with too many , people who a bottle and the professional educators are have driven ten, fifteen or twenty years and faced with, the problem that If these things the character of their driving, which they in are going to be future curricula something sist ydu mustn't criticize in any way, to me . has to go out and we, in safety education, is appalling in the errors they make'in are confronted with the problem of com driving.. 1 .* batting, as itwere, certain .vested interests I think we have to. have organized train- . within the . system who are teaching other ing in order to get rid of those errors. I subjects and have been for a good many am all for high school training , and for years. We have a - strode facing ns on haring the program, conducted by trained that score. teachers who have been carefully taught to I would like to ask some of these people; - really teach skill m driving. who tell us very blithely that we should There Is a trenundona difference between ddUM drmng and tfae typkal driver on the road today. The proof of that is in onr rate of. fatalities'and accidents: that are teach this and that; what they are doing in their own communities to bring, about a general awakening for . community con sciousness in doing tins sort of thing? occnrtrag everywhere. Whatis the use of How many truck- operators, for example, people's saying they know how to drive and. have, talked with bonds of education, and thatweare a nation of skilled drivers in . alked them Whether or not they would put the face of the accidents that areoccurring? , in courses of.driver training? I wonder if . they would assist them in looking over the The truth of it is theyare not skilled entire problem and doing what they could drivers, and that a measure of dull'tty the . to see that die. necessary e^nipmfett^ was years as a driver is a very poor1 measuring supplied? . ,v- , slide. I have talked to many groups. We do not'kid ourselves about the. kind of golf we play/how we bowl, or anything of that sort; There is; a very definite score. If This matter of driver,training isn't'something that can be paid for with a song; It costs money to give behind-the-wheel in struction. I come from a community which yon bowl si hundred and twenty yon are not kidding jottrsdf about being an expert. If it takes you si hundred mid twenty strokes is primarily an industrial.dty. We teach - machine shop in practically an.of our high schools and likewise m onr. junior high to get around a-golf course'you are a dtrit, schools and mtermediaie grades.' Yet that sameguy who considers himself We have trade schools, we have technical a dub on' the golf course may be -just as high sdiools; where many things are taught big ai dub as a7 driver, even though he has as a result, largely, I think, of the pressure beds driving .for ten years; and yet yon bronght open our Board of Education by make' any comment about his:driving he. the industries in. our community.' will say, "listen, baddy, ! have been driv ing' for ten years. What can you tell me about driving?" .Still, as a driver, he is no better ..than he' is at playing golf I,therefore; think it is only, proper that if you people.feri that we should be doing a ttaining job for drivers'.youshould he vodferous about it and go to the people MR. GRAHAM? I am glad to hear in your community and arouse the. com these .remarks hut, nevertheless; they are munity to the need for this sort of thing; remarks , that we have beard through .the ' . and see that some sort of demands are years. All this timepeoplehavebeen com made and some sort of results are secured. ing to us and saying; `Yon should teach drivmg. education or driver training and you should teach safety education and teach fire prevention and all tiat sort of thing." After all, boards of educationbring these things into being-new courses of study, etc,--on the basis of publie demand made within that ; community. I think there is a ' -It is true that I ami ;iu the specialized responsibility that rests with you people as field of safety education and. I have a very well as with the schools. I don't think we sympathetic ear for these pleas that come . should shoulder die Bill load of responsi to us, but all educators me sot people that bility for not doing, many* of the things ntcessarilyhave quite, a sympatiietic atti some of us would like to do. f{ I; ml, Vi: t; 194 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 DR. A. R LAUER (Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa) : I would like to agree with Mr. Wicker that you can't make a race horse out of a mule. In a similar way you can't make a teacher out of a lot of people and the mere fact that there are some people out of school who do an excellent job of teaching, does not mean that all of them are race horses. There are a lot of mules among them, too. I am not trying to reflect upon those many excellent teach ers in industry who may not have a degree in education. I have two keys but I am not giving that as an argument. In any case, I don't believe it is essential to dispense with persons who are offering driver training courses commercially, but I do think it_is necessary Tor the law to con trol them somewhat in seeing that they are properly' trained and that they have an ex amination just - as* pharmacists- or others have to. Don't you And in many cases that this is a case of the blind leading the blind when you send youngsters home to the parents to be taught? I think it is a matter of controlling that by legislative enactment and perhaps hav ing an examination for . instructors. I have long advdcated that' if the schools can fur nish those, the least the states and schools can do is provide some kind of standard ized training course for instructors who may not have academic degrees, but who would be excellent teachers if they had the proper kind of instruction as to how to instruct others. CHAIRMAN NEYHART: We have Dr. Vernon G. Shafer, head of training work in my college, with us. DR VERNON G. SHAFER : We license barbers but I still cut the hair of my two boys, for several reasons. First I think I can do as well as the barber can. Sec ondly, I save the money, and those are reasons enough. We are going to teach youngsters how to drive automobiles because we have auto mobiles for them to drive and I am not so sure that we can immediately pass legisla tion to see to it that everybody who teaches anybody how to drive automobiles shall have to qualify by scane kind of examination. In answer to Dr. Lauer's suggestion, I think it would be a very good thing, but I am afraid it would not be done right away. I rather like the Wisconsin idea in seeing what practical situation does exist and then setting up the sights for those things, that we would like to see happen, and make them work insofar as possible. There ought to be some people who spend all of their time, I suppose; to attain that ultimate goal, but in the meantime let us do the most practical thing that serves here and now while those who are specialists in their jobs are aiming at those far-off goals where we all hope we will arrive some day. DOCTOR HOWARD DANFORD (Di rector of Safety Education, Madison Pub lic Schools, Madison, Wisconsin): I would like to point out that all principals and all superintendents of schools are not agreed with us. If they were there would be far more high schools teaching driver education than there are today. Now if they are not agreed with us, let us recognize that fact and let us find out why they aren't agreed, and find out how to persuade them to our points of view. Here some questions arise and some of them are not too easy to answer in giving evidence that a classroom or academic training can change attitudes and change the behavior of youngsters as drivers. If you were teaching swimming by aca demic instruction in the classroom and never took them into the pool, to what ex tent would your teaching of swimming be successful? Second, what evidence can you present that will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that driver education does reduce accidents? Third, what would you eliminate from the curriculum? Would you eliminate Latin? Tell that to the Latin teacher. What would you eliminate in order to put in driver education? Fourth, aren't there some responsibilities that parents carry? Should the school take over the entire responsibility for the edu cation of the child? Why shouldn't the parents teach their own kids how to drive? Finally, this isn't the question they ask, but the question I ask: how can we per suade these principals and superintendents to our point of view? I would like to say in self defense that those four questions raised are not my questions or my criticisms. They are the ray. ting thi ) ake end that us tere s in oals lay. Di'ubmld i all reed far tion . let out how iew. : Of ring unic tnge acaand ear; bt- sent oubt uts? rom nate Iter. put ities take edu- the ive? ask; perlents that my the Traffic Section 195 questions and criticisms of principals and superintendents. MISS WYMAN: I would like to add to that, where are we going to get the money? My good friend, Gordon Graham, says to exert pressure upon the school board. I want to beg you to see 'that they get the money to do it with. CHAIRMAN NEYHART: I would like to have. Mr. Smith on the panel here tell us something about training truck drivers. MR. W. ROBERT SMITH: In the trucking field, we are most interested in safe driving, because of the effect upon ' our earnings. We have, I hasten to say, the same general desire to save the life and property of our fellowmen that all those not in the trucking field have, but we have the additional desire to run at low expense and therefore we are most interested in seeing that our drivers drive and drive,well. I am much concerned about teaching of drivers in the schools to the extant of bring certain that we spend a good bit of time on attitudes and, from the standpoint of com mercial truck operators, I think we could start that very much earlier in their school life than at the grade level they start now. I think we all realize how much we can influence very young children, in safety and self-preservation because if we start them out with that consciousness they will con tinue to think of it when they are adults. In the commercial field very few of our drivers have college degrees. Very few even get into high school, so your high school driver program has very little effect upon our industry. Most of our men have learned to drive vehicles by trial and error methods and have become quite proficient, quite skillful, but we still have a terrific accident problem. It is almost an axiom that some of the best drivers have the worst accidents. I can cite one example. We have a driver hauling latch covers for cruisers for us a distance of five hundred miles. These hatch covers are nineteen feet wide and forty feet long, On one of these stretches he takes these trailers with hatch covers on a highway where he has a one foot clearance. He is a marvelous driver but occasionally where he is not thinking he can have a terrible accident I just leave that thought with you edu cators. I am thinking of my own children and the children of all of us. I hope we spend more time and more money and more activity on the safety attitudes as we go back to our own problems. DOCTOR LAUER: I hesitate to leave this issue I raised a moment ago suspended in mid-air, as it was. I think that Doctor Shafer misunderstood my point It is very serious because we have a number of com mittees that are working and who would have recognition through the Conservation Bureau, American Automobile Association and others in which we could give certain persons authority as instructors. I think industry would agree to that a hundred per cent They certainly have qualified instructors for certain specific jobs such as tool makers and what not I think it has possibilities if we get into it MR. MATTHEWS (Gary, Indiaha): If track driving is such an important vocation, I don't see why yon can't in your locality, utilize the Smith-Hughes educational funds in putting on courses for your local track drivers. . * There are ways of getting around this college degree for teaching in this field. I might say there is a bill that will be con sidered after the election, I believe, where they, are asking for ninety-seven million dollars' more to buttress the Smith-Hughes fund. I am surprised that your organization has not gone after some of that money. MR. SMITH: I deliberately avoided saying anything about a commercial training program because I didn't want to be put in an awkward position. However, I think the bus operators have led the field in teaching safety. I send that out without fear of being challenged. Now we have, through the Neyhart serv ice, developed fleet supervisory training courses for the purpose of selecting, testing, training, re-testing and re-training drivers both in the pre-employment period and all during their employment years in motor vehicle operation courses. . Those courses have been offered in Penn State, Northwestern, Georgia Tech, and University of Washington, and I think U. C. L.A. will offer one. Moreover, the safety councils are organizing in various cities: Here in Chicago the operators ' of the :r; ' ! I 196 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 Greater Chicago Safety Council and other organizations are developing a testing field for the very purpose of testing all commer cial drivers for employment, and after an accident they have a re-testing. I just sensed that yon all knew that and knew that we were doing a lot along those lines. - I did want to have the opportunity to say to you educators that when you do teach our children, as I trust you will come to do, the skillful operation of vehicles, you won't forget the safety attitude. We must get away from this idea of teaching the children how to get out of a crisis after they get in. For too many chil dren, all motor vehicle training has meant is that if they go into a skid at fifty miles an hour or take a curve at seventy miles an hour they put one foot on the gas and the other on the brake and they go around the curve without going oyer. SERGEANT SAPP (Camp Roberts, California): In order that Mr. Danford won't get away without having his ques tions defined I would like to attempt to answer one of them; as to whether or not there is room in the curriculum for safety education? My response to that is, why live in the glories of the past if the kids aren't going to be able to use them? MR. GORDON GRAHAM: How many school boards has he told that to? MR. CATLIN: In answer to one of the questions that-Mr. Danford had, relative to proving the value of driver education, I know that there have been numerous small studies made in various localities through out the United States to prove whether or ' not. driver education did really produce results. However, in the state of Wisconsin, we have the record of between fifteen and twenty thousand boys and girls who have completed the Classroom work in driver education and that is just waiting there for somebody to tabulate the information to find out whether or not it is a good idea. We have gone a long way in checking this information. I- won't say, because I don't know^definitdy, how many hundreds, but to date we have not found one single one of them that have been involved in an accident, so there is an opportunity for somebody, or for some educational institu tion that cares to make a real study of the situation, to take our records. I am sure the state will be awfully glad to do it to very definitely prove that class room instruction in driver education does produce results. no WEDNESDAY MORNING SESSION October 4, 1944 Group Session for City end State Police Present Day Traffic Police Problems A Panel Discussion Presiding: Cooonel Charles H. Schoeffel, Superintendent, New Jersey State Police, Trenton, N. J. Participants: Training--Paul W. Havuand, Supt, Delaware State Police, Wilmington, Del Personnel--Thomas 'Jaycox, Chief of Police, Wichita, Kans. Enforcement--B. R. Caldwell, Deputy Chief of Policy Los Angeles, Calif. Public Education--Clifford F. Beekes, Chief of Police, Indianapolis; Tnd. Equipment---Cm. George Mingle; Super intendent, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Columbus, Ohio. SUPT. HAVILAND: Most Police De partments today recognize the need for organized training programs and adequate training facilities. Chiefs.of Police as well as rank and file officers are convinced that organized training offers a solution to many of their problems and that such training is BJ fel IB 3 81 SSiTf S... ffrfi 3-1a1- ! S I . ffS&fl.S VES 1ST,, * * J S8 S;BJE,, 3.? may Itiv ) n, I mall ighr or luce we and lave ivtr for i to dea. long te I *ds, ogle i an for tituthe glad assfoes (lice, pertrol. De fer Date well that laqy g Is necessary to raise the standards of the would have^ had they started "cold" la the police profession and provide the public classroom. Each student was given , three with more effective police performance. weeks of classroom training is the same Had it hot been for the current war, police training would have advanced more rapidly daring the past three years and more and better facilities would be avail able to all police departments today. Be cause of existing conditions many- of the subjects grouped-under the same general headings in which correspondence lessons had previously been completed. At the end of each course students passing the exam ination were awarded extra compensation,, hence the name "Incentive." more progressive departments which had The firearms course deviated from the well organized training programs in opera other courses in that range instruction and tion, have been forced to suspend, curtail practice replaced classroom instructions. The or revise them. final examination consisted of actual scores In many departments recruit training has been Suspended or revised because person nel replacements have been unobtainable or made on the hip-shooting and practical pistol courses. Qualifying scores entitled the officer to receive special compensation. available in such small numbers that it was fdt the recruit courses should be shortened. In-service programs too have been revised and curtailed in many departments because existing personnel could notbe spared from other duties long enough to complete re fresher courses of the same scope and length as those before the war. A brief outline of the In-service training program of the Delaware State Police and mention of the changes we have been forced to make is, I believe, typical of many de partments. Requalification was required each year in each course for which the officer was re ceiving compensation. Failure to maintain a high performance standard for each activity through the entire year resulted in compen sation being withdrawn for that particular course. At the end of the first year, with this pro gram a decided improvement was noted in quality of the work of all officers who had qualified'under the plan. The following year, with the outbreak of the war, in-serv ice training had to be concentrated on In 1940 we set up a re-training program civilian defense and internal security and as for the entire personnel which continued in a result the regular "incentive" program was operation until the early part of this year shortened to classroom instruction of one when we were forced to revise it for the week. It continued on this basis until the reasons already mentioned. Known as the early part of this year when the manpower "Incentive" program it proved successful hi situation became so acute, with duties corre its original form' until it was discontinued. spondingly increased, that it was deemed no The first phase of this program consisted of sixty correspondence lessons and ques tions on various police subjects. 'All sub jects were grouped tinder four headings: Traffic, Criminal Investigation, Criminal longer feasible to take officers off the road for that length of tune. However, it was found practical to continue to re-qualify all officers in firearms training each month dur ing Spring and Summer. Identification and Firearms. The lessons and - In order to provide the men with some questions were sent periodically to the offi type of in-service training and at the same cers in the field who completed them mid time not take them away from their duties returned them to Headquarters for grading. except for short periods, we have substi When a pasting grade had been made in tuted a "Conference" plan until such time each lesson, more lessons were sent to the as normal conditions return. It is designed officer until all sixty had been completed. to provide the members with brief review This phase of the program consumed materials and acquaint them with new pro about five months' time and was followed by cedures and techniques. classroom instruction. Experience with it One day quarterly conferences are held proved that correspondence lessons appre for each Troop in-the State with all mem ciably cut down classroom time needed to bers in the area- attending. Headquarter's cover a subject Students grasped meanings Staff officers present new developments in and explanations more quickly than they each line of activity, point out mistakes { it r . ,, Ur :. - .* : V Y { x w 198 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 being made in the field and explain proper dures; Criminal Law; Criminal Evidence; procedures. Lectures are supported by Criminal Investigation; Police Organiza films and other visual aids. At the end of tion and Administration. Police Science Cer each Conference an examination based cm tificates were awarded to those students who correspondence lessons previously released satisfactorily completed the following: are given all personnel. The "Conference" plan of in-service train ing was not devised or intended to perma nently supplant the "Incentive" plan in our organization. Our post-war plans provide for in-service training on the same basis as before the war, with, perhaps some re (1) Passing the prescribed courses with credit (2) Meeting requirements for an A.B. Degree. (3) Performing with merit the duties of cadet officers. visions. Vacancies in the Department were filled, Speaking generally, all types of police in the main, by cadets. The quality of men training should show expansion and im thus recruited was excellent; and with few provement during the post-war period. All minor exceptions, this plan worked to the police officials realize that further profes advantage of all concerned. War circum sionalizing the police service lies in develop stances, however, necessitated the suspension ing police training. Many departments have of this plan and the classes at the University taken advantage of the present situation by for the duration. Included in the curriculum training instructors and securing informa at the University was the conventional tion on police training in order to put or "ROTC" course and most of the officers ganized training programs into effect at the recruited through the cadet system were close of the war. While training has a commissioned as second lieutenants in the long way to go before it functions to the Army Reserve. height of its potential efficiency, all depart ments should take heart in the rapid prog ress it has made in recent years and lay plans now for the future At the outbreak of present hostilities, these men were immediately called into the Army. In order to maintain adequate per sonnel strength in the Department it became CHIEF JAYCOX: In 1935, a Police necessary to lower requirements on educa Training program was established in the tional and physical qualifications. Age limits Wichita Police Department in cooperation were liberalized. with the University of Wichita. This pro gram became known more or less through out the Nation as Wichita's "Police Cadet Training" and provided ready correlation of the principles and theories of Police prac tices with practical application in the per formance of police duties. Later the "War-Service" Appointment was introduced. Under this system, appointments to the Police Department are made for the duration of the War and six months there after, after which time appointees may be released without cause. This plan enables us to maintain the required number of offi Cadets were young men of 21 years of cers, hold the jobs open for returning vet age, who, having completed two years of col erans who were members of our Depart lege woric, and having satisfactorily passed ment, and protect both, the Police Pension the rigid entrance requirements, were ap and the Police Benefit programs. Men em pointed to half-time active service, and paid ployed under War-Service Appointments one-half the prevailing wage of patrolmen. understand., the provisions of these appoint Upon appointment, the cadet entered an in ments and it is functioning quite welL tensive period of recruit training and fol lowing this was assigned to beat duty in the uniform,-division under the supervision of experienced superior officers. Certainly, .the cessation of hostilities will not automatically re-man our Department Many men who have been hired on a WarService basis, and rtho-have made the nec The$e officers were required to attend essary progress, will be retained. Those classes at the University of Wichita for who fail to measure up will be released. not less than 12 hours per semester. In Thus, all Appointees since the discontinuance struction consisted of: Police Practices; of the Cadet Program have a definite in Traffic Regulations; Identification Proce centive to strive for improvement in order Traffic Section 199 to insure their position in the Post-War on police departments Have resulted in marry Period. places in shifting traffic men to other duties. rkk )l DEPUTY CHIEF CALDWELL: The problem of traffic law enforcement is and has long been complicated by individual an tagonism to any form of control. Motor vehicle operators and pedestrians readily agree that regulations are necessary but in Traffic has become a step-child with officers assigned to this important duty only when they can be spared from other assignments. Educational efforts for traffic safety have been overshadowed by civilian defense in struction and war news: variably feel that enforcement of such regu New communities have sprung up over lations should be directed at others. night; old communities had had great in The public, is reluctant to recognize traffic violations as immoral acts. For too long a certain percentage of violators have looked rqwn motor vehicle laws as.petty infringe ments upon the rights of individuals. A few persons have considered it "smart" to ignore efforts to safeguard and facilitate creases in population. Drivers and pedes trians unfamiliar with the new territories are contributing to the problems of traffic control and accident prevention. Pedestrian injuries and deaths continue to account for a large percentage of the total traffic acci dents reported. motor vehicle traffic. The public generally War news and reports of war casualties fails to recognize the serious consequences fill the newspaper headlines. With many possible from motor vehicleviolations. There things vieing for pnblic interest, traffic seems to be a general lack of appreciation safety has become a neglected topic Nev of the fact that most motor vehide accidents ertheless, the traffic problem remains a se indude violations among the contributing factors. Investigations of many actidents by trained police personnel have disdosed at least one violation in practically every acddent. A lack of uniformity in enforcement pol icies and procedures has bred resistance to enforcement measures. rious one'which demands attention. Traffic accidents continue to exact a too heavy toll of injuries and deaths. The solution to these problems lies in the proper dissemination of accident facts, in the leadership of safety groups, and in a positive enforcement program which.is uniform in both policy and execution. The The probUfms of enforcement have always public must be made to appreciate the se been complicated by indifference, self-inter- rious ' consequences of traffic violations. est and laziness on the part of drivers. The Drivers and pedestrians must, be shown the --war-Jhas given drivers an opportunity to need for regulation and the reasons for capiffilix^ on 'these items. The driver who specific enforcement measures. Methods of istakento task for operating faulty equip enforcement must be reasonable and must ment ' stresses his importance in the war be based upon needs in order to obtain the production program, emphasizes the difficulty necessary public acceptance of enforcement of ^sccuring parts and repairs and then measures and support for the traffic safety points out that the paramount issue is win program. Two requirements for obtaining ning the war.. The importance of getting this are the use of uniform enforcement pol to work cm time is offered as an excuse icies and the uniform application of enforce for speeding or reckless driving. ment by officers on the street. Despite^much talk about tremendous re dactions in traffic volumes, most major streets are still carrying a heavy traffic load. There, have been pronounced shifts in the distribution of traffic volumes. CHIEF BEEKER: The public generally is unaware of the seriousness of traffic acci dents in their effects upon the lives of indi viduals. An enormous task in public edu cation is necessary to awaken public con Reductions have been made in police ranks sciousness to the potential value of adequate alsojand police equipment has been difficult traffic management. to secure. Many police officers are serving with the armed forces. Personnel remaining with the department are carrying many addi tional burdens.. Facts concerning the traffic accident sit uation in bis community most be brought to the attention of the individual resident. Emphasis must be placed upon the tre Additional war responsibilities imposed mendous cost in deaths, injuries, and prop- . * . ' t , a i.-'. 'H 200 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 erty damage to himself, his family, his Education alone will not bring an end to friends and neighbors. our traffic accident problem. Effective edu Monthly summitries of traffic accidents compiled by police departments provide many opportunities for stories, including figures on the number of accidents, types of accidents, ages of persons involved, causes cational measures can contribute measurably to the solving of these problems if carried on constantly as a part of an all-round traffic control and accident prevention pro gram. and circumstances contributing to the acci COL. MINGLE: Despite all of the stories dents, and others. Comparisons of traffic circulated about the difficulty of securing losses with crime losses are effective. adequate police equipment, the Ohio High Sound traffic law enforcement is an effective educational medium. Reasonable enforcement policies administered uniformly and impartially by officers builds public acceptance and public support for the police traffic program. Each enforcement contact properly handled is effective in de terring other operators from committing violations and in demonstrating to them the seriousness of failing to observe nec essary safety regulations. Excellent cooperation and support for the traffic safety program is available to the police through the press and radio. Addi tional effective contacts may be made by assigning trained officers to speak to civic groups, dubs, schools, and other meetings. Posters afford an effective medium of edu cation. Distribution in downtown department stores, barber shops, local neighborhood lo cations, such as grocery stores, meat markets, etc, brings safety messages to the general public Posters are particularly suited for sea sonal hazards and for use in taverns to warn against driving while under in in fluence of intoxicants. way Patrol has found that most equipment is available. True, more shopping is re quired to find the items needed, and in some cases it has become necessary to make sub stitutions. For example, the limitations on leather goods has apparently affected the output of leather boots, and we have beat forced to substitute shoes and puttees for the boots which were normally a part of our uniform. It is true, also, that a longer time, much longer in fact, is required to obtain the needed equipment. Consequently, we have had to ascertain our probable needs more in advance than was necessary before the wart On the other hand, the conservation of equipment necessitated by war shortages has taught many good lessens. Especially val uable has been the expert advice on obtain ing additional miles from rubber tires. The quest for methods of obtaining tire best results from new' synthetic tires has em phasized attention to maintenance of motor vehicle equipment and has taught all of us ways by which we can make such equipment last longer. Cooperation with OPA and WPB has led to an interchange of infor Officers assigned to intersection duty can mation which has been extremely helpful. contribute much to the education of pedes trians and motorist The attitude of the policeman towards his job in such impor tant spots is reflected in the attitude of the persons who observe him at work. The police officer assigned to intersection con trol who winks at violations instead of cor recting them is not doing an effective job. In order to derive greatest benefits from the information obtained from these various sources, and to distribute such information to officers in the Add, a three-day school was held for the supervisory officers of our department There they were taught about methods in using and servicing equipment which add to the life of such equipment The same is true of an officer assigned to motorized patrol. He must demonstrate to the public that he is a conscientious public official representing an'efficient department This information was passed on to all field officers, and an adequate program of equip ment inspection was undertaken by the su pervisory officers. which is serious in its intention to carry The results of this have been most grat out the fundamental police duty of pre ifying. Longer service than was ever before serving life and property. When citizens are fdt possible has been obtained from equip convinced of this, they' become as anxious ment For example^ 60,000 miles from a to prevent violations and their consequences patrol vehicle was once considered a fair as is the conscientious policeman. life for that vehide. Now we are getting Traffic Section 201 ') tones nring ffigh>ment is m i the been s for rt of tmger ed to entty, needs efore in of s has valbtain- The best ; can* SOI meat . and nforIpful. from irious tation chool four about nent meat . field squipc su- gratefort squip- Bin a . fair stting from 90.000 to 100,000 miles from the same type of vehicle and at reasonable cost/ The same type of program has been car ried on to increase the life of uniform equipment Acquiring the services of a tailor as a member of the department has helped to extend the usefulness of uniforms. The police manpower shortage created by the war has been partially offset by the installation of some additional equipment Two-way radio installations have Iadded to the efficiency of the individual officer by providing the rapid communication system to and from patrol vehicles which is so essential in rural police work. Certainly, I agree that equipment prob lems have been intensified dnringjthis war period, but 1. am certain that the knowledge gained through oar efforts to meet these problems will add to the efficient Operation of police departments in the years to come. Discussion Led by CoL Schoeffel Q. How many departments send materials regularly to radio stations for broadcast purposes? A. COL. EDWARD J. HICKEY, Com missioner, Connecticut State Police: "In Connecticut, local departments dear messages through the State Police, who pass them on to commercial radio sta tions. These are mostly missing persons notices, etc." COL. SCHOEFFEL: "Larne stations win take only news of general public interest--important information." LT. ROLAND J. SCHUMACHER, St Louis: "St Lotus radio stations co operate well with the police in safety education. They broadcast a 15 minute program once each week.. The large stations use prepared programs and spot-announcements regularly." Q. What other means have weof reaching people in addition to the press, radio and posters? A CAPT. LAURENCE LYON, Michi gan State Police: "Pay envelope in serts and similar inserts in'State mail ings* prepared by the Michigan State Safety Commission, are used regularly.'' CAPT. M. L MITTLER, Louisville, Ky.; "Safety messages are rubber- stamped on all utility bills in our city." CHIEF JAYCOX: "Movie trailers are effective. We use a-series of 35 mm. trailers produced by a commercial com pany and a 16 mm. sound film on traffic which runs 30 minutes. The trailers shown in the movie houses follow the news film, run for one minute and are used for a week in each theater and cover an 18 week circuit The script and actors for the films are furnished by the Wichita Police Dept It costs the department from $5 to $6 a week. Numerous radio spot-announcements and frequent 15 minute programs are of help in reaching the people in surround ing rural areas." Q. .What use do departments make of ac cident facts received from other de partments? A. COL SCHOEFFEL: "Accident facts are compiled in New Jersey by the . Traffic Engineer and are available to police for their use in planning enforce ment and educational programs," COL HICKEY: "Statistics are ex changed between the motor vehicle de partment and the state police. Local departments and state police cooperate in an enforcement program." CAPT. MITTLER: "Louisville ex changes data with other cities of about the same size and passes on and re ceives from them information on work able methods of coping with specific problems." COL C M. WILHELM, Commis sioner, Pennsylvania State Police: "Pennsylvania uses* the records of other states for comparison. We find the re leases from national associations very helpfuL" Q. What revisions are contemplated in Delaware's incentive training plan, and what percentage of your members com plete these courses? A SUPERINTENDENT HAVILAND: "Time devoted to fingerprint identifica tion will be reduced and the extra time used in the course on criminal investi gation. Manuals am to be revised Ninety per cent of the department members completed all four phases of the plan. The 10 per cent who failed to qualify VPHfi i .if ' .T t 202 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 will be eligible to try again after six months. Personal rating systems and activity reports are used in conjunction with the incentive plan and supplement each other." Q. What success have departments had with marking the scenes of fatal acci dents by signs, crosses, flags, etc.? A. COL. SCHOEFFEL: "Signs in New Jersey are used only to show the num ber of deaths in the state, not at accident locations." COL. MINGLE: "Such signs were used for a while in Ohio, but they were discontinued after an adverse reaction was experienced." CAPT. PAUL PRICE Dayton, Ohio: "The experience with using such mark ers in Dayton indicated an unfavorable reaction by the public." Q. How frequently do police departments hold press conferences ? A. COL. WILHELM: "We do not have conferences on a regular schedule. Re leases are sent to newspapers at regular intervals; conferences are called when circumstances and events justify them." CAPT. MITTLER: "Louisville de partment issues a monthly statement of violations causing fatal, personal injury and property damage accidents. These are published regularly by all news papers." COL. SCHOEFFEL: "We issue a reg ular release of accident facts." Q. How are funds secured for necessary police equipment? A. COL. MINGLE: "Our additional radio equipment was purchased from, the un used portion of money appropriated for salaries. This was available because of the drain upon our personnel to the armed forces. For other equipment the legislature has been very considerate of our requests. We believe this is due to three things: 1). a careful estimate of our needs; 2) a careful explanation of why such equipment is necessary, and 3) a close working relationship with the lawmakers which promoted an un derstanding of our problems." Q. What is the amount of extra compen sation awarded under the Delaware In centive Training Plan? A. SUPT. HAVILAND: "The total amount awarded for completion of the four courses is $20.00. This is figured on the basis of $10.00 for the first course, which is restricted to the subject of the officer's primary regular assign ment; $5.00 for the second course, $3.00 for the third course, and $2.00 for the last subject This provides considerably more incentive for improving their work than would a blanket salary increase." Q. Have departments generally found it desirable to relax discipline during the war period? A DEPUTY CHIEF CALDWELL: "A slight temporary relaxation of discipli nary measures becHise of employment of temporary personnel replaconents and less intensive training has been found '"necessary." COL. SCHOEFFEL: "We have found that increased burdens imposed" by the war and fewer men to do. the-'job have indicated that some relaxation of dis cipline is desirable." CHIEF JAYCOX: "Temporary per sonnel recruited under a less rigid se lection system has made it necessary to revise our thinking on this subject" Q. What has been the experience of de partments using personnel evaluation programs? A. DEPUTY CHIEF CALDWELL: "We have attempted for administrative pur poses to evaluate our police employees. Formerly we used an examination and interview by an outside agency', but this proved unsatisfactory. We have substi tuted a board of five supervisory offi cers. This is still in the experimental stage, but has been well accepted by the men, and the results to date are prom ising." COL. MINGLE: "Ohio uses a similar System. Thirty-one factors are consid ered, and each man is rated by his two immediate supervisory officers. Low grades call for further study of the individual The system works, the men like it, and accept the evaluation as fair. It is useful in promotions. Ratings are In ured first )ject iign3.00 ' the ably vork ise." d it the "A :iplinent tents been Dund the have dis- perl se nary ect"^ de v ition "We puryees. and this hstioffiental r the rom- nilar osidtwo Low the men fair, t are Traffic Section 203 made regularly every three months. We have found it necessary to train the supervisory officers in the use of the grading system in order to obtain uni form results." CAPT. MITTLER: "Louisville uses a similar system, except that the grading is done by the Captain with assistance from the Sergeant. The plan was de veloped jointly by the Civil Service Commission and the Department, and a pamphlet is available concerning it." WEDNESDAY MORNING SESSION October 4, 1944 Group Session for Traffic Court Judges and Prosecutors Presiding: Charles S. Rhyne, Exec Dir., National Institute of Municipal Law Officers, Washington, D. C., and National Chairman, Junior Bar Conference of the American Bar Assn. Improving Traffic Courts A Panel Discussion Panel Leader: Charles S. Rhyne, Executive Director, National Institute of Municipal Law Officers, Washington, D. C., and National Chairman, Junior Bar Conference of the American Bar Association. Panel Members: Judge Louis E. Coash, Muni^pal Court; Lansing, Michigan. Judge John Gutknecht, Municipal Court, Chicago, Illinois. Judge Ruyian D. Hendrick, City Court, Shreveport, Louisiana. Judge.J. J. Quuaxn, Municipal Court, Portland, Oregon. Cot. Wax Zurbccken, Superintendent, Kansas Highway Patrol, Topeka, Bans. JUDGE GUTKNECHT: Public con sciousness for the need for improving traf fic safety most be aroused. There is lax ness towards safety by public officials, by newspapers and by the public. For many years lawyers in their smugness allowed the very great and presang problems of traffic safety to go unnoticed by them. At last, as a result of this great national pro gram for improving traffic courts, lawyers are now becoming aroused and are be ginning to take a little interest in improving traffic courts. The great masses of people favor the proper administration of traffic laws. A majority of people are not traffic violators and wish to see traffic violators punished and properly punished for Infractions of traffic laws as a measure of improving public safety. Because of favoritism in one department or another many traffic vio lators never receive punishment There is little opportunity to do much in this field until the public and the newspapers are aroused and actively take part in a cam paign to improve traffic safety. JUDGE QUILLIN: The physical ap pearance of the court rooms should be im proved] It is necessary that the public be impressed with the judicial loots of the court room. A traffic board is very helpful. This gen erally consists of blocks of linoleum upon which street intersections are drawn and is used with toy cars, buses and street cars of appropriate size, so that these various objects can be used t<5 illustrate the actual conditions at the time of the accident or the violation. Such a traffic board helps persons who are very timid and who might not otherwise be able to tell their full stories or present to the judge a very dear picture of what actually happened. A question in my city has arisen as to whether an officer must show , his qualifica tions to tdl speed before he can testify as an expert as to the speed of a vehicle. This rdates primarily to speeding cases. I believe that an officer must dearly show that he knows how to dock speeders before he should be permitted to testify in a speed ing violation. Chemical tests for intoxication are being c . :: i! ... \ \ *1 :i 204 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 used in Portland courts. In Oregon blood are all set for one day in the week so that tests are permitted by statute,: and this they are segregated from other cases. goes a long way toward eliminating guess work and opinion evidence in cases of this type- A permanent record is kept of all eases. If, upon a decision of the judge, the regular fine is reduced, the reason for reducing the By reason of the segregation of traffic fine is noted on the permanent record. The court .cases from other police cases the names of convicted law violators are pub traffic judge is able to devote "considerably lished in the newspaper and everyone's more time to the disposition of traffic cases. name is published regardless of his rank Traffic cases are not rushed through and or station. Even the officers of the news the court can devote a sufficient amount of papers themselves can't have their names time to come to a judicial conclusion and suppressed. obtain substantial justice. As a result of this new method and practice, jury trials, which were always requested previously in JUDGE HENDRICK: All traffic cases should be segregated and assigned to ^definite times. Qualifications of the judge must cases where the judge was rushed and had be recognized as the main factor in improv not adequate time to consider the testimony, ing courts handling traffic cases. Every have now been virtually eliminated and the judge sitting in judgment on a violation of judge is always asked to try the case with the law should be a lawyer and should '5 out a jury because he has adequate time to consider the facts. Discussion know the traffic law. In addition, traffic^ judges seed a broad specialized knowledge of accident prevention measures and the There was some discussion as to whether or not a person had to qualify before giv ing his opinion with regard to speed. It seemed to be the general feeling that any person, officer or civilian, could qualify fundamentals of traffic control. There should be more than a speaking acquaintance with the fundamentals of traffic engineering, various aids to traffic law enfordknent, and the principles of traffic safety education. himself to judge speed where speed is a The court should have an atmosphere to factor, but in cases not involving a charge command the respect of persons appearing of speeding. In such cases if an officer or before it The justice of the peace in the civilian properly qualifies himself he is aide trial of traffic cases should be eliminated as to testify as to the speed of a car. However, bring a system which has been entirely out in speeding cases it seems proper to follow grown in this day and age. The percentage the judge's rule and allow no officer to of really competent and qualified justices testify unless he can show that he knows of the peace who are not lawyers is ex how to test speed. tremely small These better qualified jus tices should of course be absorbed in a JUDGE COASH: Traffic accidents in better court system. Lansing have been reduced. Newspapers and the radio participated in the campaign to reduce deaths from traffic accidents and the campaign was very successful Accident and death rates have fallen off considerably. The city has a uniform arrest ticket printed in quadruplicate. These tickets are num Adequate penalties are important If the court is consistent and establishes a repu tation for treating everyone alike, even though thepenalty orsentence imposed may be severe--he will have the support of the public. For years my court has imposed a minimum fine of $100 and thirty days in bered and all are accounted for in a per jail in all cases convicted of drunken driv manent record, so there Is no opportunity for a ticket to be lost or destroyed once it is issued. All tickets for moving traffic law ing; and die public consistently supports this penalty. violations go to the judge. A complaint is COL. ZURBUCKEN: By and large made up and signed by the arresting officer justices of the peace are not qualified to and by the judge. There is a . written re sit in judgment on traffic cases. port made cm every accident. An ordinance Drinking drivers give the Kansas High has done away with the "fix" by imposing way Patrol the most trouble and anxiety. severe penalties for anyone fixing or at The modern traffic officer is well qualified tempting to fix a traffic ticket Traffic cases to give testimony regarding drunkenness. that He will make an accurate report of his capacity to be able to. understand the ad observations at the time of die accident ministration and sentences of a traffic court and has no interest in the case other than Pedestrians should be required to obey to see that a violator is punished and that traffic signals. the Re inbae*s ank wsmes ses lefiinst ov-ety t of mid iffic dge the mid nth ing, justice is done, but oftentimes the police officer appearing' before a jnsdce of the peace becomes the defendant and is re quired to take a position which should not be required of any person with the dignity and authority of an officer of the law. Be fore a good police judge the officer's testi mony is readily accepted, and it should he as readily accepted by the justice of the peace. The traffic law enforcement officer must depend on die court for completion of the enforcement job, and the action of the court is the major factor in making or breaking die morale of traffic enforcement officers. For that reason there must be the closest possible cooperation to the end that there may be mutual understanding of the prob lems to be faced, and a knowledge of die total job of making streets and highways accident-free. A question was raised as to whether or not an arresting officer can read his report of a case--not to refresh his memory but to supplement it or to take the place^of such memory. Cleveland police officers make out reports in the presence of the violators and then the officer may read the report and there is never any objection by the violator because he has participated in the making of the report There seems to be no agreement between the judges as to whether or not a report can be used to take the place of a recollection which does. not exist. It is dear that the officer may read the report for the purpose of refresh ing lus recollection and some of the jndges felt that an officer has to make so many traffic arrests that .when he has filed his report he should be permitted to read the copy in presenting his testimony at the trial, and not use it merely to refresh his recol and MR. RHYNE: Several states have now lection. Others seem to fed that even in established separate traffic courts and have spite of all this the officer should be re : to nag taken the jurisdiction in traffic cases away from the justices of die peace quired to recall the event and that the re port should be used merely to refresh Ids recollection.' the las mt- ConchwoBB Juvenile violators shonld be handled, in the traffic,courts rather than .in the juvenile There was a discussion as to whether a city can ly ordinance provide for a viola tions bureau in the absence of state law court. This is for the reason that in the authorizing it Although some states have ex- juvenile court the traffic violator is han ordinances which specifically authorize the iusna dled as a juvenile delinquent, but it was setting up. of violations bureaus, in most generally felt that when a juvenile has the instances violations bureaus may be set up knowledge and capacity to operate a motor by ordinance without a statute if the bu vehicle he should have the knowledge and reau is set up as a part of the court itself. the gm- IKD nay the eed 3 in riv- this urge 1 to Ighety. fied ess. :} f ; - ' i : * *$4 ` <'v j%.' ' ;: j f *; v ''); - VJ \\ i 1 . i . . * * t i. fe i- 206 33rd National Safety Congress,.1944 WEDNESDAY MORNING-SESSION October 4, 1944 * ' - Joint Session--Traffic Safety Engineers Group and Institute of Traffic Engineers Presiding: Matthew; G. Sielski, Asst Dir, Safety and Traffic Engineering Dept, Chicago Motor Club, Chicago, I1L * ' The Impact of Traffic Accidents on War Industry By HENRY K. EVANS "" Traffic Engineer, National Conservation Bureau, New York City Matihour loss to a war industry following a traffic accident may be considered to come . under the following six headings: 1. TEMPORARY ABSENCE--The di rect time loss of the injured car occupant or pedestrian who is absent following an accident 2. PERMANENT ABSENCE-Tfae manhours of work lost following death of an employee in a traffic accident 3. SUPERVISOR'S EXTRA WORK-- Extra supervisory work necessary when a worker is off-the-job temporarily or per manently due to a traffic accident 4. INEFFICIENT WORK OF VICTIM --When a traffic accident victim returns to work before he is completely recovered, his work often suffers through nervousness or physical disability. 5. OTHER EMPLOYEES-Distraction from work of employees not involved in traffic accident 6. PAST YEAR'S ACCUMULATED LOSS--The accumulated losses due to death or permanent injury of employees from-traffic`accidents during years pre ceding the war. Accident Time Loss Studies The National Conservation Bureau has been conducting some research into the amount of "direct losses" caused by tem porary absence of employees from their "war jobs in-Schenectady, New York; Providence, Rhode island; Omaha, Ne braska; Lansing, Michigan; Delaware and Connecticut These surveys have been con ducted in cooperation with local traffic safety authorities through a questionnaire being sent to traffic accident victims to de termine the time lost because of an accident. as well as other information relating. to automobile damage. Average Tune Losses In the Connecticut study, non-injured drivers lost on the average, five hours apiece, or H day per driver.. Injured drivers averaged fourteen days lost injured pas sengers averaged 35 days, and injured pe destrians, 55 days.' ~ In all studies it was found that passengers lost more time than drivers,,and pedestrians more time than passengers, , indicating that the severity of injury must be in this same order. Corresponding to the usual three se verity classifications, Le, property damage, persona] injury and fatal accidents (except that pedestrian accidents are separated by injury and fatal), five categories were used in these studies as follows; Property dam age only, car occupant injury, car occupant fatal, pedestrian injury and pedestrian fatal. The purpose for this was to simplify analysis of automobile damage figures and manhour losses. On the basis of reported losses per per son, the average number of persons per ac cident who are employed, and the total number of accidents, it was found that all. Connecticut industries lost approximately 1,200,000 manhours as a result of temporary absences from work of drivers, passengers and. pedestrians. In strictly war production industries, the 1943 losses in Connecticut were- approximately 690,000--the equivalent of a month's shutdown of one war plant employing about 3,500 workers. Automobiles Scrapped With the acute transportation shortage today, and. the vital part the automobile Traffic Section 207 O ers icago^ g to ured tours ivers pasl pe- igers riaas that same seaage, ccept d> - slant trian piify . and pcrr actotal stall aid; jrary igers ction rticut alent plant rtage bile plays in oar war effort, it Is logical to con- about equally caused by shortages of parts dude that the loss of private transportation and mechanics. units through accidents has a retarding in Work losses from these shortages re fluence on the nation's total war effort. ported by injured drivers averaged 13 days, The . Connecticut; study ` revealed there were 788 automobiles scrapped--lost to use --as a result of traffic accidents, in 1943. It is interesting to note that although there were less than half as many occupant in by injured passengers 27 days and by in jured pedestrians 52 days. The only reliable sample for non-injured passengers was in Delaware where losses from employment averaged five hours for this group. jury accidents as property damage acci dents, there were more than twice as many Nation-Wide Man-Days Lost cars scrapped as a result This indicates Since reported losses per person per ac an automobile mortality rate per accident cident were found to be pretty consistent of about five times as great for occupant in the six different studies, I felt justified injury accidents as for. property damage in striking average -losses per accidents and accidents.' then expanding on the basis of total num Of 216 fatal accidents, 84 were car occu bers of. accidents during 1943, as reported pant fatals, which resulted in 67 cars bong by tiie National Safety Council. junked. This would indicate a mortality The direct time loss by non-injured rate for cars about 27 times as great as drivers is nearly five -million mandays of property, damage accidents, or five times as absenteeism, nearly as great as the total great as car occupant injury accidents. time loss by injured pedestrians, injured Average Automobile Repair Cost On the basis of Connecticut car owner reports, the average cost for repairs re ported for occupant injury accidents was $147. Repair costs for cars involved in fatal accidents were much higher. In car occupant fatal accidents, the average dam age reported was $440 per car--repair fig ures are unknown but were probably be tween $300 and $400. ' Average*repair costs in non-injury acci dents were $71 and in pedestrian injury accidents only $5 apiece. > passengers, or injured drivers. In order to compute overall totals, it was necessary to consider the percentage of drivers, passengers and pedestrians who are employed. It was found that 90% of drivers were employed, 75% of passengers, and 50% of pedestrians, in all types of work. In war production alone there were 65% of the drivers; 55% of the passengers and 35% of the pedestrians. No breakdown into loss to war plants as apart from loss to other industries was made because, (1) most every type of work today contributes to the war effort, and Average Time Losses--All Studies (2) the percentage of people in war plants varies considerably befwcen cities, but the . Time losses in the six studies followed the same pattern when broken .down into driver, passenger and pedestrian losses. There were a few days differences in time portion employed in all types of jobs is fairly constant among cities, hence more reliable for estimating purposes on a nation wide basis using only these six studies. losses per person between cities, but they were dose enough to warrant developing averages in the four classifications. The grand total for all motor vehicle -traffic accidents is 19-million man days di rect loss from all employment This is Time losses caused by waiting for repairs based on the National Safety Council totals on damaged automobile^. affected non-in- for 1943 of 21,700 fatal accidents, 550,000 jured and injured driver accidents. In fad, personal injury accidents and 3,800,000 our surveys revealed that more than half property damage accidents, resulting in in of the car owners seeking repairs follow jury to 450,000 workers and death to 12,800 ing traffic accidents found difficulty in get- . workers. ting required work done. The percentage of car owners experiencing delays varied Average Automobile Damage from 42% in Lansing, Michigan, to 66% in Averaging the results of our six studies the State of Delaware. These delays were together, rural accidents were more severe OS* .. 3 .... 208 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 than those in urban areas, probably because of higher speeds. The percentage of vehicles scrapped ran from 3% in urban properly damage acci dents to 40% in fatal accidents. Our studies indicate two out of five vehicles in car oc cupant fatal accidents are scrapped, one out of every six in car occupant injury acci dents is scrapped and one out of forty in property damage accidents is .scrapped as a result Altogether, one car out of thirty involved in all accidents was scrapped. Nation-Wide Automobile Scrappage Data from these six studies indicate ap proximately 244,000 automobiles were scrapped in die Nation last year because of traffic accidents. Tins would mean that one car out of every six which went to the junk yard in 1943 resulted from a traffic accident This data is based on the O.D.T. figure of 1,500,000 cars scrapped during 1943. It might seem unimportant to note that only one out of each six cars in the junk yard got there as a result of an accident However, on the average, the one acci dentally destroyed is relatively new, while die other five were old, worn out vehicles. In feet cars being junked today are older and more decrepit on die average than ever before. To support this statement I quote again from the OJD.T. which reported that in die three years preceding the war, 1939, 1940 and 1941, scrappage was six million vehicles. In 1942, 1943 and 1944, the total of vehicles scrapped is only 4,250,000. Tims --scrappage is being tightened up. Approxi mately 1,750,000 vehicles are being driven on our streets and highways when ordinarily they would have been scrapped if new cars were available for replacement It is ob vious that many of these cars 'living on borrowed time" are old vehicles that should be junked and are apt to be unsafe, which can only mean added chances fof accidents in the next few years. Conclusion Economic losses definitely are not becom ing less important We know that as auto mobile traffic volumes begin to come back to pre-war levels, accidents probably will rise--which means increased economic loss to industry. Industry cannot afford to over look monetary losses due to motor vehicle traffic accidents. It may be three to six years before the average car age drops from the present eight and one-half years to the pre-war level of fiver and one-half years. In the next couple of years an increasing number of old cars will add to the existing hazard--espe cially as driving restrictions are eased. Im mediately following that period, a more hazardous condition will result from mix ing new speedy cars with old jalopies left over from pre-war days. This can result only in more accidents--either from differ entials In speed or because owners of old cars will try to keep up with the new fast moving cars. These factors can only mean one thing to industry--more and more money paid out because of traffic accident# involving employees. The more that those in the traffic safety field can find out about the relations of traffic accidents to industrial losses, the more we can expect the coopera tion of industry in helping to reduce traffic accidents to a minimum. New Techniques in Relating Traffic Accidents to Highway Elements By C. F. McCORMACK Field Representative, National Safety Council, Chicago, DL Almost every highway engineer has known for a long time that there are re lationships between the physical characteris tics of roadways and the occurrence of accidents on such roadways. Even though convinced that such rela tionships existed, there also existed many conditions which prevented their absolute identification, comparison and measurement by the engineer. First of these deficiencies was a lade of data covering the many varying conditions which affect accident occurrence. No one area had traffic volumes ranging from one Alt I down I hyfc I at hr | die rti. Traffic Section 209 cars hich lents um- tutoback will loss >verhide i the Kent level next fold jspeImnore mix- left esult ffer:old fast >Jun< MA Iving the : die {trial ?eraraffic elute meat k of dons one i one to twenty-thousand vehicles per day travel* ing on highways constructed according to the hundreds-of different standards which have been in effect and influenced by dif ferent degrees of roadside interferences and climatic conditions. Every discussion of combining data from different areas has seemed to die of com plications; complications of describing sec tions of highways, complications of describ ing accidents, and the complications of cor relating the two previous complications. Early this year the Public Roads Ad ministration and the National Safety Coun cil at the request of-the Interregional High way Committee undertook the development of procedures for relating accidents to high way characteristics. The ultimate goal was the development of accident facts which could be considered by the engineer during the design of a roadway rather titan after its construction. controls were noted as well as any improve ments or changes in the roadway construc tion. The frequency of dwellings, curves, in tersections, railroad crossings, restricted right distances and .structures were deter mined on a per-mile basis for each county. Wherever conditions within a county varied greatly, separate frequencies were determined. The State Police Department furnished the accident reports and locations. Correctly locating the accidents was one of the most difficult operations encountered. Generally the accident locations were correctly de scribed but referred to local landmarks and could not be identified in the office. Finally a road log was made showing the mileage to these local places with the result that less than 5% of the reports were discarded for lack of data. The acddents were located on the alignment sheets and identified by number. U. S- Route 1 in Virginia was selected for a pioneering study because it offered a wide range of highway characteristics and allowed dose liaison between the co operating agencies. Only rural data were used because the urban data were not read ily available. Strip Maps Prepared The first step in the study was to accu mulate on strip maps, prepared by the High way Department, all the engineering and traffic data in which we were interested for the year 1911. These data were taken from construction plans and plotted on standard, highway alignment and profile sheets to the sole of one inch equals one thousand feet along the center line. The alignment data showed de flection, degree and length of horizontal curvature, angle of intersecting roads, rail road, crossings and structure types, widths and lengths. The profile showed the per cents of grades and the location of vertical carves, while a straight line diagram, con forming in scale to the profile, showed the types and widths of pavements and shoul ders. Also included were traffic volumes broken down by the percentage of commercial ve hicles, the percentage of night travel, and at intersections the percentage of traffic on the intersecting roads. Specialized -traffic Two Punch Cards Used The data thus accumulated were coded for mechanical tabulation. The tabulating theory was based on the use of two punch cards. One card, called the highway card, contained the coded description of each uniform section of highway, the length of such -section of roadway and the annual vehicle miles traveled on it The accident card, too, contained the complete descrip tion of the roadway bat, in place of the length and vehicle miles, it contained a description of the accident which occurred. Thus each time a roadway characteristic changed a new highway card was coded and for each accident an accident card was coded. Over the entire route there averaged one highway card and one accident card for every one-tenth of a mile. No length and, therefore, no vehicle miles were assigned to "point" locations, such as intersections and structures. There were two- reasons for this: first, it is extremely difficult to determine a length for inter sections, bridge abutments, and railroad crossings; and second, even when deter mined such length would be considerably smaller than one-tenth of a mile which was the minimum increment of length used in the study. It must be admitted that in tins pioneer ing study the description of various road way elements was much too detailed. For 210 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 instance, gradients were classified by even ture than the rate for curves below five per cents rather than combined into useful degrees. study groups. This one item accounted for The accident rate per million vehicle miles a large percentage of the card breaks. for four-lane, undivided tangents on this Using the two tabulating cards makes it route shows a tendency to diminish as possible to segregate a particular highway grades, increase up to 6%. At 6% the acci condition, determine the vehicle miles trav dent rate increases sharply. The rate for eled under that condition, and establish the tangents on 7% grades, for example^ is number and type of accidents experienced only slightly higher than that for tangents by that travel. Thus, with a large enough on 2% grades. sample, the accident rate can be determined A tabulation of between-intersection for five degree curves on two-lane pave roadways and accidents shows a higher ments, at less than 3% grade, carrying more accident rate for sections with less than one than 5,000 vehicles per day and with no side curve per mile than the rate for sections road encroachment The effect of excessive with more than one curve per mile. The grades can be isolated by studying the traffic in the high rate group was all in the accident travel experience on tangents which lower volume brackets. are alike in all other characteristics. Eight thousand vehicles per day seems to Method Proved Practical be the critical point in intersection safety when the cross .traffic is less than 10% of The preliminary tabulations of the Vir the total. The-average number of accidents ginia data provide some interesting rates per intersection carrying between 10,000 and even though they are not at all conclusive. 14,000 vehicles per day is ten times the The sample is so small that many of the number of accidents per intersection carry variables had to be ignored and, thus, any ing between 4,000 and 5,000 vehicles per conclusions are unreliable. The results of day. On the route studied there were too these preliminary tabulations are stated few intersections with more than 10% cross only to show what can be done and not traffic to provide any comparisons. to establish any accident facts. In the future it is hoped that the co The total accident rate per million ve operation already existing between the hicle miles on U. S. 1 in Virginia is higher Public Roads Administration and the Coun for curves than for tangents on all types cil can be extended to include several of of roadways, and the rate for curves on ^ the states and in this way obtain a suffi four-lane, undivided roadways is consid ciently large sample to proride stability* in erably higher above five degrees of curva all the variable conditions to be encountered. Traffic Engineering in the Post-War Period Digest of a Panel Discussion Panel Leader: Hakry E. Neal, Chief Engineer, Division of Traffic & Safety, Ohio Department of Highways, Columbus, Ohio. Panel Members: J. Edward Johnston, .Traffic Engineer, Nebraska Department of Roads & Irrigation, Lincoln, Ne braska. D. Grant Mickle, -Traffic Engineer,-Au tomotive Safety Foundation, Washing ton, D. C. Lloyd B. Reid, City Traffic Engineer, Detroit, Mich. James T. White, Traffic Engineer, Fort Wayne, Ind. With reference to post-war aviation, the traffic engineer's interest is still on the ground. Concerned with passengers and commodities only while en route to and from the airport, the consensus was that there were more pressing problems of con gestion and transport than providing ex pressways connecting airports with the cen tral business districts of metropolitan areas. Airport planning should consider the availability of existing or proposed traffic arteries as well as the use of abutting proi suit T in p com ffigl D men was rule was Pres A1 Ti safe) ter < is th the 1 throi the i bask* "V copy to m wort! A ation man) govei fund bettei At got 1 aren't we d shoal body impot as a Neve the s* to tbi Traffic Section 211 t five o l tins >h as . acde for le, is igents ectios uglier a one cdons The in the property by manufacturers of commodities suitable to air transport The traffic engineer can be of assistance in planning the parking areas and entrance connections to established airports and flight-strips adjacent to roadways. Discussing the need of county govern ments for traffic engineering employees, it was brought out that there could be no set rule. Generally, the density of population was the primary factor for consideration. with counties in large metropolitan areas requiring full-time traffic engineers. The overlapping of. authority between state, city and county traffic engineers works to the annoyance of the public. Proper legislation establishing a manual of uni form traffic control devices and requiring state-wide use is the best solution to this problem. The initiative for developing this cooperation lies with the state traffic engi neer because of his position and facilities. WEDNESDAY MORNING SESSION October 4, 1944 ms to safety % of idents 0 and s the arrys per e too cross e co1 die Cotmal 9t sr ity> --^ tered. Ohio o, the n the , and > and i that : con? exi cenareas. the traffic atting Joint Session--Public Safety Education and Traffic Education Association Presiding: Norman F. Gau,man, Dir. of Tax Publicity, Dept, of Tax and Finance, Albany, N. Y. Traffic Safety Copy Acceptable to Daily Newspapers CARL KESSLER * Ass't City Editor, Chicago Daily News, Chicago This question of public education and safety through papers is more than a mat ter of copy. Copy, in the ordinary sense, is the releases that come to our desk by the basketful every day. Somebody runs through them and uses some of them and die rest go on the spike or in the wastebasket. "What type of copy is acceptable?" Any copy is acceptable to an editor that is likely to make a readable story, a story that is worth printing and is fit to print A newspaper is in a rather peculiar situ ation. We're a public institution, in a way, many ways, exactly as a university or a govemmedt agency. We do have a public function and a responsibility. At least, the better newspapers recognize that At the same time we're in business. We've, got to sell papers to eat If our papers aren't readable and people won't buy them, we don't stay in business very long. That should be kept in mind on the part of any body in safety public relations.' Safety is important I think it's as important a cause as anybody can bring to a newspaper. Nevertheless, you have to keep in mind the seemingly heardhearted editor is trying to think in terms of what people will read before they turn the page to their favorite comic strip. That applies to all of us. The National Safety Council's own copy is excellent I've handled it for years. It's dear. As far as I know, it's accurate, fact ful, and the statistics are well organized. That's all to its good. Of course, in turning in statistical copy, and safety copy is likely to be statistical, you've got to remember that statistics don't mean anything to the average reader ex cept as it relates to his experience, and his locality, and all that -Yon can say that a hundred people are being killed a month in a county in automobile acddents, and that doesn't mean anything to him unless he knows how many people are driving automobiles. You can say .that there's an accident a minute or an accident an hour, and unless you really want to get at him, you've got to put it in such language that he'll say, "What are my chances?" "What does it mean to me?" In the last few years statistics have come to mean little. Since 1930 there's been nothing else but statistics; they're con stantly increasing in our national govern ment, and now we've got a global war, and we're getting a lot of statistics about that ' -jH ii : ;' i .i* ; ' t 212 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 Nobody knows what figures mean any rising in your neighborhood, people are more, and nobody cares very much. getting careless, too many things are hap I, personally, think that straight records of number of accidents and that sort of ttifng are not worth very much as com* pared to individual cases. There's an old axiom in the newspaper business, a basic one, elementary one, but often overlooked, pening, then itfs time to come down to the newspaper and say, "We need help, play these traffic stories, will you?" Thafs the great advantage of personal contacts, of knowing newspaper men. Jim Bulger will back me up on that that almost all newspaper readers are more You can suggest, I think, that papers be interested in other people. I once knew a more alert; you can suggest trends. clever newspaper man who also had been a journalism teacher. He had a slight stutter. His definition of news was, "M-m-m-my God, loo-loo-loo-look what hap-hap-hap- pened to the girl next door." I can prove my case there. I don't think it's any acci dent that most of the world's wisdom that has come down to us, the do's and don't's that represent a good many thousands of years of experience, have not come down I sometimes think the public thinks we're always looking for the angle. So and so says. this. Well, what is his pitch, what's he trying to prove and why? We have to watch that Here's a state administration; it gets out some very nice looking figures on safety. We immediately start saying, "Well, now, just how does this compare?" We're more than likely to put a good re porter (figging on those figures. Sometimes, to us in terms of statistics. They've'come if you haven't played fair, up will come down to us in terms of people, real people or people who have been created, and I cite you in proof of that, the Bible, and the great fables, fairy stories and all the other things in which the human race has put its wisdom. I think that's something that all newspapermen try to keep in mind. I think the story of the death of one child on its way to school, told properly--I don't mean to slop over, but told properly, with proper restraint and pathos--is worthwhile; it's worth any amount of figures on acci dents to children. That brings it home; the story of the death of this child in terms of the child and its family and friends. The end of a wild ride after some heavy drinking--some of you traffic officials here some stories you won't like. I can* remember sometime back, a di vision of government came through with some* highly favorable traffic statistics. Ap parently, just everybody had turned good all at once. It didn't seem right to me, so I put a good man on it All of a sudden it dawned on us the reason for the good statistics; it was gasoline rationing. So these figures, in relation, just broke down. The story was anything but good. It didn't even make sense. This all seems elementary, but you bet ter play straight with the newspaper in the first place on any land of statistics you're giving them. That is particularly true of the bigger ones. We've got our own ex are familiar enough with that story, the perts, and we're likely to put them on a kind of story that ends in the morgue and story that looks doubtful. the hospital, or judges' chambers. That's I was a small-town editor some years worth a lot more than all the statistical lec ago. We were responsible for some twenty tures you can get on drunken' driving. - counties in three states. I got call from It's difficult, I know, for you who are in a county seat over in Missouri, and I took traffic education. Generally, you can't send it over the phone. It went on and on. The out releases on the individual story; as a town's most prominent citizen, president matter of fact, we beat you to it. of the hank, had died. I got a nice long I think that traffic safety and contact relations men should know newspapermen, should be able to call them up and make suggestions, letting us go on froth there. obituary. I started to write it; and then it occurred to me, "What the devil did this fellow die of?" So I called hade to get her to'tell me the cause of death. We like to get our own feature stories, our She said, "Well, the family didn't want own individual stories. We do welcome it kown, but he did go out and hang him the suggestions, the ideas. self in the barn." You can adjust your flow of ideas to "What's wrong with copy now?" I think what's going on. If the accident rate is I've answered some of that One thing I wou loca pap* As Cou stat* the : rd com reco the let's Chic then wha tics, "J do 1 I ca wan mos Di pap* won editi dead I'm I relal beta The: time a P. on t And itev M serv your pape tire grab diffc or A I la filed; marl I loo all U imp* writ) do 1 Pape we 1 rti . are hap. algo rs be we're id so rhat's ve to ition; gures tying, are?" d reames, come a diwith . Ap* good ie, so idden good So iown. didn't at tfif you're ae of a ex on a years wenty from [ took l The sided i long 1 then d did tck to b. want r him- think wng I Traffic Section 213 would, stress, and that's what we call the local angle. 1 don't care how big a news paper is, it's looking for the local angle. As I remember, most National SafetyCouncil copy lists things by cities and state; It might be better if yon could slant the releases for that district right away, the releases for Chicago and Illinois, right off, comparisons there, with their --previous record and then their comparisons with the over-all. 'The national accident rate, let's say, has gone up four per cent, or Chicago's rate has gone up four per cent; then we'd immediately get; busy. That's what makes the story, not just the statis tics, but how it compares. "Are we getting worse or better? How do we compare with the guy next door?" 1 can certainly say that's what the papers want in Chicago, and I think it's true for most cities. Deadlines on a great metropolitan news paper are something you don't have to worry about. My paper has seven major editions, I sometimes have to look up the deadlines myself to, be quite sure of what I'm doing. I do think, however, that you, in public relations or publicity should distinguish between morning and afternoon releases. There is a no man's land there than some times causes a lot of trouble. Now, we're a P. M. newspaper, so our first edition is on the street about ten o'clock in the morn ing, and the last one a little before six. And if the story is good enough, we'll use it even if the Sun or Trib has. Most papers are fairly decent about ob serving those releases. Yon can scatter your ammunition that way; let the morning papers have it one time; and the next time tile evening paper. I'll sit at the desk and grab some copy, and it makes a lot of difference to me whether it's marked P. M. or A. M. release. If it's a P. M. release, I know it's our story, and I'm far more likely to give it Some space. If it has no mark or has an A. M. release on it, then I know tiie morning papers trill have had all the fun with it before I get to it Length. Length of releases is sot so important Newspaper stories are being written shorter mid shorter. We have to do that because our present problem on paper is terrific; and we tarn what space we have over and over. Of course, today with our multiple editions, I would say that if a release is so long that it takes a man some time to find out what it's all about it's no good. But on the other hand, we don't mind having a lot more back ground than we use. Any good reporter should know more than he has space to write. A good news story is like an ice berg--two-thirds of it is below the surface. It gives you the feeling that here's a man who knows enough for four or five columns if he wants to write it He gives you the feeling of authority or knowledge. Nearly all metropolitan papers re-write the publicity breaks. Sometimes they're so well done, that they really don't need to be rewritten; but as a matter of putting our own individual stamp on .a story, we'll re write it. Frequency of release. It depends on what you have to say. Public relations people have to make a living, they've got to make a show, so they get in the habit of sending releases out at regular intervals whether they have anything to report or not That can be overdone. I think in their anxiety to make a showing to their supe riors, people who actually get out the public relations copy figure in terms of times at bat and not in terms of runs driven in. We have a terrific space problem these days in newspapers, and we also have a manpower problem. The big papers in Chicago have kept their staffs up to some thing like normal, but they're not-quite the people we had before the war. We're all pretty hard worked and we're likely to he impatient with a carelessly written release. Nothing makes us madder than to get a release with some glaring error or incon sistency. Our instinct in that case is, "Oh, the heU with it; let it go." Fd like to add one thing; in dosing; the matter of criticism of copy. So many pnbIidty agencies or individuals, on the theory that if you throw enough, some of it will stick somewhere, send releases here; there and everywhere, in duplicate and in tri plicate. They should have some considera tion for the blood pressure of the news editors who already may have used their release only to find that the city editor has used it on page three; a columnist has given It-space; and maybe the financial editor. Then there's hdl to.pay around (he tity room, and a dty editor or news editor says,  h ' fa , .* I fl 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 "Wait until the next time that outfit sends something." Don't send more than one copy of a release to one newspaper, or if you want to take an alternative, send one to the city desk and the financial editor, perhaps, but mark it, "Duplicate sent to so and so." We appreciate that, and we'll say, "Are you go ing to handle this, or shall we?" It saves a lot of trouble. Panel Discussion On the Above Subject Participants: Discussion Leader--Norman F. Gallman, Dir. of Tax Publicity, Dept of Tax and Finance, Albany, N. Y. Lt. George E. Hurteau, South Carolina State Highway Patrol, Columbia, S. C Barney J. O'Donnell, Dir. of Safety, Dept of Highways, Columbus, O. Ease D. Seeoul, Pres., Agency Service Corp., Chicago. James F. Bulger, Vice Pres, in charge of Public Relations, Chicago Motor Club, Chicago. MR. O'DONNELL: I'd like to ask Mr. Kesler about the idea he mentioned of people engaged in public educational work making contacts and suggestions for stories. I'm engaged in state work, and, naturally, we know the newspaper people in Colum bus and can make suggestions there, but we want to get the copy and all the publicity we can throughout the state. Do you think it would be a good idea, instead of releas ing so much copy, to send suggestions to newspapers in other cities, stories they could work up themselves? MR. KESLER: I would welcome it if I were an editor of a newspaper outside. MR. O'DONNELL: You'd think you'd get a lot more copy that way than you would by sending just these routine releases out? MR. KESLER: Yes, I think so. I spoke of the personal story ;. that covers the fea ture. A feature story is something that's very hard to send out The very nature of a feature story implies that it will belong to that one paper. As I say, just scatter your ammunition. You'tl get your kicks with that too, because newspapermen are just as unreasonable as the rest of the human race. LIEUTENANT HURTEAU: I had a question jotted' down here with reference to the personal contact* topic Now, that, to me, is of vital importance. That, I be lieve, is why we've been successful in our state It's a matter of establishing personal contact with the reporter or editor or who ever the contact representative of the news paper might be I'd like to just have you touch, if you would, on how those personal contacts could be established between the state law enforcement officer and the papers? MR. KESLER: Well, most newspapers have their men who are covering police in various ways or another; just get to know them. I can't suggest any specific thing. I know scores of public relations men around Chicago, and I can't tel! you where I met them. I meet them at parties, I meet them at conventions, on stories; I picked them up here, there, and everywhere. Well*say a certain railroad has a story, it may be a good story for them, maybe bad; I can say, "Look, Bill, what's it all about?" I know the man; I can depend on him. Anybody prefers that in any dealing. It's the same way you'd rather go into a store, if you're going to buy something, you'd rather go to a salesperson that you know. That's human and perfectly natural, I think, and the same thing applies to news. Newspapermen like to know state and local police authorities. It works to our advan tage ; they call us up and let us know. That's the ideal way. LIEUTENANT HURTEAU: What is the object in getting publicity'? I think publicity just for the sake of getting pub licity is baloney. Our releases are all issued from one central department, not from the individual officer. The releases are dis tributed to the various patrol districts, and one designated man maintains and develops the contact with the papers in a hand-tohand distribution of the release. The con tact there was the one I meant MR. BULGER: What kind of stories; accidents, the number of accidents on a par ticular highway, for example? LIEUTENANT HURTEAU: Yes, we try to localize those, of course, in the vari ous patrol districts. Our features are bandied that way, too. All va; 1 yoi WO Ioc du Mi yoi nuf 1 on in it < ] pol wr I dif me 1 dai it < tio 1 nei 1 tiu ma otl ms W fat ok 1 nei yoi edi 1 get gai SOI 1 mi 1 am sta ha; 1 isn W phi e as id./' xk.~) that, : be- our ional vhoews- you tacts law ipers olice :t to sdfic dons yon rties, is; I here. tory, aybe t all d on ding, ito a hing, yon nr?1 ten; local Ivanhat's at is Junk pubsued t the dis and slops d-tocon- ries; par- , we vari- too. Traffic Section 215 All our releases are handled through the various patrol districts. MR. BULGER: I'd like to suggest that you might increase your publicity if you work through three organizations: .your local safety council, your local automobile dub, or. the local chamber of commerce. Make contacts there and have them. If you get somebody dse to puli your chest nuts out of die fire you'll do better. MR. SPROUL: There's another angleon the form of release. Do you send it out in copy, or do you call up, or do yon send it out in mats or plates? MR. KESLER: I'm speaking for metro politan papers. Most releases come to us written in news form. MR. SPROUL: I was thinking of the difference between the small daily and the metropolitan daily. MR. KESLER: I don't think the small daily, maybe a very tiny weekly, would put it on a mat. They'd do their own composi tion. MR. SPROUL: I was thinking of the new type of graphs coming out MR. KESLER: Well, for graphs and that sort of thing, some papers could use mats. .My own paper, and I suspect, some others in Chicago, can't use anybody rise's mats; our screen is such the mat is no good. We have to make our own engraving. In fact, we made a change so that even our old morgue was useless to us. It's better to send your releases out in news form or as nearly in news forms as you can. Whoever handles it will do some editing. MR. BULGER: Wouldn't you appreciate getting at your desk'the name of the or ganization, plus the telephone number, plus some individual's name? MR. KESLER: That's a very fine re minder. MR. BULGER: Then they can call up and say, "Hello, Joe Blow, how about this statement? Can you amplify that?" That happens to us all the time. MR. KESLER: Or, "Why in blue blazes isn't there an address after this guy's name? Where does he live?" That matter of the phone number is very important.- It is ele mentary, but it's also amazing how many fairly important organizations overlook it MRS. STONE: In preparing copy for news releases for metropolitan papers where you have morning and afternoon papers, where you have a real news story, is there any virtue to rewriting it? Or do you think ifs just as well to send out dupli cates and mark them duplicates? MR. KESLER: I'd make it, as I said, a flat P. M. or A. M. release. We get end less releases marked A. M. release and then go on from there. If we think it's a good enough story, the fact that the Sun or Tribune had it isn't going to stop us from using it On the other hand, we may call up and see if we can get a different angle on iL MRS. STONE: In our town, if a paper gets material from some other newspaper, they'reinclined to use it jnst the same way it comes in. In that case it's a good idea to rewrite it, if it's a news story. MR. KESLER: I'd make a release to one or the other paper and send the same release to the other, telling them you sent it to both. They'll go on from there; they appreciate your being honest with them. MR. O'DONNELL : Don't you think it's a good idea not to overlook the press asso ciations? A lot of newspapers have the idea if it comes m under the press associa tions, it is worth more attention than if it comes in with the routine releases? MR. KESLER: If the organization is well known, they won't Say a National Safety Council story comes to our desk, both the Council release and the association release; it would not make any difference to me. MR. BULGER: I think you get more publicity if you send to the wires also. MR. O'DONNELL: I meant by varying your routine releases; by taking a few stories you know are hot stories and just giving them to the press associations and not sending them out to the newspapers. MR. KESLER: You can do that occa sionally; as long as you get to the three major press associations; the AJP., the UJP., and the IJSf.S. They aren't compet ing with newspapers. MR. KESLER: When you're in state work like. Mr. O'Donnell here; if you keep on sending out routine releases, I think. Bp?;. t I ! *Pv7!.'t{f m--- jji i; i#*-S v; . IK 111 1ilMl?:; 216 33rd National Safety Congress,. 1944 psychologically, it has an effect If the cannot be done;: and why. The .smart one, editor is used to receiving just so many for that reason, gets; that amount of free routine releases, he's not* as apt to give dom and has a freehand to.work.witfi.and' them consideration, he's liable to dip can do a better job of ptiblic relations. My through them. favorite character Is a' grand publicity agent MR. KING: In our own state I have noticed a trend on the part of a good many city editors to let the wire sendees edit their copy. I've sent out a mail release^ and it hasn't .appeared in quite a number of papers. But the same release will ap pear in a number of other papers. The reason is that they uSe the wire copy. In some cases they have-even .thrown my stuff away and then used the wire .copy-of it Of course, in my state most of the towns are under twenty thousand, and in those papers you'll get a lot of stories in by wire. He doesn't write releases, he's a. railroad man. He's quite elderly, and he does know bis railroads. I'd like to tell one story about him. His railroad had a very bad meric here a while baric; and .therewere about thirty killed. Now, that's. not common, that's quite a wredq. thirty people killed Well, what .did he do? He flew onf there and set up his own news sendee and was giving namesand addresses-to the next of kin before the papers could do'it. I said, "That's rather tmusuaL Why did` yon .do it?" .''C s~ MRS. KIRWAN: Mri Kesler, most of He said, "The quicker I give you logs the us who have done any publicity work for story, the quicker it will get off the front governmental agencies have been faced page and yonB forget about it" with one problem that Is not easy to solved SERGEANT BERLIN: Lei us assume A story will break within the department that we Jiere in Illinois,- from a purely that is worth not more than two or three -educational. standpoint/disregardingany paragraphs at the best and. arasequently . political connections there whatsoever, have you'll write .lt that way. Bnt the chances a specific traffic safety problem. Our are you won't get away with it To. your Records Bureau tells us; here in Illinois superior, it's worth a hill column. Should and in other states^ tint the juvenile drivers, you. go to your boss, and say, "Sorry, tins on a comparative mileage basis, are possibly is what the newspapers want" responsible for sixty'per cent of the.acci MR- KESLER: I have talked at times dents.' We fidd as Mr.Salisbatyindicated to various public relations groups, and I've /Yesterday in the /SesSion, we have an amazalways been interested. The whole phe xiqg perfcmfa^ of nuaer-age drivers; here nomena of public relations fascinated me -m^Bfi&b.ira fifteen, Wisconsin, sixteen, for some, years because I came, as a hid bnt we lchow from assemblies with high editor, from a small city. If you got any schools, with our twelve hundred high kind of story, you damned well had to go schools, we know, that asking the 'students out 'and .get it Then when I started work from, the floor, ten. per cent of tiiem will ing for the big city paper- and people kept admit that they're driving regularly and are bn sending in news, well, it was-shooting under age: : fish in a barrel, and in Chicago; even If we were to come to a newspaperman twenty years ago, there wasn't anything and say, "Here, do you fed any obligation like the Organized public relations' there is as a newspaperman on. the matter of ptiblic now. The war steppedthat up enormously. education?" Must the tfamg.be a story be We need at least three city editors just fore you have any interest; or would you to keep trade of government releases alone. prefer that we come in and say, "Here, this But I have maintained for years, and I is our problem, can you help us out oh it know tins is easier for me on my side to by giving this thing publicity." say than for you, that the public relations MR. KESLER: I think your problem person has to do a job, He's got to edu would be toapproach the' newspaper cate his own boss as well as the press to ' through publicity, and they'll find what keep that job. you're worried .about is a news peg; a news I admit there are bosses yon can't edu angle, something we could hang the story cate, bnt an honest and conscientious public on today. A series of stories might do, relations worker is going to try to if-you cam collect enough figures to make his own boss what can be done and what it stick. As. to how many, a rqpgh idea, based ch'edbs' carsar stories along case w wrecks There,, goon1 As I hewspa The/ht terestec MRpublic: jocplain ptbbabl \ editbri \jSR,. quite in $HL your pt - taLask . main, or in cove a tip. th MR. earlier when a on it a imports ;. THE good p: carional state?-. MR. ifypn'i flintmtn: Tk This Accepts cult cm One catedtx and has Now, the edit is it of I thir . Hi. : rf ' V- . -Traffic Section 217 I based ra yonr checks, the traffic police Th&t^should be. confined, however, to the I checks';andall, under-age Iddsare driving . feature story, a factual - story.- It's not a m- - ^ cars and their percentage of accidents. The good polity- if you come out, for example^ | ) stories- could be -made ont-.of that,' and then with, tiie information that the accident, rate along conies_ soin'e -particularly notorious has gone up: sharply in Illinois. If yon Only case .where' some; fomrteen-year old punk give Jh3t -to certain papers, that's a grave wrecks a car and kills two or threeldds. error. Everybody, is entitled to that infor- There you have something hot and you can . matron. On the other hand, if ft's a feature go oh from thbre. :. . story that Voa't make or -break - anybody, As Isay,I*dput that problem tip to the thaf&( .another matter. Of course, as I newspapere-Thatsortofstory isreadahle. warneii you earlier. yon nught get in The human race is always very, much in trouble because newspaper editors are just terested in ffie' misbehavior ol. its young. as. unreasonable as the -rest of- the public. MR.iKDIK.t Wouldn't ft be afl right for THE CHAIRMAN: We have* sevftal public rdations agertdes .to. write a letter times, gotten into jams'because, it takes ns explaining thrir problon and suggesting. about three days to process a story and. . ^''pshbable editorial1 comment? Would . an. get itout, and we have a release date at x (tiitof object to that? ' least that farin advance.1 About twenty- \JOt,; KESLER: I think that woidd be gafte.in order. MR. HICKJiRSON: Couldn't you tie .up your publicity.with an event?. I also want toask yonhow far.yon think a pnblidty . manor /a. public, rdations man ' should go in covering spot' hews? .Should ft-be juft a tip. through to the papers? ' .. . . MR.'KESLER: Yes, : I think I said earlier that ypu can't do much except help when an actual; accident occurs; Well be on it as qt&ddy-aa you art, and time is important to inkYoucan help. . - / . THE CHAIRMAN : Do you consider ft jgood practice, to .spot exclusive stories, oc- carionally with dirierent: sections of the state?- '- - -. four hours before we want to break a story, some man from anewspaper calls up and asks the: identical question, and yOu say, 'Tin.sorry, but we're getting out a release on- tiiat for tiitf . afternoon papers tomorrow,"and then heEitsthe ceiling. It's always a little dbGSaalt situation. MR. KESLER: Thafs just one of those things. Generally, we're not indined to do that Things will hit my deslL and they'll be for A. M. release, and I don't try to do anything about it^ as a rule. /. We're indinedto be pretty careful. Oc casionally we'll violate a release by care lessness. Somebodyvirilioverlook it fHE CHAIRMAN: Will editors, geuerally,. -welcome suggestions and material MIL KESLER: I thmk ft ft; As I sty. for .editorials? ft ypn're careful with it and scatter your MR, KESLER-: I- think'they'll welcome ammunition as fairly as you can.it'sokay-. suggestions for editorials. , Traffic Safety Copy Acceptable to Weekly Newspapers ELMO & WATSON Editor, PoMfthcria AnxQftxy, Western Newspaper Union, Chicago This snbject of Traffic Sifriy Copy the country editor. In relation to your job AcceptabletoWeekly Newspapers is a diffi- as publicity men and women and public cult one. I wish I knew, more about it. relations, there are three general types in One. thing we have learned about syndi- regard to publicity. There ft one typfc that cated material ft that it'sa great big gamble ' has been tiioroughly ixioculated by the press and has been for many years. ; . association, I mean, the state press assoda- Npw, if-tbafstrtie of feature material tion; I don't refer to the Associated Press, the editor puts .in his newspaper^ how true . He won't take any kind of publicity. He's . ft ft of pdffidty thm goesin his newspaper? been told (hat the more publidty .he takes, I think I might tell you something about the less advertising heft going to get Then 21S 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 there is another extreme type who will take or plates.. The Western Newspaper Union almost anything if it's free. We call him is tire principal! dispenser of the plates, in an editor, but, actually, he's not; he's.*- , fact I'm sot trying to sell you something, printer. He prints so many pages of mate* I'm not here as a salesman; I couldn't even rial. He is not an editor in. the sense that quote you .prices on it, but I do know that he edits the copy or exercises much edi af lot of country editors; because of the torial judgment as to what goes in his convenience of the thing, will use copy or paper. use stories, features or illustrations, and In between is the man who does exercise editorial judgment, who will accept a piece of copy, even though it is publicity, if it has news or feature value to him. Now, as to what the percentage of those even some technical stuff, if it's put in bis hands in either mat or plate form, when he wouldn't possibly use it if it came in copy because he simply won't take the trouble to set that stuff in type. three is, I don't know. That's one of the Somebody mentioned charts; I think things that makes it so difficult to generalize those are very effective because, as you on this subject of the country editor and know, the old saying about a picture bring on the subject of what land of copy, traffic worth ten thousand words. One of your copy or any other kind of-copy is accept most effective types of publicity is illustra able to him. You know, the country editor tive material, and there; certainly, if you is one of the few remaining individualists want to get that in the country press, you in the country today. While Carl Kesler have to get to the country editor through might object to this, I think yohll find the medium of mats or plates. more real individualists in the countfy\field than you'll find in the metropolitan field or even in the small daily field. We must realize always, in thinking about traffic safety copy for the country press; that we're up against terrific competition for Knowing that you have these three types the interest of the editor. I think even more of editors to which you advance your copy, than in the case of the metropolitan paper what is your principal problem? It is how because the word has gotten around among to fit that copy to these individual's tastes. publicity men that the country press is a One of yoor speakers on a previous panel pretty soft touch. The country editor's desk raised that question about length of copy. is flooded with this material. I think I would go along with Mrs. Kirwan on that, that the short story always has the better chance than the long story, because one of the things you're up against is tightness and suspense in the country press. Now.-granted your cause is a good cause; ifs in the public interest, and they're sympa thetic to it, there still remains that fact that your copy must compete in interest and availability with all of this other copy that As to the type of copy. I'm a feature comes to the country editor's desk. writer, primarily, and I fed that the story The question of editorials was brought up. that is most often read in a newspaper, and I believe that the country editor would wel longest remembered, isn't always the big come editorial suggestions, and very likely news story of the day; it's tire little he would welcome an editorial already writ human interest. ten, if it could be fixed up in same way he I'm inclined to think die more you ran could see its local application to the com humanize your traffic copy, the more you munity. can featurize it, the better acceptance it's One other print that I want to suggest going to have in the country press. to you: I think ifs smart publicity; I think I don't know whether this is practicable, it's good public relations. Ifs the reflection but the localization of copy is important of this human element The country editor The localized story, the story that comes likes to get praised for what he's doing. nearer to a community or a state or a I've noticed in a good many cases that some region is always better than a general story. of the best publicity has been put over in As to the form in which your material that form in which the country editor has goes to the country press, your best bet been given a citation for something. for getting a lot of material into the coun One of the smartest publicity stunts I try press is through this medium of mats think I have ever seen happened just about lion i, in iinr~\ ivi ) that the r or and bis then e in the hink yon eing four itrayou you ugh bout rcss, for lore aper long is a desk and that tup. adikdy ivrity he eom- Sgest think ction ditor oing. some ir in ' has its 1 ibont Traffic Section 219 a month ago. Maybe you saw it The Fins bury's Flour Company was celebrating its seventy-fifth anniversary <Sf its organiza tion. The publicity men for that organiza tion went through Ayres' Directory and picked out ail of the newspapers in the United States, both dailies and weeklies, par ticularly weeklies, that were also. founded in that same year, seventy-five years ago, and then they sent birthday greetings to those papers. They made up a list of those papers and got up a citation or a certificate of some sort, and then went a little farther than that; they had the local baker present the newspaper with a birthday cake. . Well, looking through some of the country weeklies coining to my desk, I was very interested to see how many country weeklies used that story. Almost without exception, they used that story, and it landed on page one. We're seeing that same sort of thing, that willingness to be dted for something in the current Treasury War Bond drives. I've been running an honor roll of country weekly publishers who had printed in their papers a large amount of sponsors' adver tising, and it's been interesting to see how eager these country-editors are to get their names in that honor roll Now, I pass that; suggestion to you. I don't know whether it's adaptable. I believe, as 1 recall, yon have some sort of citation for-work on the.aid to traffic safety by newspapers. It seems to me that there's ah annual award of that sort Panel Discussion Participants: 'Discussion Leader--Norman F. Gallman, Dir. of Tax Publicity, Dept of - Tax and Finance, Albany, N. Y. Bruce Crawford, Dir., Highway Safety Bureau, Dept of Public Safety, Charles ton, W. Va. Albert E. La Roses, Dir., Highway . Safety Div., Massachusetts Safety Council, Inc, Boston. Malcolm L. Welkins, Dir. of Safety, Motor Vehicle Dept, Concord, N. H. James F. Bulger, Vice-Pres. in charge of Public Relations, Chicago Motor Club, Chicago,'III. MR. CRAWFORD: I have a few notes that I've made upon a questionnaire" that I sent out to weekly newspapers of West Vir ginia to find out what they wanted in the way of safety copy. I wanted to get the opinions of the editors up to this time, their attitude toward copy. The questionnaire asked, "How often could you use suitable releases such as features, state news stories, news releases with local angle, also what length can you use." Also, "Could you use a short monthly release on traffic accidents in the state with analyses of interpretation of causes." My analysis isn't complete because they're not all in yet, but I want to tell you what these add up to. All the editors replying to the questionnaire said they could use more of our traffic safety copy if it had a local angle. Many of them wanted stories of statewide interest occasionally. The average maximum length they preferred was about a third of a columa I believe weeklies will give you more column space than the dailies even though the weekly editor pencils and cuts your. copy. The dailietTHave to serve a more varied diet of national and interna tional news. When a weekly does fill up on a lot of material other than local, it's be cause it does not have enough*of good local copy. "Interest governs the length," said one edi tor replying. Another replied that, "Releases from, various departments are so lengthy that weekly papers do not have space for them." Another answered, `Tm not much for straight statistical releases and figures. Readers don't go for diem either.'' That brings the matter of humanizing your stories and dramatizing these figures in terras of human need. One reply was par ticularly interesting.' On the back of the questionnaire the editor typed these com ments : "I am going into detail for the simple reason that every time waste paper is col lected I have a: truckload of releases that are not even considered. "Features and state news stories can be used in the State Gazette regularly if they are interesting and not too long. Good pic tures of interest are usable any time. Matted copy is not preferred for the reason it ap pears identical in all papers. Any editor can scratch out. a line of unmatted copy, re phrase another, reword the heading, and thus give his readers an apparently different story from that which other papers in the t- K f* s 1:0: * i. Wb 220 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 same territory are using, yet the same infor a paper, and one of the things Tm up mation goes across and they read it twice. against are the little holes down at the bot "Among the weekly papers there is, tinder present conditions, a lot of trouble getting up composition because of lack of opera tors, and in many cases mats would be pre ferred for that reason, whereas the editor tom of the column. If you can send out some good, snappy quotations from books on traffic safety, even if they're only three or four lines,. I think yon can get those in hundreds of papers. would rather have copy if he could get it MR. LA ROSEE: Very frequently all of set us have experienced this particular difficulty `It is a good idea to contact the editors for individual requirements on releases and furnish them with either mats or proofs as they prefer." in-continual'stressing of a particular prob lem..-Forinstance, in Boston we have a pe destrian problem, and getting that problem before the eyes of the people constantly is That editor, according to my experience, states the case for the average weekly news paper in present circumstances. As he says, . it is sometimes well to query editors on their needs. Still, if you have been,sending out something that newspapers don't seem to en courage. They frequently tell us, "That's old stuff, why harp on that"? But we know that there is value in harping. How can we get around that? releases to a list of papers over a long MR. WATSON: One answer is to get a period of time, you doubtless have found out slogan, and repeat it, or some jingles or which editors prefer whaf kind of material something of that sort . and why. MR. BULGER: I think the answer there Mr. Watson mentioned praising the coun is primarily to get a new pitch on it; it's try editor, the weekly editor. I think that's simply-taking this old stuff and putting it in very important The weekly is, yoa~might a new light* In our publicity work we do say, intimate and folksy. Every item is rcad that continuously. by dad, mom, and the children, if they're old Maybe you could send out a story to the enough to read. The paper slides around the effect that the majority of the accidents oc house for a week; sometimes it's borrowed curring in Boston happen to men over fifty- by the neighbor if he happens to be of a five years of age, and maybe you can take a different political faith from that of the edi particular example of an accident that hap tor and is too proud to subscribe. So in the pened last week and maybe give one paper end the weekly paper may be said to aver a resume of how that accident occurred. The age a readership of about ten. persons for records of your coroner and your police each copy, which is an unexcelled medium department show these various that for traffic safety education. occur each week, and maybe you cotdd call The weekly editor is a very busy man. it, "The accident of the week." Sometimes he's business manager, shop fore It's just a question of devoting enough man and machinist An editor in that posi time and a little thought to the matter, but tion naturally welcomes suggested editorials give the thing a different slant occasionally. MR. HICKERSON: I'd like to mmmiru Because of all these advantages of the on that Paul Jones was reading yesterday weekly newspaper, we should merit the use at a luncheon that safety is a matter of of its columns by meeting the editor's re quirements. We should not only boil our copy down and brighten it up, but make it relate more often to local safety needs, con ferences, drives, contests, and improvements. preaching, and after so much preaching, the people you're trying to reach become im mune. to what you're saying; So the idea there is a new approach, and he suggested a lighter touch, and also tied in with actual MR. LA ROSEE: I have one question records. Color it generally but localize it; here that's bothered me for sometime, and as~\Mr. Kesler mentioned, reach the man that's in relation to recognized books on "hext)door.* safety. Do editors like to take citations or excerpts from those books, and do they have a value and are they used generally? MR. WATSON: You all read these col umns in the papers that invite contributions from readers. There are more and more of MR. WATSON: I'd say, "Yes." I edit these personal columns going in country wee whe and lar supj witi wha is o hum M reac or M popi a" pun vers and that M that fact *I shot pack fivelars. be c and and man new. your may may T fact has one was in v for. had pote O men off i four have as of s M theWin weal Traffic Section 221 weeklies. 1 have seen in a number of papers where somebody will write a little jingle, and that inspires somebody to write a simi lar jingle on a similar thing. Yon could supply some of these small-town columnists with a little jingle about the jaywalker, or whatever your, particular problem is. That is one of file most effective ways--that little human interest attack. MR. LA ROSEE: You mean for the reader to give the last line to a given four or five lines? MR. WATSON: Yes. One of the most popular features I have had in my paper is a "Sweet Ad-a-line," contest. That's a bum pun "Ad-a-line," but I had printed a little verse, and somebody else would add a verse and somebody else would add a verse to that, and the thing goes on indefinitely. MR. KING: I think one of the factors that has held hade the safety interest, is the fact that there is too much preaching in it I thunk the dominant feature in safety should be showmanship. You can take a package of five-cent powder and put it In a five-dollar package and sell it for five doK lars. I think the story of safety needs to be dramatized and put in a showy package and sold on that bads rather than preached, and die same applies in handling this gentle man's problem in your presentation of the news. Yotfve got to get your stories and your features in a. showmanship style, and maybe you have to meet the situation or maybe you have to create it THE CHAIRMAN: I can vouch for the fact that this badness of verse and jingles has continuity ami feeds itself. One time one of the boys in one of the papers I was on made the mistake of writing a story in verse, and we were plagued with verse for. die next six mouths, most of which we had to print It seems there is a little of die potential poet in everybody. On the matter of short items that you mentioned. - We have sent out safety fillers off and on for a number of years, three and four-line fillers. Dailies and weeklies both have gone for that in a really big way, both as filler copy, and some run it as a column of shorts. MR. JONES : On that new slant angie, the weather and seasons are always reliable. Winter always brings added hazards. The weather always makes news, and if you tie traffic safety up with the weather, that works very well with the papers: MR. WILKINS: Our state is very small, but we do have thirty-nine weeklies, and it so happens that the commissioner under whom I grew up was a former newspaper man He had definite ideas in his mind and they've stuck. We set up a form by which we reported to the newspapers, both the daily and the weekly, and the radio as well. The whole story, the whole dope, if you please, revo cations, and the reasons for revocations; sus pensions, and the fatalities, comparing them with a year ago, comparing than with last week, and then a'brief story about each of the fatalities'that occurred during the week previous, giving the number of persons in jured fourteen years of age and under) and the number injured over fifteen years of age, and then, adults. We further gave them a breakdown of the primary causes, and then classified as to type, collisions with pedestrians, and so forth. We gave the rest of the information chi location, time of day, wet conditions, the driver, whether he's urban, ratal, or out-ofstate, the vehicles involved In other words, we gave them a lot of this statistical data which has been condemned, more or less, by the'group this morning, but we found that it has considerable value. Surprisingly often, we find these people referring to previous copy. It might be from the year before or it might have been the week before or the month before, and they pick out some particular thing, and they'll give us a new slant, something that we hadn't thought of.* Then we also give them an editorial an what appears to us to be the important thing that we want to stress, either as a result of last week's experience or what we might judge might be the experience of the state for the next week; for instance, leaves in autumn and icy conditions later on, and so forth. MR. LA ROSEE: That report you're talking about goes out weekly? MR. WILKINS: Yes. MR. LA ROSEE: That's similar to many other types of reports winch are sent out by the motor vehicle administrations in various states, including Massachusetts, except that . it :1 u :} 222 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 you go into a. little more detail on it on the individual accidents? MR. WILKINS: Yes, we keep it at the local level. MR- LA ROSEE: What is your reader interest in that? Have you ever found out? MR. WILKINS: We've had comments from the public from time to time; criti cism of bad road conditions, not sanding roads properly. If that's brought oot in the course of an explanation of an accident; and the public reaction indicates that people are reading these things, that is getting to first base, I think. MR. LA ROSEE: How much space do you get in your weeklies on those? MR. WILKINS: Not over five indies. As I pointed out; the reason we go into this detail each month is because there has been an interest on the part of these coun try editors in comparing the effects of acci dents this week as against the week previ ous. Surprisingly often, they come to us and want to know what is happening and why these things are happening. In that way we feel that the interest is there, and we believe we're getting the story across to the public MR. LA ROSEE: Apparently, your reader interest is different from that in Massachusetts except perhaps, in the ex tremely rural suburbs. We're not getting any inquiries; it's.cut and dried and re quires no farther comment I don't know of any case where a story , we sent out to weeklies along those lines on statistics has really created enough interest for them to send an inquiry in on it MR. VIBBERTS: My chief problem is how to get material to the papers on how to cut accidents. The papers are .very will ing to spread the fatalities all oyer, the sheet, but they're not too willing to'take the material which' might have prevented that particular accident I have been sending out a weekly release. I have 58 motor dubs in the state affiliated with our state association, and I send *arh of them each week a weekly release which has something to do with the driver, the car, weather conditions, or to specific haz ards that may appear. While we have had fairly good acceptance of that from both daily and weekly papers, there are still a lot of them who see no particular need for it Yet, if an accident which results in a fatality should occur In any one of those localities that week, and lots of times one occurs which ties in with the press release, they won't use the press release, but they'll smear the accident all over the paper. I don't know what to do to get them to accept the material. MR. BULGER: There's one answer to that, and that is if you'll take your mate rial and instead of writing a story about it, get a cartoonist to draw a diagram or cartoon on that subject, you'll get immedi ate acceptance, and probably every paper in your territory will be interested. Make It either a one-column or a two-column car toon and have it matted or sent ont with electrotypes. The best way is to query your papers and-fiSft-^gut if they can handle mats or prefer electrotypes. MR JONES: I can confirm . that. I would say that practically every weekly in the State? of Illinois uses mats. TH]E CHAIRMAN: I've found that the weeklies will use maps, diagrams, charts, and pictures very readily, and sometimes you can run a little story under a picture. MR. CRAWFORD: One way to get copy in a newspaper is through some local man, a safety director or.safety promoter or'state trooper, who knows the editor per sonally. That might sound like taking ad vantage of the editor, but the copy, then, can be made to appear as coming from that particular citizen. Quote him as saying it: "Avoid these hazards as follows:" MR LA ROSEE: I made a little study with a few editors of weeklies, and I got some interesting reaction. For instance, one editor tells me to humanize the story and leave out the i;ruesome details; another one says to make it interesting, effective, make it gory. Still another one says: "Tell facts." I think that part of. it is all right, but in all cases the summary' is that the editors want facts and will explore any matter which smells phoney. That was brought up in the previous discussion on dailies; if there is any scent to it at all, they don't want it I talked to a priest 'Fatfier'Sexton, who is'the Editor of the "Pilot;'' the diocesan organ for the archdiocese of Boston, and be stated very emphatically that, "Any copy should be based on a common sense ap- > in ose op \ asi ) sy*Il .I to to ate- tOIlt . or editper ake carvith our idle .I Y in the arts, mes me. get ocal oter peradher"'" tody got . one and ther dive, Tell but itors atter it up ; don't who xsan and copy ! ap Traffic Section 223 proach to the general public. It should be submitted to a "key man' on the press staff and certainly should not be overdone. Plain facts to express the desired feature are desirable. They should be constructive and of a definite value from a public service point of view." MR. HICKERSON: I'd like to ask Mr. Watson two questions. First, what size should these mats be hdd to? Would you say if you could crowd it into one column, it would be better than two, and not to make the mat ever more than two? 4 MR. WATSON: Yes. We used to syn dicate a series of articles, all under the same title but each one complete in itself. We have discovered' when we put those out in series form, they sell better than two to a column, and the two to a column sell better than a full column. Our experience las been the same" on cartoons. I think our cartoons in the two-column size sell better than the three-column size. Some of the most successful pictorial features are the little one-column cartoons. MR. HICKERSON: Another thing; when should this staff be mailed to the weekly editor? Would you say the previous Saturday? MR. WATSON: Yes. MR. .HICKERSON: What would you say the latest would be? Supposing you sent the man the copy labe, and he filled the space op with ads, and yon know darned well your copy is not going to be used; if you get it`there early, it has a better chance, don't yon think? MR. WATSON: Yes, most country edi tors go to press on Thursday or Friday, hut ifs better to get it in his hands otf Monday, or not later than Tuesday. Mr. LA ROSEE: Don't most of the editors require it be in by Tuesday noon? They set a deadline at Tuesday noon, but if anything comes in before the rolls are made up, why, they'll take it MR. CRAWFORD: If it's general copy, I think they'd rather have it Friday or Saturday to give the linotype' operator something to do just as soon as he's through for that week. Then as you get near their deadline, they want fresher, more newsy copy. THE CHAIRMAN: Getting bade to localizing stories, I found it's much more important to tTy to localize-stories for the weeklies than it is for the dailies. One way in which we have done that with pretty good success is to get out a suggested re lease to/ be issued in the name of tbe sheriff or the chief of police or. somebody of that sort, and shoot it around to them. Often it vrill get more attention coming from the county seat than it will coming from the state capital.. That's true, to some extent, of dailies too; the local officials have cooperated with us very well on it We've done it, par ticularly, on New Years Eves' drives, on that sort of thing. ".f: *! ,224 33rd National Safety Congress 1944 WEDNESDAY MORNING SESSION October 4, 1944 Joint Session-Motor Vehicle Administrators, Driver Licensing and Accident Records Groups Presiding: T. Elmer Transeau, Dir., Highway Safety Bureau, Dept of Revenue, Harris burg, Pa. Utilizing Accident Records More Effectively in Driver Licensing Procedures A Panel Discussion Discussion Subjects: Using Accident Records in (1) Examining Procedures; (2) Clinical Treatment; (3) Suspensions and Revocations; <4) Supporting Licensing Legislation.., Participants: Discussion Leader--T. Elmer Tkanseatj. Sgt. Joseph A. Childs, Asst Command ing Officer. Safety Traffic & Operators license Div., Michigan State Police, East Lansing, Caft. John B. Draper, Chief, Driver License Div., Department of Public Safety, Austin, Texas. T. A. Marshall, Chief Examiner, Div. of Public Safety, Indianapolis, Ind. L. G. Triplett, Supvr, Operators' License, Dept of Revenue, Frankfort, Ky. CHAIRMAN TRANSEAU: The sub ject of die use of accident records is an interesting one to those who have used accident records in the past extensively. The first topic covers examining proce dures. CAPTAIN DRAPER: I think we have been negligent in using our accident records in setting up examining proce dures. Do we know exactly what is -happen ing so far as the examiners and people in charge of examinations are concerned? Are you giving any thought to accident records, where accidents are happening, who is involved, who are the drivers and so on? I know we are. When we set up our examining pro cedure, and we do have a good examina tion, we give the same type of exam ination to everyone that takes it. Anyone who applies, if he wants an operator's license, must take the same type of ex amination regardless of age, sex, driving experience or race. I wonder if we are right on it? It might be that a person of a certain age group or certain occupation group should take more of a written test than .hoys and girls in high school, who probably had some training. It might be that our large MeSrican population should be given more pf a road test. ; After all, a driving test Is an educa tional program; whether we talk along that line or not, it is edneatidnaL We give a Negro, if he comes into the office for a chauffeur's license, exactly the same test that we would give a taxi cab driver, or a man eighteen or twenty years old. I think we are wrong, bnt how are we going to make the changes? In the first place, we have got to find out what our accident experience is, and I doubt that we are going in to our accident records as far as we should to get the necessary information. I see a lot of study that we can da I am supervisor of the Accident Section as well as the Drivers* License Section and I spend quite a lot of time in both" sections. I feel that I can sense a defi nite connection between the two depart ments that I didn't know until I was transferred into this type of work. I don't think there are very many states that have made a study at all of their accident records in setting np their driv er's license procedure. I think we have got to do it. It is going to take us some time to do it and we are going to have to get better reports from our investigat ing officers first. Then we are going to have to go to our examiners and sell them on the idea tha and whi . trot say imj I to dru tica tho; gro wit) diff on < hav Itt sho II bra nev aea don brot son that deft F that sixt car. com car ever N . we < a yi spat trail com argi aedi tw T1 y, forti accit sixt] Prof talk him. Ti appl star! Traffic Section 225 is- ige odd >ys My mt ren ea rner We ice me *r, ild. wme/,--,1 yut-' bat rds uy we ion ion 5th efiirtvas tes ior iv* ive me ve :at- to lea that'there is a possibility in those records and teach them how to use them. Now when an examiner is giving an examina- don, there aire certain things that he can say and do that will create a favorable impression upon the applicant. Does that examiner talk the same way to all applicants regardless, of age, sex; driving experience, etc.?' We do prac tically the same way. We aren't training those examiners to take those racial groups or age groups or driving groups with various driving experiences and talk differently to them, and try to sell them on our program. It seems to me that we have got to do that, and until we do that I think we are way behind what we really should be doing. MR. MARSHALL: Up until we brought out our manual last year,.we had never used accident records. In fact, our examiners didn't] have any idea how many accidents happened in the. state of'Indi ana, or what were the causes or rite viola tions involved In accidents, so when we brought out .rite-new manual we did make some study of accident reports. We find that as examiners we must do certain definite things. For instance, in a driving test; we find that ap applicant over the age of sixty or sixty-five or seventy years will get in his car. and look around to see if anyone is coming'and he will proceed to start his car and pull out into'the traffic without ever looking back again. . Now* after the driving test is completed we could say. to. the applicant that he did a very poor job in leaving his parking space; that he pulled into the line of traffic without looking back and, of coarse, he would come back with the argument that he had never been in an accident and he had. been driving for . twenty-five; thirty, or thirty-five years. Then we can pull put our manual and . say* "Well, you evidently have been very fortunate, because five per cent of all the accidents were caused, over the age of sixty, by leaving a parking position im properly." You then have something to talk to him about; something to show him, The same thing applies to a younger applicant Yon get in his car and he starts out He looks back and he sees a car coming. He will say, "I can beat that guy." So he comes out of the parking position into the line of traffic. Then we use that same thing on him. We also have those, who drive down the wrong side of the road or the wrong side of the street We mention that when we get back. They probably will say, "I have been driving for thirty years and I have'never had an accident" They evi dently have been fortunate because twelve per cent of all the accidents are caused by driving down the wrong side of the road, s& we feel we have something to talk about there. The boys are using it to a very good advantage in our examina tions. \ I feel that our examination questions should be based on the cause of accidents but we use the same procedure in Indiana that they do in Texas. We give a taxi or semi-truck-driver the same examina tion, the same questions. I think it is wrong .and should be corrected. Give them questions in the different age groups and for different types. I think women should be given different questions and coached differently on the driving tests. Perhaps we are all wrong unless we change our examinations to conform with past .accident experience. We all know we can't carry on a good safety program unless we can get our past- accident ex perience; and if it is worth anything, as no doubt it is, we ought to.'make the changes so that we could give different types of examinations. Here is a group of boys and girls who are speeders. Why can't we stress a lower speed to that group and'see what it will do? Then there are people who are over-age. We can talk to them about ' signals and right , turns and turns from proper lanes, and so on. CHAIRMAN TRANSEAU: Just to show this man knows what he is talking about, Mr. Marshall has figures which show in the age group under twenty, seven per cent of their.troubles are from excessive speed; twenty to sixty, three per cent; and over sixty, one per cent. That indicates the older you get the slower you are. I can see one danger that I guess everyone can see. You would have to use a great deal of diplomacy in initiating any }; I?,'1 i'i L >. sl!:-'-. if;;.-:-: }rv 226 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 variation .in your examination. Other wise, someone who failed might say he had been discriminated against In our state in normal times, one applicant out of three fails on the first attempt Some of those people, if you had such a system as you describe, would undoubtedly say they weren't treated right How can we get around that? Can we make it a matter of departmental regu lation, with the examiners told to bear down a bit on that part of the examina tion that, for instance, affects the taxi driver or the commercial driver; or, would you make it open that there was a difference in the examination? CAPTAIN DRAPER: I would make it open. The first thing you have to do is retrain your examiners if you are go ing to adopt this thing, ft wouldn't take long to do it. You have got to have your examinations uniform and if you are. go ing to give different types of examina tions to those various groups you have to start at the same time and train those examiners so everyone will receive the same type of examination in that age group. I wouldn't try to hide anything about it at all. I would say, "You are in this age group. You have had this driving ex perience. You are a white male and here is the type of examination you take." HOWARD P. LEATHAM (Director, Drivers' License Division, (Jtah): We vary our -road tests slightly for what we call our Class "C" license. That is a common carrier license. We make it a little longer and take in a few more prob lems such as crossing railroad tracks and such, so we do have a variety of tests, at least to that extent. CAPTAIN DRAPER: I think that, a lot of states are doing that, but if a man comes in Class "C," regardless of driving experience or race, do you give him the same test? MR. LEATHAM: Yes. CAPTAIN DRAPER: We have three different examinations. Operators and chauffeurs, passenger cars, trucks and haulers of passengers; they all take a little different type of examination. I don't think that is enough. MR. TRIPLETT: When a man comes in for a truck driver's license do you re quire him to take the examination in a truck or do you permit him to take the examination in a regular passenger car? CAPTAIN DRAPER: We permit him to take the examination in any type of vehicle he comes in because under our law if a passenger car is used, it can be a commercial motor vehicle as well as a passenger car. It depends npon what he is hauling; not upon the type of vehicle, but what he is using the vehicle for. * We base our examination on the fact that if he wants a license to drive a truck we ask him questions pertaining to clear ance, lights, height, length, width, weight, etc, that we wouldn't ask a taxi driver. Then we take him on a tittle longer test route. There is more stress on his ability to drive Another thing, if his vision doesn't quite come up to the standard, we issue a restricted license. This would apply equally to a taxi driver or a truck driver that had the same virion. MR. HARDEMAN (Director, Divi sion of Motor Vehicles, South Carolina): I would like to ask Captain Draper if he has explored this idea far enough to de termine how many different types of ex aminations would be involved. CAPTAIN DRAPER: No. CHAIRMAN TRANSEAU: In Penn sylvania the onion of drivers, teamsters, chauffeurs and what not attempted to put a bill through the legislature winch would have given ss a sure enough commercial operators' license, but;, as Is generally known, the vested interests lolled the bill because they believed it was merely an attempt to enumerate a commercial oper ator's status in the state. I don't think it was that at all. I think it.was really sincere because, after all, it is rather ridiculous to take a fellow who is going to drive a truck and let him try out in a Ford coupe Some day we will get away from that, I am sure CAPTAIN DRAPER: At one time it was tried out in Texas, but.we changed to the present system. You are not licens ing a man to drive any certain vehicle What if he makes an application to drive a Mack and instead of doing that is driv ing a Chevrolet? Or he comes out driv- t-JLi Traffic Section 111 re* tag* a Ford track and you give him the form of suspension and revocation by the i . a test. Then he goes back to the plant and state. starts driving a Mack. To me the primary* function of a driv im There is just as much difference bet: er's license is getting that idea across in tween driving a Ford track and a Mack- an educational approach. Yon can back -. i of truck as there is in driving a passenger np that educational approach by forming iut car and a Ford track, so why not license yoor questions along the lines of those be a man to drive any land of vehicle? 1 things which cause accidents as shown by i a don't think yon can license him to drive accident records. he le, let ick arht, er. est ity just a particular land of vehicle. In other words, the actual examination SERGEANT CHILDS: I think one of the things we haven't discussed is get? ting down to the purpose of a driver's examination. There are realty two things; One is to determine the experience anticompetency insofar as it is reasonably possible for the operator; to drive the, is the information behind the educational program that makes the people read the driver's manual. I think it would be well for anyone in thinking of a manual and driving examination questions to study l pretty carefully accident records. : CAPTAIN DRAPER: Your thought motor vehicle safely. However, in addi- is that if you could place in the applicant's tion to that, driver examining offers a mind at the time he makes the applica Ii wonderful opportunity for education. tion for a license the fact that he falls m n't a certain age and racial group and that sue I think that practically every state do* that group is responsible for this type of >iy ing any driving, examining has what is accident, and this percentage of accidents, rer termed, a driver's manual; something that you would like to see that done? ri- ): he lesx* in* its, >nt ild sal By bm available to the applicant before he ap plies for his license. I think what .is in that driver's manual should be based a good deal on accident records. For in* stance, we have so many, accidents, and we know those accidents are not caused by defective vehicles to a great extent. We know that they are not caused to a great extent by defective roads. We do know that they are caused by unlawful acts or unsafe acts ou the part of drivers and pedestrians; that the unlawful acts or unsafe practices of drivers result in these accidents. This could be incorporated into a driver's manual. SERGEANT CHILDS: I would like to see-more in that manual than just a tore statement of the law. To me, ex plaining the law to somebody doesn't mean much unless you explain why we have such a law. In other words, you can. spend all day talking about speed or stop signs or signals or anything else, but unless you get across the idea that that signal or that sign or that law is not there so the policeman can go out and make an arrest, but so this individual himself will be protected, so the other people will be protected, so that the whole stream of traffic can move more conveniently, in an Too many times 1 feel that the driver's cluding the individual that you are talk er- manual is an explanation of the laws of ing to, yon are not accomplishing much. the state without any adequate explana If you get the idea across as to why ink tion as to why those laws must be obeyed we have that law, that is one -thing. It is by the driving public. ' another thing, however, to get the idea i.. i. 'ho If we could get.the idea across in the across as to what happens when yon vio tty manual that accidents are caused by late that law both in terms of accidents rill driver misconduct and pedestrian miscon and the frequency of occurrence. duct rather than by tod roads and bad CHAIRMAN TRANSEAU: . Our : it fed ns* cars in some way or another, I think we drivers* manna! does* stress the things could also get across the idea that after yon mention. We pick ont the most fre all a driver's license is a privilege. It is quent cause of accidents and stress that. de. ive a privilege granted by the..state to some In fact, it has always seemed to me that person found to be competent to operate a learner or a young driver should have iv- a vehicle; and, being a privilege, it is the best possible instruction yon .can give iv* something that can be taken away in the along certain, lines, such as what are the ' : V H1 : 'y.S* 1 w- f m fir f':i!: S . ' [{ .* :; I to III. W 228 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 most frequent causes of accidents, which may find that accidents are more prominent the average man certainly doesn't blow. during fiie hours from five, to seven, and MR. TRIPLETT.: Driver licensing' from that they are occurring in a certain restricted its very beginning should be based aa the area in that community. accident records of the drivers in the com munity. For example, in Kentucky, we may find that certain causes1 of accidents will be more prominent due to the mountainous country and the condition of the roads. It is. quite different in Kentucky as com pared with a state like Indiana or Illinois where roads are level and straight. For that reason in our state, in giving the. examina tions, we should stress, perhaps the causes of accidents in fiat locality, using our acci dent records as a basis. We should be able to say to the applicant, "Now you are eighteen years of age. In Kentucky, the accident record for applicants for drivers' licenses of your age has been fins cause and this cause and this cause more than anything else."' Then we should stress die importance of driving to avoid those accidents. In tins particular case, I think Hr. Marshall said that speed was the greatest factor contributing toacddeots in the state of Indiana for that age group.. That principle should be followed on down the line In other words, the whole drivers' li censing procedure is an educational program. Now, if you are giving a test to a person that lives in that community, and who ex pects to drive most of the time in that community, there is ah opportunity to pass the information on to the applicant when he first begins to drive on the highways. You have forewarned him and that may prevent his becoming involved because of ignorance. CAPTAIN DRAPER: Bear in mind, however, that -you are: still gmng'him a li cense to drive anywhere in the United States. MR. MARSHALL: In Indiana we have eighteen districts. I have thought severaltimes it would be very good if. we could tabulate accident reports in each district . We tried out a sample set of questions some time ago Which included one asking how many people were lolled in traffic acci dents .in fiie state of Indiana and-bow many in the United States. There were none, or very few, of the applicants that came any where near the correct number. We didn't expect them to, but it did give us a dance to drive home to them that there were so many killed Now, in order to properly educate our driv If we could take a district, in our own ers we must go lade and study the history state and the examiner could say to,the of the drivers over a period of-timeand ob applicant fiat there were so many lolled in tain information which will enable us to edu fiat district; in his own district; daring the cate these applicants that comeinfor driv first six months of 1944,1 believe he would ers'tests.. Then, after we have obtained that infortion, we should educate our examiners in such a way that they may pass that infor drive home to the applicant more emphati cally this idea rather than saying there were so many killed in the United States last year. The United States is a log country. mation on to the applicants. Then at the Insurance men tell me that if yon rally time of taking die test the examiners should want to sell insurance; go. into a neighbor stress the importance of the applicant's driv hood where a farmer and Ins wife have ing in such a way that their privilege will been killed or thebarn burned down. You not have to be taken away from them. . can really sell insurance then because the We should stress, also, the fact that the people are thinking that there is something driving privilege is entirdy left up to them. they need. If they will drive in such a manner as to If our examiners, likewise; could say that prevent accidents or prevent their bring in right there in the district there were so volved in accidents or prevent their bring many people killed, the first six months of arrested for traffic violations they need have 1944,1 believe it would drive it doiser. home no fear of losing that privilege. titan to say something about what happened The whole filing is to try to tie all this over in Pennsylvania. in on the basis of file accident record ex .CHAIRMAN TRANSEAU: By the perience. same token, if we had Sergeant Childs' idea For example, in certain communities, we that fiie information ought to be in the 88 _ rJS'f&S 'Sm - SPSS'S.. 3 6 f.3-ST8' .8 f f g s .I.JSs 8 88 * * . : VB.Bi tent "( ) son exthat pass t he 5fou rent nee. mil, lUlted ave eral. paid ions ang icdany m oyr. idn't wee $ so own tb ^ ili^ the Duld ad* RK last y* tally borlave You the long that : so t of ome wed the idea the Traffic Section - 229 martial, then it would be^a.; fair(question to speed is not a factor. It is only a factor ask them the most frequent cause of acci when he is careless. dents on the open road or in cities in our I can't quite agree on the importance of state. examination of drivers. It seems to me "that If that information were available;'per we sometimes leave the impression that haps you could get it in their minds. the driver licensing system exists for one One fatal accident in six is caused by the sole purpose--that of examining somebody. vehicle leaving the road. Some are on corves, some oh straight highways. Some thing like that might make an impression on the young driver, particularly if he were I don't think we are entirely honest with the driver when we are failing to point ont to him that the fundamental thing he has to guard against is carelessness. taught that the things he had to guard CHAIRMAN TRANSEAU: Mr. Rosen- against included so much speed that he' wald, wouldn't proper driving training pre might run off the road on curves. Thai is liminary to examination virtually answer a primary tiling in many states. everything you brought out? SERGEANT CHILDS: It so happens MR. ROSENWALD: That is right that in. Michigan I am in the same position that Captain. Draper is. I have something to do with accident records and have some thing to do with driver licensing at the same time; but whenever I pick up a summary of SERGEANT CHILDS: I think that is true, but I fed we ought to go farther than that--carelessness in what? We-faave to tie it down more dosdy, but just "careless ness" is a little intangible. accident records I start studying age groups. When I do'that the question always pops into my mind as to how many people in this age group we have driving in Mich igan anyway? I think it is the duty of the accident records people to make available certain records for the license department, but how about the licensing department giving to the accident records people some thing about the number of people licensed in a. particular age group so the accident records can be better distributed? MR. ROSENWALD (Traffic Engineer, Minnesota' Dept of Highways): I have been wondering if we have* been entirely honest with the driver. I looked at a book let that has recently been prepared for driver training and as a teacher's guide. I opened it up in the middle and the first thing that struck me was, "What to Do When Making a Tom." It seems from this book the first thing Most drivers are more careful at inter sections than between intersections, but in Michigan our fatal accidents are between intersections. We need to get that point across to drivers. MR. ROSENWALD: There are more miles between intersections. CHAIRMAN TRANSEAU: I hope to live to see the day when our drivers' ex amination will have this 'question promi nently displayed near the beginning, "What preliminary instruction have you bad that you offer yourself as a candidate for a driver's license?" Until we get that, we are going to have a lot of disagreements about a lot of these things. The next subject has to do with "Clinical Treatment in Relation to Accident Records." Up until a comparatively few years ago I regarded the so-called duties as some thing hardly worth bothering with. In cidentally that is a misnomer. I believe you most do is signal; then you must ascer dimes have something to do with bedside tain whether you can do so safely; then treatment of patients.. That is according to determine whether you are in the proper -good dictionaries. Nevertheless, the word lane. After all that is done then you can has grown into use in this field to indicate go ahead and turn. You have given your some sort of hurdle that you ask. a man signal in the first place, so that is out of to jump in order to see whether or not he the way. ha other words, if you give the is likely to be a good motor vehicle operator. signal properly all the rest is secondary to that In our state, a man might be driving twenty, twenty-five, thirty, or thirty-five I think we should come right out and years and never have an accident. We are say that, the major cause of accidents is very suspicious of a man with that length carelessness. If a driver is not careless. of experience who has two or three minor i)) { 1 It ' i; I , 230 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 accidents. We feel that this man is a good called tunnel vision which is a limitation driver, for he has proved it over the last of the peripheral area that you can't-see thirty years, but is it possible that because without looking directly. I can see Sergeant of his age or some other condition he has Childs without looking at him. My periph slipped to the point, either mentally, phys eral virion is normal. However, certain ically, or what have you, to the point people can't see much more than what is where be is beginning to have accidents? directly in front of them. Why is it he suddenly has these accidents? The remedy is simplicity itself. Natu Now our dream is that in Pennsylvania rally there is no way of curing it but that we can reach the point some day where we driver can be told to keep moving his head can say to a man like that, "It is not very from side to side in an effort to overcome far from your home to the nearest clinic. the particular deficiency, particularly in We are going to ask you to go over there hazardous locations. .some day soon and see for your own bene fit as well as the other users of the road way whether or not something is wrong with your driving. Shortly after the outbreak of the war it became apparent that too many men, as far as the Amy and Navy were concerned, were bring forced to drive. Usually all "Sure, we understand you have been driv they were asked was, "Can yon drive an ing all these years. Your record is very automobile?" or, "Do you think you could good. You have a right to be proud of drive a truck?" it, hut something may be wrong. Let us For instance, the Fourth Naval District, find out" which covers Pennsylvania, has, I believe, The biggest thing we find in the operation some eight or nine thousand drivers in that of the clinic is that even the professional area. -,s drivers appear to be afraid to take the There; happened to be one young fellow examinations; presumably in the thought in their'service--a lieutenant at that time they may lose their licenses. Yet our ex and since a lieutenant commander--who perience doesn't show that at all. had worked with us and suggested that if What we discover is that at the most, except in very rare cases, a man has devel oped some deficiency, or he, has a deficiency that he never has known about, that some we would make this equipment available at different points in that district they would try to get all their drivers to take these tests. what limits his driving ability. Our argu To make a long story short, over a period ment then is that we can help him to drive of time we did, with the aid of the state better if he will do what the examiner teUs police, set up in eight different points and him to do. finally were fortunate enough to get the For instance, one of the most common defects that we run into--and it often hap pens with professional drivers--is a man with one good eye--possible 20/20--but the other eye is weak. He doesn't know it commanding Admiral to take the test He is not a young man but he passed the test. He said, "All right, if I can pass these tests every driver in this district is going to pass or he won't drive." Possibly he isn't the type that dpes. a lot In. addition to the tests I mentioned they of driving or possibly he drives with the tested color blindness, depth perception, and good eye doing the work that two should do. various tests you would find of that type. That one eye condition may result in his developing some practices on the road that With equipment we had borrowed or built we were able to do a good job of testing. are not good. For instance, we have shown We finally got to the point where a con that there is a tendency not to drive in a siderable part of the Army establishments straight line where these is an imbalance in in that section and practically all of the the two eyes. There is a tendency to angle Fourth Naval District -wouldn't have a down the road until the driver notices he driver unless he could pass those tests. is approaching the edge of the road. That We are talking about accident records is particularly true with high-crowned in relation to these hurdles that they ask roads. , these men to jump. In connection with the Another very good illustration is so- tests there is an opportunity for an ex- amir been drivi does Fc wfaei into has who thou only Sc pero judg clinii op c sight T1 to.'h - the i how If w got : In idea are awaj ticca esser nser: is jv cond as a W feds to si you Th simp dent work a ve night very driyj tiai i the | thing nevpi say .< night Ii are 1 all o Traffic Section 231 ion see inhir~J\ tin is taiat ad me in it as ed, all an ild id, ve, bat ow me ho if He ild ise nd he He at its tss icy tnd PC. lilt ng. ra nts the a tts. rds isk the ac- aminer who knows his business and has been properly instructed to explain to a driver, for instance; what it means when he doesn't have proper depth perception. For instance, in reviewing our accidents, when we have hearings we frequently run and revocations shouldn't be punitive. If we would hold that in front of ourselves, this work would appeal to us as entirely educational because where (here is under standing, there is no need for punitive measures. into the type of accident where the man has made a bad pass.' What did he think when he ran into something which he thought was half a mile away when it was only a quarter of a mile away? The point was made here before this morning of not so much "don't" but "don't because." That is the way you have to do with children and that is the way yon have to do with motorists. Sometimes we can establish poor depth perception on his part It might be poor judgment but if we can get that man in a clinic we can say, "All right yon don't show up on the depth perception test Your eye sight is not any too good anyway." Years ago I was in a part of this work that had to do with signals and markings. It became axiomatic that if yon put a sign up that said, "Slow" the motorist would say that he didn't care. Yon want him to go slow. Why? If yon say, "Slow, pedes 1 Then you can show him why and explain trians in roadway," he will probably slow to. him that he had better be direful in down but if you just say, "Slow" he prob - the future in making his passes; and he sure ably won't do it how" far away that approaching vehicle is. ' If we can do that that we think we have got something. We must tell him why these things should be done. Don't say, T>on't do this," but say, "Don't do this because all our experi In other .words, we try to sell them the ence shows it is a bad thing to do." idea all through these clinical .tests that we are nottrying to take anybody's license away; we are not trying to limit anybody's license, unless it is absolutely necessary and essential for the benefit of all the other users of the highway. All we want to do is help, the driver find for himself what condition he is in physically mentally and as a driver. We say, "If yon do have any hidden de SERGEANT CHILDS; We have to teach people to do a dangerous thing in the safest way possible. I don't' like negative ap proaches in educating drivers with "don'ts." You tell a school child crossing the street that it is dangerous to cross the street; therefore; you teach turn to cross the street in the safest possible way. Then yon may accomplish something. fects that may be unknown to you,' we want " Yon don't say to the. child, "Don't cross to show you what it is and suggest how the street," because sooner or later he will you can offset or overcome that defect." have to cross the street The same way with There can be no question with that one simple illustration I lave given that 'acci dent records tie directly into this type of work. You may explain to a man who has driving a car. It is dangerous driving a car at night. The experience is bad but you can't say, "Don't drive at night." We qui't ay that, unless he is a very bad driver. a very poor ability to resist glare under CHAIRMAN TRANSEAU: Results nighttime conditions, that he ought to be with these clinics have been good. The very careful at night or perhaps shun night Navy is very reluctant that any figures driving at all unless it is absolutely essen be quoted but I asked sometime ago what tial and maybe not then. improvement they got when they took tins have had people say that they took rather radical step. I was told I could say the glare test because they thought some their accident experience showed about a thing was wrong with their eyes; that they fifty per cent reduction after they insisted nevpr could see well at night They would that their men go through these tests. say they were going to give up driving at .night for they didn't have to drive'at night SERGEANT CHILDS: Inasmuch as you are an examiner of civilians you couldn't be I view this particular clinical work we as strict as the Navy. As long as theclinic are talking about as educational. In fact, is used for the purpose ofaiding people to all our work is educational. Suspensions become better drivers rather than aiming at .N ) 232 33rd National Safety. Congress, 1944 the specific purpose of eliminating drivers, I think it is a good thing. . There might be a danger of being too en thusiastic about a clinic and use it as a process of revoking licenses. There are a lot of drivers I know who are physically handicapped.to some degree but they can drive safely if there is no limitation of men tal abilities to compensate for that physical limitation. CAPTAIN DRAPER: You don't try to force a man to go through the dinie even ; though he has a bad.record?. CHAIRMAN TRANSEAU: We cam Under our law the secretary has a'right,to satisfy himself about rite pbysicaland men* tal conditions of any operator. Whena hear-' ing examiner has made a thorough examina- tien.of the facts and he is convinced there is ..something erratic about, the participants in the accident; he has power to recommend an VMBBBfa*nn . Since we don't bave-this equipment at as many points as we would like to, in most cases we send them to rite state police for re-examination, which probably bars down mainly oh' die .road test and now to behave with re4 lights, stop signs, and so on. Hbw- ever. if they can be sent to the clinica thor ough" checkup is given and it is as thorough as we know how at this stage of devdop^ mwrt- SERGEANT QULDS: How much train ing does a nran need to be able to conduct one of those dimes?. CHAIRMAN TRANSEAU: I have heard all* lords of opinions. Some people think atxxgde of months; other people say sir months to a year must be spent with fellows experienced, observing their conduct and what they do in handling different types of> operators. My guess wadd be that the more time put on it the better. The subject, "Suspensions and Revoca tions," is going to be handled by Mr. Trip lett ' - - MR. TRIPLETT: Our accident report ing law specifically states that' rite accident records that are made by the individual in volved shall be strictly confidential and with* out prejudice to the person making the re port Our operater?sliceose law does not pro ride for riie suspension or revocation of an operator's license for being involved in an accident without information that the driver was either physically handicapped or had committed a violation of the motor vehicle laws in contributing to the accident I don't think you can .utilize aeddent rec ords in.,-Suspensionsand revocations of licensc^ as much as you can utilize the acci dent 'record^ for the purpose of making an investigation or-requiring a Bearings, which in either event mayT&ult in information that would lead the"Commissioner or Di rector of the Divisiqn .to act on.the suspension or revocation bf- a person's driving privilege - We ought to stress that very .dearly, be cause if the-averagedtizen driver frit that rite report he made on the mxident .and which we use mainly for other purposes in our state would be used, against him or might be used in cccnection with taking his dnvmg priyflege awsy from him, it would affect reporting. It is Highly important that we devise some means of changing, thc law, if we can do it without affecting accident reporting, tomain* further strides,in rite suspending of driving privileges based -on accident records. Any body, who is constantly involved in ancufrnts would be shown by investigation to be either physically incompetent orcardess or to have violated toe motor vehicle laws. We are just not prone to have accidents unless there is a good cause for it. If it is carelessnesstbat caused the aeddent on the part of .this driver or;the-other driver.then we.ought to be. able to put our.finger on riot. . If this man is consistently getting into aeddents certainly we should withdraw his jprivil^e to drive; at least for a defi nite, period of-rime, or else send him to a dime ojr. have, him re-examined in refer ence to certain abilities. It may. be bis eyes, or bis hearing or other physical disability. . If you see from the investigating offi cer's report that there was some physical defect or motor vehicle. violation, we could have oar officer make arecommendation that this man's driving privilege be withdrawn without his knowing that it came from the aeddent reports. . It is highly important that we utilize aeddent reports, Indirectly if not directly, and bring abont the revocation or suspen- A to d repo vent a shoe less" been man toff Ui folio port near dene law. W iver Bad rec: fi led* ran inch tioo Di sra ting bethat and sin . or lus sold ame loit alee ring pyents ther ave rats, r^ fen. tber put into raw iefito a iferhis Seal offincal we oenlege that Hire ctiy, pen* Traffic Section 233 ston -of a license, if justified. lt might courts in our state. We may feel justi- come from an investigation of the acd- fied in saying, "All right, it was.Tran- deht rather' than from- rite report of the seau's fault Childs wasn't quite as guilty, accident sent.in.by the-driver of the car. so., he, gets thirty. days, while Transeau In that way you would be merely utiliz- will get a heavier, sentence." Then I may tag the report as a basis, for making an get another thirty days for failure to file investigation in that, respect an accident report, which is. an innova- . That is.the;point I. was trying to make. tion. '. I am afraid-.if. yon. don't watch yon .are A man from our. department visited a liable to bring about a situation where htmdred. and cighty-two police s chiefs youwquldn't be getting accident reports, through our state in the smaller cities. , MR. ROSENWALD: i thfnfr perhaps He asked them if they wouldn't cooper- J we have .a .clue to that My own law. is ate with ns in reporting at least the larger modeled the same as yours, on .the uni- accidents themselves. ` form code, except, we have more teeth in . We even devised a ample form of re- oarlaw as to confidential features. As a port that we thought wouldn't be too matter offact, any. ^employee who dis- much trouble for them. They at least .tell doses. any of .that information, even .to ns that John-Jones and Bill Brown had the officer who has rnadea report on the an aeddeht. Mr. Browriwas hurt abdut sameaeddent, is subject to loss of Bis eight hundred dollars worth In damages. jobJ .. It tpok place at such and sucha.road, on Youcah use those reports in this way, such and such aday. When we get those however. I think your law: probably ad- we, at least, have leads, lows these reports to be used for accident fo smne of our districts in tonus near prevention purposes, or sometbmg to that Philadelphia we. got seventy-five reports in general effiect;' thtee:weeks* time. We were amazed. We MR. TRIPLETT: We should'ntfike wouldn't have gottennehrly so manywiih . the information ; on those reports, more the old system. We were now in a position than we have in the past I think that to write to the drivers and ask thein wby many, many states have for one reason or they hadn't reported for- they should know another been more, or bos lax in enforc- we were going to taketheirlicense if they ing agood accident reporting system.; I didn't' -< think more time and effort should be Going back to the law: which says thata spent in-promoting that thonght-of a pro- man may be suspended after-a heanhg be- gram-itt the-states. Many states have an fore the secretary if be has violated any of accident reporting system in effect now, the motor laws of -the state, the Supreme- hut are using-it only: partially. They, are Court decided some' years- ago tiut there not. stressing its importance .enough all didnft have to be a convictionm order, to the way down the line. suspend a- license. In other words, we can ..After all, .tiiat. is; what we are trying .still take bis -ficenser'if we Bave got such to do--prevent accidents. If .we can get evidence; perhaps not enoughto convict him. reports they wfll bea great help in pre* criminallyyirat enough to satisfy, ourselves . venting others. and the cbnrt that we hadn't made a mis- - CHAIRMAN TRANSEAU: If we can show that a man was negligent or careless, in an accident, we will suspend his license. Lately we have been giving a nun a thirty-day suspension for failure to file an aeddeht report' . Under our law we can Bold a hearing following* an aeddent Between the reports and the hearing we can. pretty nearly tell -whether or not we have' evidence that is likely to stand in conrts of take. . We wifi sometimes take a man's license away on the first accident We do thatnot to be spiteful or to abuse oar power bat when we believe he has shown that it was something that be did deliberatdy or it was Bis bad attitude which brought about the suspension, it is more of. a lesson. Also it is usually only for a shot time, Usually our first thought is how long has this raahBeen drivhSfS he everX an aeddeht; has be ever been arrested; doll We have the right of appeal to the we suspradrif so; for how tong; and how ri !ft:u 234 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 soon will we release him in view of his good record? MR. ROSENWALD: Ordinarily yon have a case under which he could be con victed of a violation, probably. CHAIRMAN TRANSEAU: The Su preme Court made this distinction: to prove a man criminal you must have evidence be yond a reasonable doubt They said in our case that we only needed to show a pre ponderance of the evidence. MR. ROSENWALD: We are fortunate that we don't have to hold a hearing before we can suspend and we do exercise that right rather freely. We sometimes give a thirty-day suspension as a warning. MR. TRIPLETT: Do you use the'basis for calling a hearing the accident report it self or do you have other reports? I am still thinking about the accident report be ing used as a basis because it seems to me that would certainly hinder a program of accident reporting if you use the report itself. resides. It may be based entirely upon an individual accident or may be based upon a combined accident and violation record. It may be based on a comment made by the investigating officer that the man's con dition was such that he was physically in competent, or anything of that nature, lie officer who was responsible for calling those pebplein reviews the report, not necessarily in terms of severity, but in terms of bow this accident occurred; where it occurred; whether it occurred through irresponsibility on the part of somebody; or, something of that nature. We call a lot of men; not as many as in Pennsylvania, but we do call a lot of people in for re-examination. We don't suspend or revoke a'license without a hearing. We give the-man his day in court and in case his story disagrees considerably from the facts as they seem to be in front of the officer, he holds his recommendations in abeyance until he makes further investiga tion of the matter. Since we would either have to use our accident report or make an investigation, I am trying to find out for my own infor mation. how you do that. However, he can recommend a suspension up to a year. A suspension can't be over a year but he can also recommend a revoca tion if he feels it justifiable. CHAIRMAN TRANSEAU : Sometimes we use the driver's report Sometimes an accident won't be investigated by the state policemen as they might be out on same other call at that time. We use the accident report It may be a deterrent to reporting but we find this to be true: Our law requires the individual to report forthwith to the nearest police officer--state police, county police, or county We received last year some eighty thou officer--and usually the person who feels sand reports. .Since most of those were that he is not to blame tolls the police de double reports, we will say there were forty partment These'officers go out and make thousand cases and we held about ten thou a good many investigations of accidents. sand hearings. That means we selected about one out of four and let the other three out of four go either because they were of a minor nature or because the citation clerks who call the hearings were-' afraid there wasn't sufficient evidence in those cases to justify suspension. Our power to hold a I wouldn't say every one is investigated by any means because we do miss some. They miss the less severe and we also miss quite a number of one-car accidents where somebody runs off the road and didn't hit anybody else. great number of. hearings is limited so we MR. TRIPLETT: We have had quite a try to confine them to the more serious lot of cooperation from the state of Indiana cases. Nevertheless, that is kept on die on accident reports and suspensions and re man's record and may result in a hearing vocations of licenses and have had numerous at some future time. cases. I will mention two of then that SERGEANT CHILDS: We use the ac happened several months ago. cident reports in a hearing. The man hold It seems that two Indiana residents were ing the hearing has the accident report involved in accidents in the state of Indiana right in front of him. The, man who holds and a hearing was called. It developed; at the hearing is .a state matt and holds' the the hearing that these two people were sub hearing in die county .bp which the person ject to epileptic attacks. In fact the epileptic atfc twe out aoth Bo cab atte I leai lice pen ing and trai hea I the the trip dav bat act Ind E 8w fra hea " affir bad that atta Ka I fied for Ker I of i bon `tad P cenj timi othi of istn mig of t T mer cent ano; stafc n an upon rd C ty cony inThe those arily how rred; bility tg of as in sople pend We case the ! the s in tiga- ision rer a roca- y be this idual hv. y feds i denake its. jated ome. miss here t hit ite a liana 1 reirous that were Itgna dat subeptic Traffic Section 235 attacks were responsible for the accident in out I wanted to throw that out for thought two separate and distinct cases. in dealing with accident reports, because if We have had others, but I am pointing Kentucky residents are involved in accidents out these two because one of them 'lived in in some other state and we could get a re* a bordering town of Kentucky and the ' port it would help materially.* other moved to Kentucky. He procured a Kentucky license and stated on the appli cation that he was not subject to these attacks and had no physical disability. We do get that information in a number of cases, but we don't get all of them. I think we probably ought to forward the accident reports covering accidents to the In some manner the Indians authorities home state. learned that he had procured a Kentucky license and communicated with us. We sus pended the license in Kentucky and a hear ing was requested. We granted the hearing and I wrote to Indiana for a copy of the MR. MARSHALL: I remember those two particular cases. In fact, the salesman was a thorn in our side and we were glad he moved to Kentucky. transcript of proceedings of the Indiana hearing. CHAIRMAN TRANSEAU: The next topic covers the use of accident records in In one instance we were not convinced that supporting licensing legislation. die man was subject to epileptic attacks. In the other instance the man made several trips to Frankfort with statements and affi davits from several physicians, among them being affidavits, I presume, from his phy sician in the town where he lived in Salem, I have a query here that might possibly fall under that category. Mr. Rosenwald would tike to know what our reaction ought be to a probationary license for younger drivers. Indiana. MR. ROSENWALD: Just a short time Even with that information!we wouldn't go I happened to meet with a group from give in until we finally got a sworn affidavit Minneapolis which was made up largely of from the physician that had testified in the young men and women from the high hearing in Indiana. We had three sworn schools. It had to do primarily with some affidavits from physicians but this one who of their cutups after football games and the had testified at the bearing in Indiana swore like.* At that time this general question that this man was not subject to epileptic arose as to what to do with younger drivers^ attacks, so we reinstated his privilege in After listening to them, I asked them what Kentucky. their reaction would be to the . ideattiLiar I wrote to the Indiana authorities. I noti probationary license; - v- iki fied them what we had done and our basis Now in our state to get a driverisliasnse for reinstating his privilege to drive in up to eighteen they can only be licensed Kentucky. with their parents' .consent. Their parents I flunk there is no doubt that that sort are responsible That age group rs 'from of thing goes on many times, particularly in fifteen to eighteen. Well, I wondered'hbw bordering towns where West Virginia, Ken they would react to the idea for that same tucky, and Indiana meet period from the bottom age until the age . Perhaps we who are in the Drivers Li of eighteen of only getting a probationary cense Bureau have .had in mind for some license Then whm they reached the end time that we should reciprocate with each of that period, if their record was dear, other more in filing reports of die residents they would get a foil license for -driving: of those states with the licensing admin istrators of the other states. In that way we might be able to prevent a lot of that sort of thing going on. You know I was surprised; that bunch of youngsters rather took to it. It appealed to them as having a salutary effect They would have to be unusually careful during There is no doubt in my mind that nu this period because they naturally prize a merous people who have their driving li driver's license. That Is their number one censes revoked for various offenses go into desire as soon as they are old enough and another state and give addresses in that they want to be sure that they get a license; state; I don't know how we can work it I believe in a case tike this they would want 236 33rd tiatkmal SafetyCongreu, 1944 to^vaysurothat theyhad arecord that months 'dwre'|!were^onfy;tdo^.^nowev^,-we would Jnstifythe issuance ofa fuHlicense. bid; three/ hifirth'.Ijtid,-nxmtoof '44, chairmantranse^ we roiard oors as a' probaJlw - that'.ndnilier.1; phat>;ivdstft'.fa:^pfir^tai% Oar law is sixteen andtagfrfeeh and :oceaf siooally parentawlflwnteaftertiad^ receive; the. license; and'say. tfaeyarenot tmzuc^tnat: mnsi/unfers pm. staft^cKf^ving behaving and want the Jlcetoe taken and we dtohbdt-^'Jktore^toQ^ caned it .: r- ' drivm^to^^to^^^.dftiri'^thi^;^ . The first dung after an arrest which is Bfehce., l. thSifc ire nnQr; be:;Wfttag m not brought to ourattention istoe .age. That liocnring fourteen andfiftren ytaroldpeo* is a prdty hard dung for it young fdlbw who begotten in troubfei^^ - 'I;thmk they are driving anyway^ Sovqi drivings -few mootfaswfaen everybody;says hL^dmr^kbatojitotorvtoht ahoateighiy'per tint he certainly is notdoingtbeTigbt ii"g ,ceitt of thebeys>andtprisdie drivingjeven and why not toke^away lraficease., II - he dxmghrd^dmHintre ficnst^'^liiM^^toey'' has been in a wreck yon arebound todo start ont operating an antqmolnle aiid;yio- that , i' CAPTAIN DRAPER: Going badk to ' toem^iitoids ;rfdr?itoe:iid^^^;ficea^>.|iiir..' accident' reports/ it smretbme toesta- Wonki hnbtbcJbest-to l&xhaetoem ifddy tirfjft <[iifi|il 'be. sta^ed lnore. Of titox ato.driringenijwjfT:f';>;: i bay* ana girls, sixteen'aad seytntecn years UK;JbpSSNWAIT)rv-Ycware-hrid^ng of trihit perccntage'ofacci^^ are', np a very idce qoesttoo.: Weldne'harqted they involved inasdrivers? up against'it vdry much. After d^we the - Wesay theyaren'tsafedriversand'that an. sgriadtmal atdte and we sriU have to yonr tighratesof acridents coroe from this admit that dfsefiarm boya and: girb from sgc gtptQ)* lamgotngto imagree ynmjctL tbe^age of ten on ito ddhrre n^ to toe I doot drink it is Ithmktocy aredrinng creamery;;;;!;';';,.y; :. . safer at. that tine flan sit eighteen, nineteen -1 have aeen youngrtm/yoangn than that and twenty.; . v-_ tun.the fana .trdctoc'.'aind:-.do:'it; Yery/'Suc*. .. Then' yon stic its what - peroentageuf cesafnUy.;Byitoethne toejy'are^fifteen itoegr drivers ate is that age group and we come lave been iqienahx fana machineiy and back- and ask' what percentage of yonr. what have yon foryears./; . nriddteoged people, travel <our highway* How a legislator fram the rnral district How many are in that age group?;:. would in e mcxnent dtdp toat.age down^ to Tbe acddent section s9>emsors want to twelve.; I atqipore he woakbrt hesitate to kaoy >onethvng about toe age group of drop it .dcnm tO tfaat age ^beeaRoe 'he is people that yon license. We Just dooft jbtmsu spdkfid the fann bciy and.girl is ahdyou arm't givingus that xnfomatiyvL ' capitole;of driwmg ft to^t i^e.. Iamtaflcingabotit myself because him-K. ' 'we.'.tok'-tf.'the doing both die jobs. city.boy is qcialified at that ;age?. >Has he Now,, how; many people, boysTand girls, had.toeoppottnnxty?^ ';-?vVi. v?- thhrteeni foarteeji, fiftren, and olderiare . iCA^AXN I^AE^tiTl^y Caa>g*a . driving .witooot licenses id yonr /states?/If ijfMw in-Texas' at; jtottencisddioiit'iukVam* yoowill make*survey I thinkyou willfind thorizatkin ic^jr^dicgr. tbereare lots of theml . ... i.-:.-,-. caeproye necessilyv jd fntiftffn-or-. MRr ROSEbTWALD: T made a' check .......... _ ........................ aftmiMs/litde meeting I told yon about 1 jirigaW*:can.issoeav&jmjeittpoint'toe' was cmTous abpirt;those under our driying age,underfifteen.I made: arajHdcbeikfbr VRMARSWATJr- 1944,"the first six maathvand tbe last six m-toe/fiifetoc'w - months of 1943, as well, astbefirstsix accidents -iuvcdvixig ^drivers inad&r;;. sixteen mqntbs of '43.; . In 1943 1 found -webad two underage into cpdsideraddddsit- fine.vare'-a';miiri yoangsters involved- in accidents; In rix accidmts involvmg.tfaore'niidefmteeii dot arer-heve#-': toat die s ovm. jnririd iftbatbo; /iatt--aO'0J)l. backdoor ontandni get San Andto hK^/see/t . .'.vacadonifN word* .we ojttoseve iscothej sun isshii bon. . naoijr, pnl ."fte-'.jageyjo dnyntgou I'anitwon * (Sc&t"JCjpO(T reflect sod age freon prejbaftbrk Tamm cense,; We limited lid person om . SOUflBB paredto d CHAIR} cstmakei' dtntFach cateto taw twenty,"da ntes.Ua I do know ydmger-d ..-CAPT'A yoriJgdriv ' and mnetee ,.pni>'id.icd " teenyear* ' SERGE* sammaries _ ore 1^43;we-b8 . fourteen "i fatoiacddi ' Li die . ^Traffic Section 23s7 are^hever-eeiorted ;-fpr; .if* ample reason there were a hundred anAtwenty-nine in* tike average indmdaaL thhiks .in/his vdved in accidents, with. three fatalities. .mind that Ks insurance isnogood In the sixteen to nineteen group there were : boy: QT giri hasn't a driyer,'s license. . 1,419 accidents - with seventy-six fatalities. /Tbertfo^jtbfr'' slip, aroundand inthe 1 This was in the rural section,'' Udfi'jjnr^ gettbe fender straightened Xn the urtan section we ,hadya hundred .aaf.an&aerar '.report 'it. -How^: we: dM and one tinder fourteen. In thefifteenand get^xq^'-,of.-aciddiittfii'. m in-' i sixteen age^jSrtxqii. ;:tiKres. were; sixty-eight- dianamthb first six months nf thisyear. with .one fatality^ In the sixteen to to prove that-theyaiedriving-yoat ja^/see/tbat they aiedrivingdimngtbe vacatknperiod of May and June. Inotber wonl* we lad iune in; April anditsteps opto seventeen in Jane.. When the snow grooptbere were 1,649 accidents with, time fatalities. .. 'In 'our rtatervnde- 'two under., fourteen^ five rnidbrfifteen, sixteen .inthe sixteen tontnetotn ytafgtoap.' o?m tbey; a^ hot wbavtbe Our law: in Ifiddganis.fotnteen years.of am if. Aining :^i>y .yg pntttgr (q the XtClgb- age for licenses. We can license a driver hots. V..--, t I agree thatwe have raany.probably hohdredvof ^vm undtr - rtm gjg*..i^F nTbiwi {n lfmitnijty flat jje at.fourteenyears .of: age with,, tike parents?' ament or signature and onuptp eighteen, - biirtthe enfprcexnenl officer ts not ableto arrest tins person in the ordinarywaynuta driving caryparticularly in the rural,areas. I m,woodering,wiietiier or not; tike, acci dent tepoctingand accident records -would reflect stoh a had driviugrecord for that agegroup,and if 'it would hot be wise to pcoouiiy uwer me usisl .. v . agreetoaliinitedlicense.r. Wb'..|kave %' license now .tint , is * iimited license and is gbodasloog as the bereaiches the age ofitoyehleeb;--rK>teightecu, but seventeen.. ,.. ;We feti-rl am trikjng of thbpoiicemen now-rthat it would be a good idea tp issue a probationary or oondhidal ficense to tbe person fourlccfli fifteen, and'.rixteen, because aU thje enforcement, officer can do is take him to the . probate court which-is quite a lengthy procedure. It. requites, a petition to the court to dedare htoi delinquent, ft . (^^AIN DRAPER^AVhat lithe ac"sot,experience in diOerent age poupjfourteen-,; to fifteea-year-oid* as coin* pvwCQ *Shav' -AnLiap uAinMBA* sueveenAiapa.aMmaAmASca^cMa3r means a lot of monkeying around and most ppiiftioen dmft like tq twve a record pf a delinquent mi^w qq ^ case of{individual traffic viobtiocu. ., -v j... . I thhdc. conditional licensing of fourteest CHAIRIMN;TRANSEAU: The Cotin* fifteen, and sixteen year-olds in;.our state til mafccta statement in thisyear's Acci- would: be a good thing. If is trae that qny id tAKh tisaispedal: studies have indl- license is a conditional license but fi: midti cated, based on?mileage of drivers under bring it to an individual's attention if ,we tweri^ tiat tiNar bave tiw . highest accident csdhsd it such. *' ' ' Thtfortmtaft^: I.; K minype^^ bow MR. MARSHALL: Indiana: hi Uie groups.. . first ax montiis tiierewemfi42 sixteen-year- Ivdo''iqimf;^xt(^1^^'ti>e fatalitjes with bid, drivers, umtlved. in accidents and.'it yoquger; drivws'.;aie'';od' of.aU proportion. stopped up4o-l,131 mthtoventoai-year-<ddx I; am snure tint we (mejosin mapy^saxr teen-year-old- dmers m Indiana as we do and nineteen year-olds? What i$:tiieir **" seyenteen-year-olds, whuh beam,|out .your ord in comparison to the 'fourteen aid fif- .mg^m^'.ti^^wluih; they gain'ix^fidenpe 'teearyearj-olds?-^^ tbqr are 8(dng to ;he .inv^eid^m m SERGE;HlpS$/ I have three accidents. j". ...X.'-,'' stahhniries Of the Inexperience. One is CAPTAIN DRAPER: I tidnk ftet is urban, .buev'rihah;. 'and. .one 'Stote-wide.'; In true. Your:v high age group was eighteen 1943 webad eight driver* noder the ageof ahd ttineteen,- wasn'rit? .. fourteen iinyohed.: in acridents; one m a SERGEANT; CHILDS: la tiie young .fataic'ariadehLv.;:--'-'.!. people yes- '' lb tbe .fourteen aid fifteen age group CHAIRMAN TRANSEAU: Of courts Mr- it-:: Sf: 238 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 we don't know exactly how many there are in each of these groups. We are in the dark there. SERGEANT CHILDS: Our really high age group is twenty-five to thirty-four be cause there are probably more of diem. MR. MARSHALL: We issue in Indiana a beginner's permit There were a hundred and sixty-three who were licensed operators and today only about seventy per cent of diem come back for conditional license so they do drive at least three months at die age pf sixteen and the fact they do not come bade proves there are as many sixteeners driving as there are those of seven teen. CAPTAIN DRAPER: We are going to have to get information to furnish die acci dent section as to different age groups, sex, racial groups, etc, that you are licensing in your states. We aren't doing it now. SERGEANT CHILDS: That would hdp a lot in talking about these age groups. CAPTAIN DRAPER: It would help the accident section, too. SERGEANT CHILDS: Connecticut made a study that we look bade to but we don't know that it applies in Michigan. It probably does but there are few states that have tnaide a study on age groups. MR. ROSENWALD: I believe it would be worth while to study wrecks a little more because I don't think the youthful spirit accounts for that difference endrdy. I think there is something he has not got--the per ception, 'the timing, and the thinking, and the action. Your seasoned driver needs only two-- perception and action. He can cut out some of those steps. The youth hasn't driven enough and he has to .have die full three periods so actually, while his mind acts quickly because he is young; it takes longer time. His reaction extends over a longer time than that of the older and more sea soned .driver. In the face of the fact that he thinks he has a quicker reaction he has to have more and he isn't aware of that In other words, he doesn't realize that he is at a disadvantage approximately of one-third of that reaction. MR. L. S. HARRIS (Executive Director, American Association of Motor Vehicle Ad ministrators, Washington, D. G) : I am try ing to get information on this particular subject right now. Some of the states that reduced their minimtnns cat account of war are going to want to put them bade up and I believe they are going to have trouble doing so if they don't have information to show die legislature. I am anxious that the states give us that information just as rapidly as they can Some of the state records are so set up that they can give it to us without much trouble; others cannot. It is a very important thing to as, par ticularly from a national viewpoint The Association has adopted or approved the minimum age of sixteen and we would like to hold it if sixteen is correct If that is not correct, we would like to know it We have got to have the facts to work on. We can't do it through theory. SERGEANT WHITTALL (Division of Accident Prevention, Washington State Pa trol): In response to Mr. Harris' request we started to do some work. These are just preliminary figures. We went back as far as 1940 and compared the number of drivers under sixteen with the total number of drivers involved in rural accidents in our state and we find that in 1940 we had 0.18 per cent and in 1941, 02 per cent In the last nine months of 1942--in the first three months' period we lost*some of die cards so we used the last rime months as probably typical of the year--it went tip to 029. Incidentally it was about that time that our agricultural permit went into effect winch allowed under-age drivers to drive for the purpose of delivering commodities to and from the market In the first six months of tins year the percentage was 25. In other words, ,the first six months of 1944 was about three times as high as those under-age drivers involved in accidents over the year of 1940 so it may indicate a trend i- Traffic Section 239 third WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON SESSION October 4, 1944 fay- General Session wlat Joint Session with American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, American Association of State Highway Officials, International Association of Chiefs war of Police and Institute of Traffic Engineers and iuble Presiding: Kenneth B. Colman, Pres, Colman Industries, Seattle, Wash, and Chairman, Committee on Post-War Traffic Safety Planning. n to Plans for Post-War Traffic Safety that can. A Symposium that tble; (A) Post-War Planning In Street and Highway Traffic BRIG. GEN. D. C. DRAPER GJULG, D.S.O. par- Chief Constable, Toronto, Canada, and President, International The Association of Chiefs of Police the like it is . Paper Presented by F. K. Hoff, 1st Viee-Pres* International Assn, of Chiefs of PoKce We We Any plans for post-war traffic safely must criminals and crime prevention, but we will take into account the vastly enlarged trans need coordination of the work of traffic portation picture that the war has brought police; at least in the countries of these a oi No longer can we look .at traffic police continents--and agreement among us as to Pa- work as a local or even a national job. methods of traffic regulation and uniformity Best, No longer is traffic policing merely a mat of laws. Just ter of control, enforcement of laws, regu To those of us who have been kept dose it as lation of speed and conduct on our high' to home by war work and gasoline and vers ways.' Now we see it as a job of man tire shortages, the freedom to travel when > < agement to facilitate the movement of ve and where we wish will be a release to a oik. hicles, persons and goods over our streets new luxury that will quickly become a ne 0.18 and highways as directly, safely and quickly cessity. To our young men and women . the as possible. The-necessity for co-operation returning from war theatres half way round itree of all agencies concerned and of country the world, distances formerly inconceivable Is so with neighboring country becomes more will seem commonplace.- The world be ably and more obvious. comes smaller as travel, through curiosity, The highway traffic picture in this hemis necessity and scientific development, widens that phere now grows beyond the limits of any our acquaintance in It Sect one country. Stemming from a stage of de The United States ;wilTcontinue to have Irive velopment temporarily halted by the war, the greatest share of/the problem of traffic ities our motorists, on business and pleasure, safety. Its enforcement and safety agendes, six after the war will have more places to go traffic engineers, motor- vehicle administra .55. and null go farther and in better vehicles-- tors, highway officials and other groups 1944 and probably with greater eagerness to get concerned will continue to lead in planning hose there in a hurry--than ever before. With for and putting into effect the measures over a highway reaching. from Alaska, through which year after year must be developed end. Canada, the United States and Mexico, to keep pace with a steady increase in mo down into Central America and soon into tor vehicle use. I am told that the United South America, traffic control and highway States expects to see 50,000,000 passenger safety become problems affecting two con- cars on its highways within ten years after tinents. Not only most there be interna the dose of the war--and, if management tional co-operation' among police agencies by police, farsighted. accomplishments by of all countries in the apprehension of engineers and comprehensive advance plan- -;u :. j$ ' i i ; ] !S } V** rif. . i *1 '* 1 y * - 240 33rd National Safety CongresSy l944 ning by all concerned with safety on the Here, too, the police must be of positive highways is not effective, also expects to help and should take the initiative in pre see an estimated 80,000 traffic deaths and senting their needs. 2,500,000 persons injured annually by 1960. The forecast of widely expanded travel is good. It. can lead to greater cooperation It is essentia] then that in promotion of greater safety on our highways todayand in the years of greater personal freedom among nations, profitable growth in'both business arid culture. The forecast <of' in* after the war each co-operating group must correlate its activities with those "of-the evitable slaughter on the highways must be others and all agencies that can contribute a challenge to us all. 'to this work should do so. It follows also This challenge is taken up in the pro* that the success of the whole program de gram for post-war traffic safety mapped by pends on the effectiveness of each unit die National Safety Coundl's Committee on The part of the police in the over-all Post-War Traffic Safety Planning, headed^ - transportation picture is an important one, by Mr. Colman. The program fulfills ad as has been suggested. Traditionally, the mirably its-purpose of providing a structure defenders of the people and their property, through which each of die . 40 sponsoring . and. throughout , histpry always occupied organizations can contribute to achievement with'the'hunt for criminals and alert to of greater traffic safety in the United States prevent crime> the police,' in the newer and other countries after the war. responsibility'of traffic control, continue to fulfil! their pledge to protect the lives and Concern AH property of the people. The elements of the program in each case Maqy police administrators, I believe, do are primarily the concern of one agency, bnt in varying degree are also die concern, of die others. Construction of new nods, improvement of masting streets and high ways and use of control devices are mat not yet realize the fall scope of their re sponsibility. Theirs is the job of manage ment or control which, correlated as we have said with the work of other agencies, must provide safe, speedy and efficient ters in which police can serve as observers movement of vehicles, persons and goods and can report to those who plan and build them how well they fulfill their functions. over our streets and highways. Congestion and accidents, by-products of highway Effective traffic law enforcement depends' not only on departmental organization and administration but on correlation of police activities with those of the engineer, the educator, the motor vehicle administrator, the courts.and the legislator. Safeguards that can be effected by a wise driver licens ing program are the concern of all of us, particularly of die police. transportation, .are two of the`biggest prob lems they must face under their oath to protect life and property. Action after an accident has happened is not enough. Re routing, delays and more officers on the job are not enough to eliminate the causes of traffic congestion. Farsighted planning is necessary, and particularly a recognition of how large a portion of the police de Revelation of accident causes and points partment's program is represented by traffic where traffic control by mechanical or hu problems. Police administrators must re man device has failed afe. to be found in alize what percentage of their resources accident records--police -work that serves this part of their work atilt rightfully daim. as a guide to every other agency striving Were a police administrator to base person for greater traffic safety. Traffic safety nel assignment on loss of life alone, or education for all who walk or'drive--and economic loss, for that matter, he would that means everybody but the bed-ridden have most of his force busy trying to pre or imprisoned--is a.year-in and year-out vent traffic accidents and delays resulting project It must be extensive and intensive, from congestion. As an example/ILagi so that every candidate for a license under told that in one American city of 78,000 stands the responsibilities that go with the people, during right years, one'life was privilege of operating an automobile. Police lost through crime while 100 lives were must also be educators, co-operating with taken by traffic accidents. If a police ad the specialists in the field of safety educa ministrator should assign his men 100 to tion. And finally, legislation must keep pace. one to traffic, obviously the department won isn beo by i ordi is c of r and year ages edit port men plan imp; P. mas mas trail Ji Eng gnu lisfa< 0 0 <5 Tl the bet char pool min den the pro! dem proj sign h suffi proj way Traffic Section 241 < itive woafii be seriously oat of balance. What . traffic police from Canada and Central pre- is necessary then is that traffic police wort America, as well as many from United be organised on a business-like basis, backed States, have been trained at the Northwest by research and analysis of accident rec ern University Traffic Institute. jand ords* planned for today on a pattern that The place of the police then in post-war dom is elastic enough to cover the problems traffic safety is one of management of a oust of next year* and flexible enough to grow suddenly released large volume of traffic, *the and adapt> itself to dew conditions of the expected to grow rapidly, the facilitation of bote years to follow. The smallest local police traffic flow, prevention of accidents and also agency must operate on as practical and congestioa Vital to the success of this . de- enlightened a plan as the largest, and sup work .is organizational balance within the L r-all one, die erty, pied t to swer e to and porting and furthering the traffic manage ment of all traffic police! most be .well planned* uniform legislation and effective, impartial traffic courts. Personnel Standards High Personnel standards for such a program must be high and traffic police training must be thorough. Specialized training'in traffic control techniques Is available and department, thorough continuing study of the .problems involved, and correlation of policy, work with'that of other agencies concerned with traffic safety. As president of the International Associ ation of. Chiefs of Police, I.pledge, the continued effort of the police to understand and meet their responsibilities in bringing about greater safety on our streets and highways. V do ; reage; we dts, dent sods ttion iway roh> h.' r au Rethe uses ning ition deaffic re lives toil* . or ohld prelting was were ad0 to ment (B) ITE Plans for Post-War Traffic Safety HAROLD P. HAMMOND -. President, Institute of Traffic Engmsera, New York City Jnst a year, ago, the Institute of Traffic special Institute-Post-War Traffic Planning Engineers drafted a.post-war Traffic Pro-, Committee consisting of thirty outstanding gram. Three major objectives were estab municipal, state, and non-governmental traf lished: fic engineers, was. appointed to undertake (1) To de-congest urban centers and the job of expanding, the initial, program. other critical locations. Several days ago, the chairman of the * (2) To"acddent-proof" streets and high- Post-War Planning Committee;'in a com- ways to the maximum degree. _ ntittee progress report tp the Institute Busi- (3) To coordinate highway traffic plans ness Meeting pointed out that the final and operation .with highway plan- program, which .will be completed very mag and design,. and community soon, will properly .expand (from a traffic planning. engineering standpoint), the three-point The ITE recognized that m addition to engineering section of the traffic safety pro the new problems of greatly increased-num gram presented in the publication, "Danger ber oi motor vehicles, miles of travel, --Traffic Jam Ahead." changes in land utilization, old vehicles in The Institute feds that, along with other poor mechanical condition, inadequate ter national organizations sponsoring "Danger minal and parking facilities, and insuffi --Traffic Jam Ahead," such as the Ameri cient emphasis on time values of travel, can Association of State Highway Officials the old problems also must be attacked-- and the American Public Works Associa problems of geometric design for traffic tion, it has a definite responsibility in help-' demands, critical parking problems, and im mg to carry out the three-point engineering proper application or non-uniformity of section which includes: (1) New Road signs,signals, and markings. Construction; (2) Betterment of Existing Initially, the post-war program was not Streets and Highways; and (3) Traffic sufficiently detailed to present the specific Engineering Administration. Institute in projects that had to be undertaken .or the terest in the program is obvious, since way of accomplishing them. Therefore, a these three points are identical with the .; : | fj \ < '\ ' 'I ' ,t /> . * : **. i >i / .242 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 three components of ITE Post-War Com While these several studies dearly show mittee activity. the interest and thinking of- traffic authori Four sub - committees are now putting ties, they do not reveal what traffic improve their reports into final form. The final ments will actually be made to meet post report will be directed to mayors, city war traffic problems. The ITE Post-War managers, state officials, and support gronps, and will state concrete problems of highway transportation, describing ways to attack these problems to obtain fall utilization of highway facilities. The report will empha Traffic Planning Committee is now conduct ing a comprehensive questionnaire study of what the larger dries have done to date about drafting specific plans for making post-war traffic improvements. size the values of applying engineering Of some 150 municipalities contacted, skills to traffic operational problems. It over 100 have already replied. A rough will also show how states, counties, and check reveals that a surprisingly large num cities can utilize traffic engineering ap ber of the dries have already gone quite far proaches and procedures. with their post-war traffic plans. The fol The National Conservation Bureau re lowing are among the measures which they cently conducted a survey to determine what principal traffic problems-''must be have indicated they plan to utilize exten sively : solved for safe and efficient motor vehicle Provision of attractive and convenient and pedestrian traffic after the war. It sent off-street parking so that more curb a questionnaire-listing ten traffic problems parking may be prohibited in congested to a representative group of motor vehicle areas. . _ - and transportation experts in . all parts of Conversion of existing or reconstructed the nation. The replies revealed the follow 'wide thoroughfares into limited-access ing as most urgent: (1) Parking; (2) Pe destrian Control and Safety; and (3) Re design of Streets and Highways. Opinions streets and highways by more restric tion of turning movements and the use of continuous raised medial strips. differed, however, depending on the type of work in which individuals were engaged. Thus, City Engineers considered the park ing problem of greatest importance, with pedestrian control and traffic channelization second and third. State engineers consid ered redesign of streets and highways first; channelization of traffic second, and signs, signals, .and markings third. Both city and state police considered pedestrian control most important City po lice considered parking second, while state police considered speed second. Speed took third place in the opinions of the city police, and redesign was third with the-state police. Providing more pedestrian safeguards such as barricades, special walks, islands, grade separations, and pedes trian signals. Development and application of improved forms of intersection channelization to provide safer but also more rapid move ment of traffic. Greater use of one-way streets, where need demands; in both large and small communities. Malting traffic control devices and meas ures function more in accordance with varying traffic demands and conditions. To implement and carry out sound and Magazine Initiates Study worthwhile traffic plans requires the full A second study by TRAFFIC ENGI -cooperation of all interested agencies. More NEERING magazine, as to what subjects over, it requires that these agencies, par readers felt most important to stress in ticularly the American Association of State the magazine, again showed parking as the Highway Officials, International Associa subject of major interest, followed closely tion of Chiefs of Police^ American Public by city planning and signs, signals, and Works Association, and Institute of Traffic markings. The fifty dty officials yrho an Engineers get together more frequently to swered the questionnaire put parking first, discuss and plan their related interests. dty planning second, and pedestrians third. At the Eno Foundation Traffic Confer The forty-two state officials voted freeways ence held in New York Gty last spring; 1 as the subject of top interest, parking sec heard fpr the first time representatives from ond, and speed third. some of the national organizations just men tion wori pent Si neer engi aa reco neer Ti T> Ts Ti St cam Vdi then da the alth hick tiie WU may ova get W dal The is b to c unif men and trail TI that to < the ditic stan' . and devt fiat free, ' mini tntet Ti are: Traffic Section 243 tioned frankly discuss how dosdy theit^ At a glance it can be seen that these work was related and how they were de-v functions cannot be carried to their ulti pendent upon each other for success. mate without work and cooperation of Speaking. in behalf of the traffic engi-l' other groups. For these reasons, the In neers, I pointed out how much a traffic- stitute is making every possible effort to engineer depends upon others to carry out:' coordinate its post-war traffic program with a constructive program. It is pretty well all national agencies having direct responsi recognized that there are four traffic engi bility in traffic matters. For the same rea neering functions: son, the Institute-promptly became one of Traffic. Studies the sponsoring agencies of the Program for Traffic Planning Post-War Traffic Safety. The Institute can Traffic Design be counted on to carry through with its Traffic Control share of the national program in 1945. nient curb tsted here mall teaswith ions, and full [oreparJtate adanblic raffic y to i. lferI xom nen- (C) Plans for Post-War Traffic Safety C. F. JOYNER, JR. President, American Associationhf Motor Vehicle Administrators, and Commissioner, Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles, Richmond, Va. So for as the post-war years are con lic officials for effective action; to develop cerned, the American Association of Motor methods and techniques and train person Vehicle Administrators does not anticipate nel to apply them; and, to energize and them with undue alarm as some, seem to maintain informed public opinion in sup do. Most of ns are old enough to remember port of our progress. We confidently be the post-war years of the.other war and, lieve that large benefits will result from although there were not so many motor ve tile extension of this type of program. hicles on the road then, the behavior of The development of the. details of our die drivers was not, in any sense, alarming. program is a continuing process, necessarily With tills in mind, we have developed what so because of changing conditions and re may be termed a progressive long term, quirements. But, in order for you to know over-all program and are now beginning to of some of the things we propose to do, get it underway. I will briefly outline some of the most We must remember that the public offi needed and important as follows: cial carries the burden of public safety. The principal objective of our-program is to famish direct service and assistance to our member departments in matters of uniform practices and procedures, depart mental organization and planning; research and studies currently needed, selection and training of personnel, and related matters. The program is designed with the view that the Association tan best contribute - to the work of its individual members by the cooperative development of needed ad-._ ditional nationally uniform standards--* standards that include the most effective and economical practices and procedures ' developed in the several states--standards Legislation We will continue with increased energy our promotion and support for more uni formity in motor vehicle laws and regula tions throughout the nation; Promote said support legislation for na tionally uniform reciprocity between states for vehicles in interstate commerce;. Promote and support legislation where needed for the statutory adoption of the minimum flooring for sizes and weights of motor vehicles; Promote and support legislation for im proved and uniform vehicle registration and license laws. that express to the public the maximum Driver Improvement freedom of movement consistent' with the The average driver is today our, yours minimum of regulation necessary in the and mine, greatest safety problem. He interest of safety.. comprises ninety per cent or more of all The three baric elements of our program drivers.. He is the; fellow who passed .all are: to work directly with and through pub the tests and has been licensed -to drive j /(iI :' 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 a motor vehicle over pnblic streets and Licensing War Veterans highways and is supposed to be a safe In addition to the driver improvement driver. Bat, he is not too safe a driver. It is he who causes most of the traffic catastrophes. We have- had him with ns continually since the first horseless carriage program I have jast Outlined, a cpmmittee has been appointed to study the problem of licensing the returning war veterans. This committee will work m dose coopera and still we know very little about him. We have spent millions of dollars and a quarter of a century of time following the same old rut in trying to educate him to be a safe driver and to avoid accident, with hardly- any favorable results. Cold, volu minous statistics and figures he trill not read. Posters, pamphlets and press re-' leases berating him mean nothing -to him--- - they are for the other gay. tion with the Army, Navy, and Veterans' Administration to develop ways and means of rendering the best possible services in assisting the veterans to again take their normal places and occupations in society. The Committee will furnish all state de partments with the information as fast as such information is assembled. Through this work we. expect rto rehabilitate many veterahs into, safe driven.' We are looking Discouraging as our program inimprov- forward to their return--not dreading it ing the average driver has been,, we still believe we can find a way to. reach him and, with the help of all cooperating or - TMwrfffen Pgn1alinw Oar next -greatest problem to solve is ganizations we are going to continue our that of the pedestrian. The pedestrian is efforts. Our Association acknowledges, and rightly so, that the driver problem is principally'' its responsibility and is therefore giving a major part of Its effort and facilities ..in trying to solve it aDriver Improvement? is our major objective and our program on driver improvement indudes : today In the unenviable group of people whid^is furnishing the largest share,,of traffic casualties. He, like, the average driver, seems to be Immune to education of the usual: type. But, in cities where sincere effort is being made to control and regulate pedestrian, traffic, progress Is bring marie. It has been definitely proven that the police officer in uniformis by {sir the Driver behavior studies in cooperation best possible instructor in pedestrian safety. with Public Roads Administration and traf But; in a great majority .of our cities, par fic enforcement agencies; ticularly the larger ones;, there is no attempt Use of adequate accident reporting sys whatever to regulate and control pedestrian tems and practices and the proper uses of. traffic because of ah imagined political re accident reports and statistics by adminis action. We do hot subscribe to the belief trators, police, highway departments and that the citizens, of a community would courts;' - vote against an official who.tries to protect National uniformity of driver examina tions through the adoption and use of the Association's standards of practices and procedures by properly selected and trained them from death and 'injury which they are subject. tpr' by their own carelessness. So, we are mduding pedestrian regulation and control in our safety program. examiners; -'7 '''- Development and use of nationally uni form driver reexamination program; Our Pedestrian Committee is working, to develop a nationally uniform program which will necessarily have to depend on the as sistance and cooperation of highway officials Development and use of nationally uni and engineers, traffic engineers, state and form practices for the suspension and revo local police and .all supporting organiza cation of driver licenses; tions. The Committee is charged with the General improvement and standardization of driver license law administration and enforcement; Development of a new safety approach duty of providing the leadership and stimu lating interest in the program throughout the country. We believe we will find ways and means to reduce pedestrian accidents. to average adult drivers; and,... Compulsory Vehicle Inspections Active participation in a nation-wide high We propose to urge the resumption of school driver training program. periodic vehicle inspection in the states fori sibi< V enei tion now It min we com vdu stut velc fon of of bus B mot in 1 pro tion on mo; ope the thot goo ditit bed Tht of 1 ins tegi V real sep; V on den S ns Traffic Section . 245 formerly requiring them , as soon as pos sible after cessation of hostilities. We will resume our efforts with new energy toward procuring uniform inspec tion laws and regulations in all states not now having them. In cooperation with Fnblic Roads Ad ministration and the automotive industry, we plan, to activate two research projects concerning safety of' operation of motor vehicles. One will consist of engineering studies and road-testing of vehicles for de velopment of adequate uniform brake per formance standards andf for development of additional safeguards in the operation of passenger vehicles,' including school httses. - The other will be for the develop ment of uniform standards for the opera tion of official inspection stations, both public and private and performance stand ards for testing apparatus and equipment. Through these, projects we hope to con tribute toward safer post-war motor ve hicles. ; . I have outlined the most important fea tures of our program of traffic accident prevention* As you can see, the program is basic--it is fundamental--and is designed to support and assist the public officials charged with . the responsibility of. public safety. It merits the sincere support and cooperation of every organization and in dividual. I am confident we can depend upon the help of all here today. ve is an is cople re. of erage ation irhere land being . that ir the ifety. ,4parleapt strian d beh ... vould rotect they lation ng.to which le as* fipals i and urizah the ithnughout ways nts. s on of states (D) Rons for Postwar Safety H. G. SOURS Director of Highways of Ohk^ Regional Vice-President, AJLSH.O., Coiambus, O. Before the .war, there were 33,000,000 motor vehicles operating over the highways in the United States. Today, there are ap proximately 2&5O0,OOO and with' the excep tion of trades and bnses, they are operating on a greatly reduced mileage basis. The most of these are the smne vehicles, which operated in 194L. A large percentage of the 1941 tires are still, doing service, al though many of them would long ago have gone to the junk pile under normal con ditions, Speeds, as well as mileage, have been greatly scaled down dnrmg the war. The normal highway improvement program of new construction has been deferred and in. some cases, old roads have badly disin tegrated under wartime hauling: With this factual background we can readily forsee postwar traffic creating two separate problems: v First, the problem following immediately on tiie lifting of war-time restrictions, or ders and regulations. ' Second, the problem which will confront us in the future when normal traffic con ditions return, volumes increase and new models of motor vehicles become a reality. The first period may bring a sharp rise in the accident curve, particularly the seri ous and total acridents. . Removal of re strictions will bring an increase in road speeds. The return of many men and women from the armed services will put. a graater number of younger drivers cm the road, which will naturally bring up speed rates. However, many of these have received' valuable training and experience in the handling and care of motor vehicles. They may be better and safer drivers when they return than when they left Regardless of this speeds will increase, and in addition, notch of the equipment will be old and unsafe for high speeds. Tires will undoubt edly he the cause of many accidents unless new tires are available in unanticipated numbers by the end of the war. The tonnage being hauled by trucks will quite likely drop rather sharply for a while and then will rise again with the recon version, of industry. During the war emer- ' .] ;yi ,*1 iVf:,: i .II . < *: 246 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 . gency, most trucks are loaded to capacity and out of the cities will be increased. The' and many of them are overloaded. spread of population into the rural areas This sums up the problem, as it now appears, for the immediate postwar period. What, then, should be done about it? We have often heard of the three E's of traffic safety--Enforcement, Education and Engineering. In the immediate postwar period. Enforcement will quite likely occupy the number one spot Education and En gineering take time. Both can be carried on during the first period but the results and benefits will appear later. Some phases of Education, such as publicity campaigns, will help but too often they are spasmodic rather than basic and fundamental. Certain phases of Engineering, such as signs, mark ings, regulation of directional flow of traffic, parking and careful maintenance of highdays can be of immediate benefit but the surrounding the urban centers will greatly expand. This will further the need for home-to-town transportation by private au tomobile Undoubtedly the use of the motor car and the light truck by the fanner will greatly increase The use of the aero plane commercially and privately and the increase in the number of airports will call for surface transportation to and from landing fields and airports. The aeroplane conceivably, will open up many heretofore inaccessible vacation lands which will be served locally by highways. The truck, more than ever, will act as a supplement to the railroad and the aeroplane The pat tern of traffic quite likely will change and the total will greatly increase What should be done to meet the de results of Engineering in design cannot be. mands of traffic in the second period? The turned into visible effectiveness overnight problems fall into three major categories. It is quite likely that a very substantial number of drivers will voluntarily con form with necessary restraints. There will always be those, however who will drive recklessly and dangerously and injure and kill others as wellas themselves. The second problem is a long-range one and will became most noticeable after we have recovered sufficiently from war-time restrictions and shortages for traffic condi tions to resume normal growth. - Design Problematical What will happen in the design of motor vehicles is not definite today. They may be lighter and they may be faster, although danger may throttle higher than pre-war design speeds. It is not likely that we will greatly lower tlje top speeds of the better types of cars. Efforts may be made for greater permissible legal loads for trucks. But there is little likelihood of load limits bring lowered. The amount of traffic will increase and possibly at an un expected rate for some years after the war. The aeroplane will be an additional factor in the transportation of people and somp lands of materials.. .The railroads will quite likely modernize and expand their service. All of these factors will tend to increase motor vehicle traffic but they may modify and alter the pattern somewhat The short-distance, everyday trips into 1. There will be the planning, design and construction of arterial expressways into and through the large cities, the by passing of some of the smaller cities, and the bdt-Jining of others. These will be the roads which will collect, carry, and dis tribute large volumes of traffic quickly and safely. Projects of this kind require care ful study, traffic analysis, and scientific planning and design. They are costly and often become involved with many obstacles which cause delay. However, they will be the cheapest and the best in tire long run Street widening will not solve the problem except temporarily and the costs of rightof-way and damages will be dispropor tionately large. This type of work is expensive and there may be some reluctance on the port of public officials because of the high cost and the fear of public reaction. We should not consider the cost per mile as the yard stick for measuring cost of this type.of work, but, rather, the - cost per person served. Oftentimes the cost per person on major improvements is really less than on some of the much lower types of work. i 4, 2. The second problem is that of modr emizing the main trunkline highways be tween the cities in the nation's primary, net* work. Some of tins work has already been done but the greatest part still lies ahead The expressway, in many cases, is the Traffic Section L The areas ;reatly ^ultimate design toward which we should work.' Careful selection of routes, to avoid duplication and hold down the over-all tel ) the fanner . aero- mileage of trunklines is essential. Much of this type of improvement will be on new location, leaving the existing facilities to serve local traffic; id the ill call from 3. -The third problem is that of the or derly expansion and further development of the rural ' farm-to-market, school and tplane, mail route. The ever increasing transpor tbfore tation of farm products to market is one ill be factor. The opening up of tourist areas is trade, another. foment le pat- Engineering Major Factor je and It is quite apparent that Engineering will be one of die major factors in high ie de- .? The gories. way safety in the long-range period. The faults and the lack of doll and responsi bility of motor vehide drivers are more pronounced than in the operators of any design other type of transportation. The railroad ssways locomotive engineer, the helmsman of the he by- ship and the pilot of 'the aeroplane are all s, and highly skilled operators. Hence, more than be the ever, safety must be built into our high d dis- ways to make them safer for all the users. Jy and t careientific fy and stacks ml< ) Ig robfoxn There are several fundamental items ""-which should be included in the design of our major trunkline highways. Modifications --of the different types of treatment are in order to more properly meet the conditions and to keep our design within the bounds of economy. right- The following are some of the items tropor- which must be considered If we are to build safe highways on our major routes: Much of the local traffic can be kept off the major trunklines by leaving the old road or street to serve it (d) Uniform and standard traffic con trol devices result in less confusion to the driver and increase safety. (e) Special facilities for. pedestrians, including safety islands, sidewalks, mark ings, etc, are essential for safety where pedestrians cannot avoid highway traffic. (f) The removal 'of street car rails and the resurfacing of some of the exist ing major streets will oftentimes greatly increase traffic capacity and safety. (g) The regulation of parking on some of the main thoroughfares can produce excellent results. Prohibtion of parking on certain streets to form an inner belt for traffic distribution and circulation, can often produce some amazing improve ments. (h) In any" improvement, adequate lane widths are essential to safety. The high-speed car and the wide truck of today cannot possibly operate safdy over the old narrow lanes. (i) Proper widths of shoulders and adequate shoulder treatment must be pro vided for maximum safety. * * (j) Oftentimes on a two lane highway, the -addition of a third or fourth lane for passing on long grades with fast and slow-moving vehicles improve the traffic conditions. In existing highways some items must at all times receive careful attention: and ie port -j cost should : yardype.of person son on i than : work. F mod: lys bery nel ly been ahead, is the (a) The multiple lane divided type, using a median strip as wide as possible. A narrow divider may be used under cer tain conditions but should be raised where its width is limited. (b) On heavy* traffic routes, the limited access or expressway type supplemented with proper interchanges is .the most de sirable. While its initial cost is greater the gain in functional advantages is so great that the additional cost will be off set in most cases. (c) Expressways and major improve ments should, in general, be on new lo cation. Better alignment and grades may be found at less cost on new location. (a) .Pavement* surfaces and shoulders must always be kept-jn repair. (b) Blind spots, sharp horizontal and vertical curves, sight distances at inter sections, railroad and highway crossings and bridge approaches can be made much safer through special treatment based on studies of the local conditions. (c) Proper signing and marking con tribute to safety. (d) Slippery surfaces can often be deslicked and bad skidding accidents pre vented. (e) Snow and ice control is very im portant. The travelling public expects to /i! ;j 'i ik 248 33rd Naltonw- ^fay Congress, 1944 be able to use* the highway at ali times eral location, capacity, functioning, and day and. night. Proper equipment, trained operation of routes and terminals. Careful personnel and a system for quick action traffic planning is particularly important in in emergencies are all necessary. Opera* the location and the development of express tors of snow and .ice control equipment ways and major thoroughfares. should be under standing' orders to' get out on the road whenever necessary with out waiting for orders from headquarters. A system of reporting winter road con ditions in the early morning and evening radio broadcasts over the regular stations can be of great value and be much appre In other highway departments there are separate bureaus. Traffic and Safety and Planning Survey. Id such cases' there may be overlapping of functions, hr any event, however, the -two functions must be defi- coorttattd for proprr ptata*. ciated. Traffic control is normally a function of Traffic Bureaus the Traffic Engineering Bureau. The application of regulatory measures to develop A highway department should have a Bu the maximum effectiveness and safety in reau of Traffic and Safety. Most depart the movement of traffic is a function of ments have made, good progress in this Traffic Engineering The prescribing , of direction. Until recent years, however, the corrective treatment to existing highway principal function o'f such bureaus has been facilities from Traffic Engineering studies is to handle highway, signs, markings, etc, a very important function. and to treat dangerous spots on existing highways. Recently, however, tire progres sive highway department has coordinated the The traffic engineer can make a real and lasting*contributiao to safety. Through the # work of the Bureau of Traffic and Safety with the other bureaus of the department, particularly design. While the Traffic Engi- scientific anatysis.of available and collectible fads, safety can be injected into the design of highways. Through cairefn! and. proper gineer has several independent duties to perform, he also is definitely tied in to the other related bureaus of a department. tnaintenance and the sound regulation of traffic movement, the maximum efficiency on tbq highway can be obtained. As a result of the research and studies carried oo by the Traffic Engineer in traffic performance, terminal behavior, parking, other., traffic handling facilities, roadway capacity, etc, he is able to recommend geometric design features not only under standard conditions but for special problems as well.' The- accident record on our highways over the. past years is nothing to be proud of. In spite of our efforts, it has been much too high. I hesitate to risk a guess, how ever, on what it might have been had it not been for .the efforts pot forth by the various agencies interested in highway safety. Most highway departments are be coming more mid more safety-conscious. hi same highway departments, traffic sur -Traffic engineering as an integrated part of veys covering such items as origin and any. well-balanced highway department destination, volume, speed, accidents, con should be given a place of equal prom gestion and parking and the analysis of inence whh the several functions which any the data collected, are combined with traf well-balanced highway department must fic planning which covers the field of gen perform. Pr , T _ . j ' .iu rn J ^ . and ireful e are and i may event, defisran of velop ty in in of g- of faway ies is I and b the ctible iesign neper n of iency ways trend much . hor ' adV-J f the bway e beaous. it of xnent romi any most n\ Traffic Section 249 THURSDAY MORNING SESSION October 5, 1944 Group Session for City and State Police Presiding: Jakes T. Oney, Superintendent of Traffic, Police Dept, Kansas Gty, Mb. Post-War Traffic Police Problems A Pond Discussion . Training--Gordon H. Sheehe, Acting Di- rector of Training, Northwestern University Traffic Institute Evanston, HL Personnel--Gol. Edwaed J. Hickey, Com- nussiooer, Connecticnt State Police, Hartford, Conn. Enforcement--James A. Peyde, Chief, Washington State Patrol, Olympia, Wash, public Education-Joseph L. Lingo, Di rector, PuMic Safety Institute, Purdue University, Lafayette, Ind. Equipment--Capi. Mason L. Mittleb, Supt of Traffic Police Dept, Louisville, Ky. (A) TRAINING: GORDON H. SHEHEE The most urgent rued in post-war police time must he made available for training, traimgg is-a dear understaafing of the aims purposes to enable him to absorb die ma of sate. training. It must consist of more terials included in theprogram. Some, ad dan just lectures an police tactics'andpro- ministrators regard three weeks.as an ade cedures, laws, departmental regulations, and quate period in which to condnct recruit so on, which have long been the balk of die training; others realize three months is not police training program. The purposes in sufficient time. When, those responsible for clude development of the individual police police training finally agree that half the officer .winch anil enable him to perform working time of a new policeman during the police services most efficiently. Included first year of his employment and five per must be development of attitude, beliefs, cent of his time dining each year there-:; viewpoints, morale, knowledge of police after should be devoted to training, fthhn: problems and shills and abilities for meet the time essential to a good police train ing these problems. Upon the ability of ing program will be provided. - / . die individnal officer to think clearly and- Adequate funds are necessary for a quickly in time of emergency depends not proper police training program. Capable in only tee safety of hhnsdf but also the lives structors can not be retamed at a patrol and safety of other person^. man's salary, nor .can a good director of An important past of any training pro training be held at a salary white is lower gram must be tee ability of instructors to than is paid in comparable fields.. Training whet the appetites of students for learning. aids most be purchased and physical for Interest in tee.various subjects must be dlities provided. Police administrators and initiated and maintained if students are to other officials have yet to prove to themselves absorb tee knowledge offered by instructors that it is good business to spend money and texts. for police training. The aimed forces and The active support of officials is a re big business organizations have proved that quisite, to any effective training course for this is tee soundest kind of investment The police officers. The chief administrator, production of well-trained police officers is. commanding officers and government offi so for superior to that of untrained or cials of the state or city must be so well poorly trained men that ample expenditures informed concerning the need for adequate for training can easily be justified. police training and die essentials of a proper A job analysis of tee dudes and respon training program that they win endorse it sibilities of policemen in various, levels trill fully and provide the pecessary means. furnish a guide for the training program. A A sufficient amount of tee' police officer's schedule, for recruit and in-service training 250 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 which will fill the requirements set forth by the job analysis should be maintained. A director of training, either full or parttime, who is qualified to organize and ad minister the training program will add much to its value. He must be responsible for all phases of personnel training: Progress has been made in police train ing programs in recent years. More prog ress may be anticipated in the coming year. A wide acceptance of the value of train ing by the armed forces and industry has conditioned public dunking so that,, they will support the need for adequate police training Police should now accept their responsibility for' developing their training programs and should recognize that this item has an important bearing on the pro fessionalization of the police service. Other agencies which are interested in good gov ernment generally nay be relied upon to help the police in their efforts to provide full-fledged training to improve perform ance by all police. (B) PERSONNEL--COL. EDW. J. HICKEY Personnel shortages have been created in most police departments by the demands of the armed forces. This is easily under stood when we consider that the armed forces require about the same type of man who is attracted to a police, job, pins the fact that most departments have maintained rigid physical requirements for entrance and have insisted that members maintain good physiol condition while employed. It is not known whether or not the end of the war will bring a rapid return to their old positions of police officers who are serving with the armed forces. Many of them are assigned to duties which will go on long after the cessation of hostilities. It is hoped that they will be released as promptly as possible to permit their return to the essen tial job of policing. The department has an obligation to re instate qualified members who have been given leaves of absence to serve with the armed forces. It has an equally important obligation in determining that these men are physically qualified ,upon their return to the rigorous -duties of policing This means that a complete physical examination must be made a condition of re-employment; one that is as rigid as that given to the new recruit. Refresher training should be given as needed to aid returning members to quickly resume proficiency in police duties. Certainly in the post-war period police departments will have many applications for employment. Capable young men with no previous police experience have become ac quainted with some policing techniques dar ing their military service and will have had their interest aroused in policing as a career. Men who' have had military training and military experience have gained some dungs which will be valuable to the police depart ment The instilling of obedience to orders and the conditioning for strict discipline are valuable attributes for a police recruit There are, however, many other things to be considered in an applicant for the police service. With this in mind, certainly it is natural that in the case of applicants who have equal qualifications the preferred candidate should be the one with military service. This does' not mean that military service alone will make a man suitable as a recruit for the police, service. Impartial use of a merit system for em ploying new police personnel and for gov erning promotion can be of inestimable value to a police department Candidates competing for appointment or. promotion must be made aware of the fairness of the system and the impartial administration of it by police officials. Such a system can do much to prevent the formation of cliques which invariably result in disgruntled groups within a department Established merit systems should be con tinued; those departments not presently em ploying such a system should bend their efforts towards securing an efficient merit system. Its use will enable recruits and seasoned officers seeking advancement to be selected on a uniform basis which is acceptable to all members. <C) ENFORCEMENT---JAMES A. PRYDE The post-war period will bring enlarged in advancing solutions to these problems, problems in the street and highway traffic It is a duty of thl police themselves to field. The police must play a leading part get the public to support the police depart- they Mice tot this prother gov1 to vide >nn- durfaad peer* and tings utders ?line nut ps to Mice y it ants trred itary itary as a gov- J table fates >tion ithe B Of n do ques oops conemtheir nerit and t to h is lems. s to part- meat.and its program. Progressive depart agency. Enforcement policies must be um- ments are more and more realizing that form and the application of enforcement they must be die ones to initiate; not just procedures must be uniform if ultimate ef to follow, programs concerning public fectiveness is to be obtained Uniformity in safety or ottos in which the police have these things will do much to proatre for the a-primary interest police service the public support it deserves. A first requisite of an effective enforce ment program must be reasonable, enforce able legislation. Since this does have an important bearing cm die quality of the en forcement program, police must look ahead at contemplated legislation. Non-enforceable laws should be opposed; such, laws already in effect need to be revised, or stricken from the books. Police departments must establish their position so strongly with the Motor vehicles operators and pedestrians more readily accept enforcement when it is based upon uniform regulations, uniform policies and uniform procedures. Criticism of individual enforcement contacts is re duced, public resistance is lessened, and public apathy is overcome when citizens see safe driving and walking regulations en forced impartially and uniformly throughout an area. general public that they will have something These things can be secured only through to say about the laws that are enacted.. top-notch active administration in police de Careful recognition of their responsibility will enable the police to serve the public nfost effectively and to such an extent that the residents of any community will under stand and properly evaluate the public serv partments. Careful analyses of current prob lems, regular exchange of information with other departments, the application of proved methods of controlling traffic problems and constant alert supervision in the field are essential to an effective traffic enforcement ice rendered by their police department Police service is an integral part of the city or state; it must be rendered so effec tively that the general public will recognize program. More and more chief administra tors -fed that periodical, tours of duties in the field working closely with subordinates are an effective method of maintaining a it as such. close contact with actual enforcement needs. Law enforcement is basically a local prob . They provide an effective method, also, of lem, but each enforcement agency must co obtaining the solid backing of the public for operate closely with every other enforcement the police program. (D) PUBLIC EDUCATION--PROF. JOSEPH L. LINGO Public education, in its true sense, is more for the job. He must be familiar with the than just personal or departmental ballyhoo. problems, and with the various channels Attempts to publicize or build up an indi available for reaching the public. He must vidual in the name of public education in point out to them`why certain: enforcement variably result in failure of both the selfish methods are necessary and show how. the interestand the true aims of public educa individual can lend his aid to the overall tion. On the other hand, a conscientious program. " effort to do a good job in educating the public to the needs of traffic safely will reflect credit to the organizations and all of the individuals participating. The continued use of auxiliarypolice forces offers valuable public contacts. Such, con tinued use should be encouraged, not alone for the usefulness for this trained force . Public education, or public relations--call in handling special, events mid emergencies, it what you will--must start within the de but also because they represent many sym partment and must be based upon effective, pathetic public contacts. Many prominent administration, sound organization mid uni residents of communities have volunteered formity of action. The department can begin their services as auxiliary police officers. to put its own house in order by first desig Through their training they have been im nating one member to handle the public pressed with the importance of the public education program. The selection of this service rendered by police departments and individual must be based uponqualifications have obtained a better understanding* of the .< . ! . : :r .. . r i: r. : V. !... . 252 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 methods employed to meet police problems .and of the needs of: the police service. Con* sequently, valuable outlets are provided for disseminating traffic safety information, not only to the' members-of this forced -bat to their families and friends. Each, because of the direct contact, has a sympathetic inter est and is more receptive to suggestions than he -woold.be from'most other-channels. Selectivity most be ufilitcd & thc pvbEc education program to avoid waited efforts. Careful analyses of accident .records vrffi. indicate the direction in which educational materials should be aimed. The locality suf fering from die heaviest accident experience, age groups, employee groups, types of acci dents occurring most frequently and die violations occurring most frequently in acci dents are all to be secured from analyses of accident records and offer valuable in formation for directing educational efforts at die items contributing most to dta-aqtident experience.. Through this selective ap^ preach maximum. effectiveness cad be .ob tained for the effort pot forth. v~~' Police training has a pronounced effect upon the acceptance"of educational ap proaches in the traffic .safety field. The-in fluence of proper police trahung on . each contact made between the public. and.. the individual police.-.officer, can! domnch to augmcnt;thc acc^rfance by the public, of necessary regulations...aiid of., safe, driving and walking practices. The. d&iency. and attitude of theindividaalofficer represents to tiie inffiridual.citizens; the makeup of die entire police-diyartmedt, Iftfce arizen is impressed favorably, he more readily agrees to the need f6r:observance and.more reaffiiy heeds pleas for support wfiidhi are brought .to him through newspapers, posters, radio, etc Eplisting the. support of scientist^promi nent badness, executives and other profes sional men In the community to serve on special.police committees or to stndfy special policd problems can be avaluable means of securing-^pubtic cooperation. These are just a fow of the many methods available to police organisations for secur ing jmblic support through publicedocation. Utilitizatioa of methods found-most effec tive m a community is essential to any ef fective balanced program for traffic safety. (E) EQUIPMENT--CAPT. MASON L. MITTLUR ;i . ' : `L, ; Equipment for the police service In the ment for police departments representing post-war period brings, first of all, die Government. ... need to emphasize some faults which ex Members of police departmentsmust thcm- isted in. the pre-war period and during die selves pay more attention , to appearances. wax. Outmoded, run-down police buildings Greater efforts to maintain automotive and used by many departments create an unfa other equipment so as to not only function vorable atmosphere for members of die po more efficiently bat to present a. better ap lice organization and for members of the pearance will pity ffividends in inefearing public. Modern, efficient police braidings public support for the police department. will create in die men dnsnseives die de During foe waf automotive equipment and, sire, to improve personal appearances and some other ityuis, have had longer,than nor attitudes arid will encourage progressive out mal periods of-service,. Mbch'Of this, stiff looks tpon the assignments of tie individual.: need, to be replaced as soon fcssbch stems In addition, the civilian who visits police become available so^dot nsuty'<ffiipartments headquarters or a district station receives will be off to- a'gpoti start with vehicles a modi more favorable impression of the which nobody look good, but fattush pow- public service affocdpi by the police. Indus eriradrefficient.units, for patrol and!other tries and business houses, largeand small, nlic activities* * have found it advantageous to maintain Undoubtedly improvement-saade/by the modem, well-kept offices, chiefly-for the In-. armed forces inraffio equipment will be re- fluence on workers, and the public impres flepted in the communications setupsofpo- sion created. If these profit-making, enter * lice departments in foe post-war period.- In prises consider It a.good investment* cer creasing use of foree-wty radio telephone tainly it must be an equally good Jnvest- units and the realignment ofpolkeraffio bands cialusi ofpoli v'-Man, pnbgrai direct!] there fords, .troLl section brings resists ment p tion o mechai the? ad adequa five same j dents, tivtnes : Coni meats mannfi of.dun aoriden loading neuver: ing wo ffistrict -up aka cargo-i of foe Mod effiden ingtalla tivenes police'' necticu COL age qn opinion yearsi seems men' di longer Individ conspic patrol- SUP lieye ti depend u Tragic Section 253 . .+ bands, to prohibit interference by commer- area to be patrolled.; Conspicuous, identi dalusers wiU'addtotlwincreased effidency fied.. and tmindentified cars each, serve a ofpolice services.''; ' particnlar puipose in thepolice control Many items, of equipment affect the police field. Ini general, most departments find it program, even thougbthey: are not used necessary to' use all types of cars because directly by the department Forexample, of. the need to apprehend habitual traffic the reasonable use of parking-meters af violators, to deter other potential violators, fords,an effective method of parlringcon- and because it is necessary to uselffite same .troi - However, if infers r are installed In vehides for other police assigntnertg,' sections "where tbeyare not necessary, it COLONEL HICKEY: The cta^icnoos brings critidsmupon 'die department and patrol, vehicles serve to keep te men on redstance to other phases of the .enforce* their toes. They are aware that'ihe dis mart program. Periodic compulsory inspec tinctive markings on the carjceeps them in tion of motor vehicles to assure proper the public eye and me therefore constantly mechanical performance puts,upon'die'police reminded of the need for exemplary be the;.additional burden for maintainingan havior and effective performance; There is, adt^te nnmbdr Pf fidd dttcks for defec boweyer, some advantage in having un tive equipment On the other hand, this identified cars used m patrol . work since same program is effective in reducing acci when tbe public becoiises aware of this dents. Consequently, it adds to the effec situation every approaching vehicle pre tiveness of traffic safety work. sents the possibility of .a police unit ob : Conjecture as to the probable improve serving their driving behavior. mentsin motor vehicle equipment, hy the CAPTAIN JOHN F. O'NEILL, Police manufacturer brings/ to mind a number Dept: Philadelphia, Pa.: The red police of. dungs which may be helpful in reducing vehicles used in our dty afford a valuable accidents. For example, the use of side - safety faeSqrtotheofficerin pursuit and loading trucks to' redike the amount of ma*. atthescene of an acrident investigation. In Beavering accessary, for. loading and unload ing would also reduce congestion in business addition, the motorist who is flagged down realizes 'that the order has been issued by districts. ' Soch trucks would merely pull a pdice officer with the proper authority for up alongside the curb and load&ffisekairge Stopping them; cargo-rather than taldng up a large portion > of the. street width. FRED L. TODD, Chief, Mississippi Highway Patrol, Jackson, Miss.: In Mis / Modern laboratory, facffities/mcreased efficiency in street lighting and traffic signal installations can all add much to the effec tiveness of-the accident prevention woric of others. sissippi we are compelled by the legislature to use white cars for traffic control work. I would appreciate suggestions as to bow to secure the needed changes in 'this re quirement Q. iVVhat is dm mimmnm age for Con necticut State Police recruits? C50LONEL mCKEY: The minimum age qialiiijation; has been 2S years.. Inmy opinion this will probably be lowered to 21 yearsin thepost-war period. Hus trend scons tq^le toemplpyineat of younger men throughout .the poKce fieldto enable longer periods of public. service by the iwfiriduaiL Qi Arecars painted white or some other conspicuous color best sidted to. traffic -patrol..work?. SUPERINTENDENT ONEY: I be lieve tbesdectionof car markings most depend upon the problems presentedin die CHIEF PRYDE: We have had good re sults in die State of Washington with, a conspicuous patrol vehicle, but do fieri it necessary to'supplement the work Of these cars with unidentified automobiles. I be lieve that assjgnmg a conspicuouscar and an4 unidentified car -to the same patrol at the same/time/keeping a constantinterval of. perhaps five miles between die two and maintaining a dose record of violations observed, would be helpful in bringing the problem to legislators.' In.thb way it would be posdble to determine the effect of the two types oi vehides npon pasdng motor ists and thus demonstrate die usefulness of each type. ' COLONEL HICKEY: Another possi bility is to obtam the experience from ;1 ; ,, : U: `7 254 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 other states in the use of various types of police patrol vehicles. I believe some tests similar to that outlined by Chief Pryde have been run in a number of eastern states in past years and that this information would be available upon request Q. What is the value of warnings as an enforcement measure? CHIEF PRYDE: To discuss the value of warnings as an enforcement measure, it is necessary to differentiate between She various types of warnings. The verbal warning has some value, but it is extremely difficult to measure. It should not be used to replace a written warning, but should be reserved for use at times when it is im possible for the patrol officer to issue a written notice of violation, such as when he is assigned to point control of traffic or engaged in accident investigation. The writ ten warning,' if forwarded through the proper ` channels and made a part of the driver's permanent record, does serve a useful purpose in the enforcement pro gram. Maximum effectiveness is1 possible only when suspension or revocation of the driving privilege follows the accumulation of a number of warnings tty an individual. Warnings are not intended and should never be used to replace* a proper, arrest If the violation warrants the issuance of a citation dr an arrest on view, that proce dure should be used, reserving the wanting procedure for certain border-line violations or for use during the initial phase of a new part of .the enforcement program. ; THURSDAY MORNING,SESSION October 5, 1944 Joint Session, Traffic Court Group, Motor Vehicle Administrators, Enforcement Officials Presiding: Hon. William H. Gilmaktih, Judge, Corporation Court, Fort Worth, Texas. How the Motor Vehicle Department Can Help the Courts and the Police By JUDGE EDMUND B. SMITH Municipal Court, Kansas City, Missouri I shall not attempt to review the laws of 4. To these functions might be addedthe the 48 states creating state motor vehicle keeping of accident records, with departments, nor make an analysis of the proper classification as to whether judicial interpretations of these laws. fatality, personal injury or property State motor vehicle departments usually - damage resulted. have these functions: 1. The issuance of licenses for drivers of motor vehicles (and perhaps for the vehicles themselves); 2. The suspension or revocation of such drivers' licenses, either after a hearing' on specific charges preferred by proper authority, or upon receipt of notice of final oonviction of a driver on one of a certain list of driving offenses set out in the appropriate statute; State motor vehicle department heads can help the court by'devising and- plaring in effect simple, standard forms for the re ports which the courts are required to make to them. Anything which tends to shorten the work involved in preparing the report will be of benefit since it will encourage full reporting of all essential matters. Too often a court clerk is discouraged by a lengthy and involved -form, is strongly tempted "to slop it," and as a result, no report at all is forthcoming, or if one is 3. The keeping of records of convictions - made, it is so sketchy and inadequate as or violations, or perhaps both, as fur to be almost useless. Forms should be dear nished by reporting authorities. and understandable, and as short as possible, cos for i the par rep if one Is poi Ve! ma to ing dra sys so nec I pot cos and tin] in pro jud I sys dri and wai rep lati yoi get rec for wff 1 hat dri rev Mo rec dri SOS pre stai she me vol of sue rec me nut ea cas. "w the nth her arty cas : in re als rten wit age Too ra igiy no 5 Is as tear ble, consistent with eliciting the required in as to whether he will or will not suspend or formation. revoke the driver's license after conviction Again, progress can be made by reducing of certain offenses has been reported to him. the number of forms in use. If the de Since courts should have, and do have, it partment has been using 'two for court the public welfare very much at heart, any 'reports, a study should be initiated to see thing done in the operation of the Motor if perhaps they cannot be combined and Vehicle Department which promotes the one workable formsubstituted for the two. public welfare is of benefit to the courts. I strongly recommend that forms for re Therefore, motor vehicle coromissijbners porting convictions be devised by the Motor who operate under a state law which vests Vehicle Department itself, and that the considerable discretion in their department matter-, and content of reports be hot left as to the issuance of driver's licenses,'will to the individual judgment of each report be. serving the public and the courts if they ing court or enforcement agency. The require something more than a perfunctory drawbacks of :the latter system (lack , of written application and a fee from the system would be a better name for it) are applicant Actual driving tests with skilled so apparent that no comment thereon is observers accompanying the applicant will necessary. keep many an unfit driver from procuring Let ns assume that your system of res a license to drive, thus preventing many ports from courts is in good functioning accidents and injuries, and saving many i. condition, with short, understandable forms, lives. * and that you, kb-. Commissioner, are get For several years now, we have had in ting good cooperation from all the courts this country a splendid, program for the in yonr state in sending these reports in improvement of the administration of jus promptly. From the standpoint of the judged what is next to be desired? tice by improving traffic courts, under the joint sponsorship of the American Bar As / For one tiling, I hope that you have a sociation and the National Safety Cotmtil, system where the names of all licensed with other interested organizations partici drivers in the state are set up on cards, pating. Regional conferences have been and that you post promptly (and how I held all over the nation. Kansas Gty is want to emphasize promptly) from your, proud of having been host to the first of reports to yonr cards all convictions, vio th&e conferences, and again, this year, snch lations, suspensions and revocations. Then a conference was held there in connection you will be in position to answer when you with the Central States Safety Congress. get any inquiry from a court about the Much good has undoubtedly been done at record of a driver who is before that court these meetings, but I am sore that much for sentence^ and better yet, the answer more could be done -if we could get the . I': v t: will be.up to the minute. people who so tar have not attended, to In many jurisdictions, the courts do not come, to one of these conferences. And have the power to - suspend or revoke drivers' licenses, and such suspension or this is where the "head of the State Motor Vehicle Department enters the picture. revocation is accomplished by action of the Motor vehicle oomnussioners and super Motor. Vehicle Commissioner other on intendents of state police ran' give leader recommendation of the court in which the. ship to the program of improvement. of ` l.:!l driver has been tried and convicted, or in traffic courts. Since theirs is . a state office some instances, after a hearing on charges they can take the initiative .in arranging preferred by police authority, generally for state meetings or regional conferences state police. In such case the Commissioner of traffic court judges, prosecutors; and po ;;! should act promptly when he gets a recom lice, where the problems of traffic law en i- mendation from a court to suspend or re-' forcement and the adequate functioning of voke a driver's license, and only the gravest traffic courts can be thoroughly explored. of reasons should impel him to withhold What must be done is to widen the circle such action after he has received such a of those who are interested in the subject. recommendation. I mean this latter com Every time we get a judge or a prosecutor ment to apply only in cases where the Com or a police official to come, for. the first missioner is given by the law a discretion time, to such a conference, we are malting i- 256 33rd National Safety Congress, 1044 .progress. Still further progress will : be made when they attend not just onoe, 'but many times. A motor vehicle commissioner cooperating in sponsoring, such a meeting, should be able by the very prestige of his office to get a larger attendance of the right people, than if the meeting were held without his cooperation. Many judges, prosecutors and police officials do not re ceive large enough salaries to permit them to come to conferences at their own ex pense. Here again the motor vehicle com missioner may play an important part; for a letter from him may persuade an other wise reluctant mayor and council to pay their expenses to the meeting. Many muni cipalities want their traffic courts to keep abreast of the times. May I say that in my opinion the closer motor vehicle departments, the police and the court work together, the better will the results obtained be? The problems of today are large; the problems of tomorrow will be staggering. .With cooperation all three groups canmeet and solve them, of that I have no doubt." How the Courts Can Help the Motor Vehicle Departments By W. L. HARDEMAN Director, Motor Vehicle Division, State Highway Department, Columbia, S. C. There is no end to the war against pre derstanding of traffic problems. Neither ventable accidents. We all realize that in do' they contribute towards the education this struggle for all-out accident prevention, of our citizens as to the responsibility which we face a continuous job demanding the they have in connection with the operation most effective use of every weapon at our of their vehicles. disposal. Emphasizing the imperative need for a more efficient and unproved use of the enforcement weapons shall be our pur pose in considering "How the Courts Can Help the Motor Vehicle Departments." Leniency at the hands of the court de velops an indifference on the part of the traffic law violator. Little or no headway is made in the correction of the violationprone violator who realizes that his chances The work of the'police, the patrol and of escaping with a light fine in the traffic the prosecutors and the efforts of those court are good. responsible for driver control stand or fall before the Bar of Justice. The traffic court truly establishes the standard of public acceptance-of traffic law observance. There are many concrete examples of such leniency. There are cases of repeaters or consistent violators, with minimum fines levied on second and third offenses. These Traffic cases in many of our courts do offenders, to whom the payment of small not fit into the regular course of business fines mean little or nothing, continue their and consequently do not receive the treat bad driving habits until the accumulative ment warranted in the minds of the motor violation limit is reached and they are re vehicle administrator. moved from the road by the suspension The need is apparent of informing our of their-licenses. courts of the necessary needs of those di .Loss of operating privilege--serious under rectly concerned with bettering conditions any circumstances and especially so when a on streets and highways and, in turn, we livelihood depends on the operation of a should expect in time that the .traffic case vehicle--comes as a decided blow'causing will be accorded^ distinct treatment or at a mental repercussion of lasting proportions. least gain a place"of equal importance with The imposition of heavier fines for second other cases on the docket qnd subsequent offenses would in most cases Methodical and impersonal procedures in act as deterrents sufficiently strong to make traffic cases will extract fines--a certain correction at the proper time. number of fines will raise enough revenue We find that forceful business-like ad to satisfy the budget that has been set up ministration of justice, together with fair for the operation of the court--but such and impartial treatment of offenders, defi procedures are not conducive to better un nitely builds respect and good will for our ent oth enc fid prt tail foi ma nes cot tio: i ma trh val av; dri tat I coi rtn err rul an dri in| im; oir ii a tra ml sex cm fa tio del dc un pa otl < hit vd tio ad foi da * lot in th< of oil ither' pay loser : arid will IS of rrow i all j, of its itfcer ition bich ition de- | the 'i .way ionnces affic O ters ines iese nail heir five redon ider na fa ling ms. ond ises ake adfair efiour entire program of traffic control. On tlie other hand, lackadaisical procedure, leni ency and discrimination often result in de ficient attitudes and poor cooperation. taken by the motor vehicle administrator of the driver's home state. This exchange of information is now being made .quite suc cessfully by a number of our states. The backbone of any driver improvement program depends upon the records main tained on the individual operators. There fore the courts, as the prime source of this material, can add materially to the effective ness of the program by furnishing promptly court records on all cases involving infrac tion of motor vehicle laws. Apparently not clearly understood by our magistrates, justices of the peace, and other trial judges, these records are of paramount value, and practical plans making them available for use in connection with the driver improvement program should be es tablished. The conclusion has been reached that in the effort of driver control, the suspension and revocation of driver licenses is a func tion of the state authority administering motor vehicle laws. - Because the punishment involved in re moving an operator from the road tempo rarily is so effective and because judges are often in a position to ably determine the proper application of this measure, it is felt that provision should be adopted by those in authority to make judicial recom mendations effective; or at least to provide recommendations to guide and support the action of the administrator. Gfing our own experience, records of the Traffic courts in appreciating the value of conviction of intoxicated drivers, hit and this type of punishment, in recognizing the run operators, and others that are consid program of driver improvement apart from ered the most serious cases are as a general the immediate punishment of the violator, rule transmitted. Holding equal importance and in realizing the. need for removing the are the records of convictions for reckless repeater oraeddent risk from traffic, cir driving, speeding and other numerous mov culation,' Can contribute much in furnishing ing violations often considered of minor trial court information and recommendations importance but which .contribute largely to helpful to the administrative head. . our accident problem. Another contribution , that can be made Much can be gained by establishment of by the court deals with the continuance of a uniform and regular reporting by the cases, appeals and suspensions. It is essen traffic courts to the state motor vehicle ad tial, when dealing with the traffic violator, ministrator, of cases handled, disposition and that cases be handled with, expediency and sentences imposed, cases undisposed -of, promptness. To the Motor .Vehicle De cases appealed or continued, and accident partment this position is of vital importance. facts brought to light With this informa tion the administrator can measure; to some degree at least, the effectiveness ..and effi ciency of such traffic regulation that comes under his supervision, procedures and de partmental practices, patrol enforcement and other control measures. Too often, continuances are a favorite form of "fixing" and frequently are de signed to avoid trial. It is recognized that in many instances they are found desirable and proper, but postponement not only cre ates difficult problems for officer and motor vehicle departments, but all too often results Of prime importance to the motor vc-. in non-disposition or pigeon-holing of the hide department arc reports of cases in cases. volving accidents. In these cases informs-, fion concerning the details of the drivers' actions. and a report on the responsibility : for the accident as determined are espe cially helpful. The practice of "suspensions" of sen tences is most disappointing to the en forcement officer, who often would accept with better grace and understanding a direct acquittal. To the motor vehicle administra The trail of out-of-state drivers and fol tor, particularly if he holds the responsibility low-through action also merits consideration of directing enforcement policies and is in this respect -It is desirable to furnish concerned with recording driver action, the home state of such drivers with copies suspended sentences are most confusing. of conviction records for motor vehicle These suspensions, holding a disturbing offenses so that disciplinary action can be sameness in character as compromises, are lli ;i - v: * . ` j) :-< . i ; .! ,: =' V : : P'A-;;; ifs; Si?'!.; 6^, I' ?. I 1 258 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 generally looked upon as 'detrimental to The judge must see tliat the defendant traffic law enforcement. leaves the court room with a wiser outlook. It is quite true that many judges are apparently not concerned with safety. Many through thoughtlessness fail to visualize the seriousness of any offense wliich does not The driver who does not receive a thorough understanding of the seriousness of the practices under review will lack a knowledge of the fate he tempts by dangerous driving result in an accident Still others consider habits. the function of license suspension or re . To have the violator leave the court moval of an operator from the highway thoughtful and cooperative indicates the best wholly a responsibility of the state in possible administration in traffic law en which they ltave little or no direct concern. forcement To further Iiavc him leave Much can be done by our courts to help "wiser" if perhaps "sadder" is certainly a the motor vehicle departments in the effort gain for all. to develop public realization and conscious ness of the inevitable result of continued violation. The application of rule-of-thumb fines and penalties for similar -offenses (when In traffic safety, wc are rapidly develop ing improved standards in driver licensing, police enforcement methods, speed zoning on hazardous sections of roadways, driver edu cation and driver training programs. Ve existing conditions, attitudes aid past rec hicle inspection has continued with unproved ords are ignored) contribute toward the ex procedures in many states and. definitely peditious completion'of the docket but avail will continue to bold a spotlight position. us nothing toward the development of' a desired public reaction. Thennost encouraging recent development The court faced with the necessity of.;imposing a penalty, with clear-cut evidence of violation under review, has an oppor tunity to greatly assist our safety educa tional program. Judges having the oppor tunity of giving thought to the personality of the defendants before them can ably pre toward uniform procedures, a better under standing among all agencies concerned with the regulation of traffic on the highways, and a more profound appreciation of die work bring done to make our people safety conscious is the program of traffic court conferences bring held from coast to coast sent a lasting lesson in pointing out the Much good is ` certain to accrue from fallacies in the driver's line of thinking, such state conferences bringing together One recommended aid is the traffic board, diagram chart, or blackboard to enable the officer, witness or defendant to depict ac curately what took plaice in a violation or an accident Diagramming the question judges, lawyers, and traffic enforcement of ficials, and rffuch good can grow out of meetings sudi as this where we study to gether our mutual problems in the cam paign against accidents. under consideration aids all in determining Improved practices and procedures in the responsibility, guilt or innocence, and brings court handling of traffic cases, where im out in court the understanding desirable of provement can be made, will bolster the the relationship between violations and acci efforts of the motor vehicle departments dents with. the traffic responsibility por and the police, and will be reflected in the trayed in high-light consideration. final results. Working Together lor Safety A Panel Discussion ' Panel Leader: Lee XL Richardson, Direc tor, Motor Vehicle Division, Depart ment of State, Lansing, Michigan. .. Panel Members: Wiluam Glaskeen, Act ing Head, Motor Vehicle Referees, Bureau of Motor Vehicles, - Albany, New York. Capt. W. L. Gsoth, Safety Engineer, Vgx*irrngai.n-ia* State Policy > R.\i i$crhr?mr o'nd* \ Vir- Capt. Lloyd W. HENKn^Police 'Depart- ment, Charlotte, North Carolina.,/ Judge Roy H. Pboctoh, Superior Court of Dane County, Madison, Wisconsin. Traffic Section 259 idant look. ai| edge ving urt best encavc ly a .lop sing, g on eduVcoved litely jn. ment iderwith rays, the fetyurt oast from Uher_ tO: > t d* y T tO- cam- i the imthe tents i the neer, Vir- part- jourt rnsin. MR. RICHARDSON: There should be a close workwg arrangement between the courts and/C5t various state departments involved ut traffic enforcement. Our pand will frjr'to throw some'light on ways and means of adneving tills cooperation. MR. GLASHEEN: There is a great need for. reporting convictions.. For example, in New York State certain cases require mandatory revocation of license. All serir ous offenses arc recorded against the driver. After three serious violations the license is revoked. It is necessary .for convictions to be re corded so that proper action for revocation can be taken by the administrator and the poor drivers eliminated from the highways. . Judges in New York State are required - by law to report convictions within 48 hours and ace.subject to a fine if the conviction is not reported. Forfeiture of bond is con sidered a conviction and is recorded as such. The administrator is empowered to suspend or revoke drivers' licenses. The Department has several referees who hold hearings on the suspension or revoca tion after violations are reported. These referees make their recommendations and the administrator suspends or revokes a license upon the basis of these recommenda tions. The order of suspension or revocation may bo appealed by the violator, to the Su preme Court Where the law requires that the license be revoked upon conviction of a certain offense, the judges will often take up. the. driver's license if he is convicted of such offense and send it to the Motor Ve hicle Department to be held until the hear ing' on suspension or revocation. This is really extra-legal, .as the judges have no authority of law to take the driver's license and no cute but the administrator may re voke the license. CAPTAIN GROTH: The Motor Vehicle Department should keep a record of all convictions and keep the record op to date. ' If convictions are promptly reported, rec ords are then available, so that the police officer may get in touch with the Depart ment and know whether the violator is a regular and consistent violator of the law. Ttus record is- made available by police short-wave radio, which is now in use in many states and will probably be in use in all slates before very long. Records arc also made available to other states where so requested. Furthermore^ if the record is kept up to date, it can be introduced in court at the time'of sentencing a violator for the pur pose of enabling the judge to determine a proper sentence in view of the past convic-' tion. record. Judges are not. authorized to pick up licenses, but when revocation is mandatory, the judge will take the license. CAPTAIN HENKEL: A police officer must be permitted some discretion in mak ing an arrest. If lie felt that the cause of traffic safety would bcst'bc promoted by not making tlio arrest, especially in a case where the circumstances were extenuating or when there was seme question as to whether or not a violation had occurred, the officer would have the right not to make an arrest Discussion Many of the judges thought that this was trying the case on the highway; that the officer should arrest the violator, charge him with each violation which was noted, bring him into court and let the court de termine the guilt or innocence and also the penalty to be imposed. Some of thejudges, however, supported the police officers and felt that if the judge was to be allowed discretion in disposing of traffic violations, the officer must be allowed some discretion also. However, this would be only in cases where there was some doubt or extenuating circumstances and would sot be in cases where there was dearly a violation and a serious one. It was noted that in view of the fact that a court cannot try a person upon any charge with which the violator has not been charged, the officer, must be careful to list every possible charge on the ticket and allow the court to determine which charge the violator was guilty of as a violation. CAPTAIN HENKEL: There must be full cooperation between the judges, the police, and . the Motor Vehicle Department The judges must be prompt in reporting convictions and where the court finds a violator guilty should assess an adequate penalty. . CAPTAIN GROTH: Those in charge of accident statistics should make it their Traffic Section 261 luatc * bn ) . can ead- * THURSDAY MORNING SESSION October 5, 1944 ' Joint Session--Public Safety Education and. Traffic Education Association Presiding: Charles D. Vibberts, Director, Safety and Education, The Ohio State Auto mobile Association, Columbus, Ohio. ig to :rom is a stion tonal rdop . for seem hemirobands use i the rged tors. not idler tying mere Jibe ident r end be icate t the >sely i aplaw and ange esult one's tinis- The Use of Radio in Traffic Safety Education By FRANK R. STEEL Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., Chicago I am in here to give you an inside view or program departments of the stations or from the radio standpoint on how radio the network. may be used for safety work without any In getting information on the radio, it is cost to the safety promotion interests. By important to remember that radio is the that I mean that there is a great deal that medium of 'all advertising media that uses radio can do, and which it is very happy emotion most and best By that I mean that i. to do without any charge, even though the you listen to the radio not entirely to get broadcast upon which the information may information, but because of the use of be given may be a sponsored program. dramatizations and the use of the.human That divides the help from radio into voice. Radio uses emotion much more easily two distinct groups; radio as you people than it can be done in printed black and know is largely sponsored by various ad- white advertising or`articles. That means vertisers, but, newspapers or maga- that the emotional angle of it should be zincs, the radio itself has to furnish the used fully, and you people have a particu- editorial or entertainment portion of the Iarly favorable emotional angle--nothing program.- In newspapers and- magazines, could be closer to the heart than the safety the magazine or the newspaper furnishes its f tbe American people, particularly the own news, its own editorial matter, its children in schools. So, you have a grand articles and stories and everything else that chance. causes,the people to read it In radio, how- The first suggestions I have to make ever, there is no reason for anybody to from the radio end is that the conditions listen except for the program which par- will vary somewhat in almost every place tially or wholly is in charge of the sponsor you go, practically every station. It is very of that program, if it is a commercial important that yon have a contact person program. On the other hand, a certain pro- for the Safety Council work who under- portion of the radio programs of the coun- stands radio and who understands working try are what we call "sustaining programs." with people, because radio is particularly Sustaining programs-are programs which a thing of people rather than of machines, are not paid for by a commercial adver- It is a big organization, but it is people all tiser. They, however, cost money just the'" the way. same as the others. Dan Thompson, who handles the Safety Those programs, therefore, are paid for Council's work here with our network and by the local station or the network which stations, and undoubtedly on other networks puts them on. It a very distinctud stations, is doing a very ,good job. difference to your people going to the radio " '"'U .anybody wants to know how to handle stations or networks to get safety informa- safety work in a way that pleases the net- tion on the radio, because if it is a sponsored works - and stations and gets a lot of co- program, yon must work either di- operation- and a lot of information out of rectly with the sponsor or closely in con- the radio, Dan Thompson is a good exam- jtmetion with the people of the.station and He is doing a grand job. the network who are handling the com- The easiest way to get free -information merdal programs. If it is a sustaining pro- for safety work on the radios taking the gram, yon merely go to the educational sustaining angle first;'; i?fxto prepare short. r\ i 262 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 concise and interesting informational bits, of the thing. That is the reason I'd go to that you pot on individual pieces of paper. them first They should be about long enough to take Thei job of-the program department is to one minute of. reading time. In radio we keep the listening audience of that station go entirely by time rather than words. It as high as possible, because in radio all we would probably be 150 words, or something are selling to the advertiser is a listening like that That will vary greatly according audience. We don't sell them any articles to bow fast the announcer talks. If you are or anything of that nature, as you do in down south, you don't want more than 125. magazines or newspapers, so we have to If you are up here with John Harrington protect our listening audience.' or some fast talking announcer, you can The program department--you will-have take 185. A good way to do it is to put up this information on a series of sheets. Don't mark them for 9:30 at night on -Wed nesday, the 5th, because there may be some reason you can't get on then. program managersl.in' every station of the United States; the big organizations: have many on the staff, Columbia -having about 40 or 50 here in Chicago--will have all kinds of experts on programs. You have A good way is to say, "This information to work with them enough to be sure that is good from October 1st to October 15th, the tiling you put . over is interesting and or October- 1st to November ist," if that fits in fairly well with their program ideas. is the way it is. Some will depend upon For instance; on these little things, try the weather, the season, but get a series' to get .material with as much human in of these things that are available,for one terest s possible. There is nothing mysteri minute use and which can^be cut down ous about radio as to what is interesting. for 30 second use. . { The same things are interesting on radio There are a lot of openings_on-/the radio as are interesting to people. The radio is that are what we call "station breaks." just a mass of people listening, and you That means that between every program want things that are interesting. Don't get there is reserved by the government's regu too statistical or too dry, because you must lations, a 30 second interval in which the remember that it isn't like .a magazine or station announces what station it is, and newspaper, where they will pay some money then has a little time in there, usually to get it, and they will probably read some amounting to about 20 or 25 seconds, in of it For radio tiny never pay anything. which you may put on information the They will turn the dial over. If it's not in station desires. Of course, those are some teresting they won't listen, so you' have times sold, too, even that little 15 second to consider that in everything you do. spot is sold. After these little spots--tlie station breaks We sell them on WBBM. There arc and the one minute businesses--the next hardly any vacancies, but these little one' -size program that you may have is a five minute and 30 second spots are good. If-- minute program. There are a lot of five you have time- to do it, you could even 'minute units in radio now bang used, and reduce your material to either 1 minute or one very- successful way to "land," if you 30 seconds, but it isn't very hard for a can do it, is to prepare transcriptions in station continuity writer to reduce from which you will give them a little five min 60 seconds to 30 seconds, if they have the ute program. It usually is'a dramatic pro material there, so it is very necessary that' gram, with actors, preferably with some you furnish the educational department, if body who has some name value to the there is an educational department--that audifcrifcehe or she is talking to. material. It may be anybody--a well known chief If there is such a department I would of policy a mayor,', some movie actor, a always go first to the educational depart- radio singer. Name value gets, listeners mentr^but also, contact the program de very greatly in radio, the same as It does partment The educational department is in movies. hired, to get as much good educational ma In these things, if you go to a station-- terial over the radio as. it can. You don't 'this does hot apply as much to a-metro need to be afraid to talk to members of politan station like WBBM or WMAQ or that department They are on your side WAAF, but it applies more .to the great mass o: --it wt gram, i You h writer: rising i script, : think, ; the acti on fac partly 1 impropi haveti some g patrols the sta Safety Don't just do to keej are giv indude Don't i won't I The and is well, ii radio { you wc take. - - Then station.1 ute pet may sa will pi these ( in conj like tin person vehicul start o they w or "th good," ftd,an< For usually viewed safety. of pro. the m who at be a s' bad.it Thei fore I \ Traffic Section 263 (0 mass of medium-sized and smaller stations --it will usually run the five minute pro- O.J n e S s n o gram, if the transcriptions are well done, You have to' get some radio continuity writer from the stations or chains or adver- rising agencies, and have him prepare a script, say--well, a very successful land, I think, personally, is something that gives the actual dramatization of a story founded on fact Your scripts should be mixed will find that in working with your con- tact person and working with the radio station there are certain spots on other programs--half-hour programs or spots on fifteen minute programs--where a little safety portion is very acceptable and actually will help the program. You go on and tell them how to save the lives of their children. Everybody will be interested, so therefore you may put your plug in as just e :e (t II e it d 5. partly with tragedies tnat occur because of improper safety regulations. But don't have them all tragedy. Because they need some good effect as in the efforts of safety patrols of schools of safety measures by the state safety councils and the National Safety Council. Don't, overlook the fact that you are not just doing educational work. Yon have got a portion of some program designed for entertainment This method of presentaticin is very acceptable to the stations, provided. the person who is handling it knows enough about radio and is cooperative and mil work around the interests of the programs. Maybe you. think I am emphasizing interest too much, but we get a certain type to keep the audience, interested, too, so you who come . from the educational groups y ii- are giving a little nugget of a play which saying, "We've got to have it this way. indudes the lesson yon want to teach them. This must be on like this. This is part of Don't get it too school teacherish or they our thinking and format and stuff. We've ?. o is a !t it >r y ie ii- won't listen. The five minnte spot is very successful' and is used by the smaller stations quite well, if you bring it to them. Have some radio people in on it. to work with you so yon won't manufacture staff that they won't take. * Then, in addition, yon .will find in some stations that they trill have a fifteen min\ ute period which they will devote. They got to have it that way." Well, the radio stations don't have to have it that way, they will be courteous to them but they won't put on the programs. The stations tdl them why but they just don't get it that way. The way. to do it is to go there and say. "Now, what are you doing here and how can-we fit in?" Then yon get a lot of safety in that way. It is much more successful, e ymay say, "At ten-fifteen in the morning we Coming now to the sponsored programs, will put on a safety program." Usually those who don't know much about radio these programs are done most successfully are likely to think, "Well, gee, we can't get it e d u n i- y- in conjunction with some local motor club, like the Chicago Motor Club, here, or some person who is recognized by the state motor vehicular peopte. In many cases they will start out and give the weather report, arid they mil tell where the roads are slippery, or. "this road is bad" and "this road is good," and so forth--services that are use- ful, and then you tie your safety message in. our stuff into these sponsored programs, These people are paying thousands of doltars a minute for it" It is a strange thing, though, that you can. A lot of it can go in and you can go in everywhere from the station breaks dear up to the half hour programs. As a matter of fact; WBBM, for example, has two types of station breaks sold commercially. e For the rest of the program, you will There are the' 30 second spots which are usually have someone on who is inter- sold commercially with the provision that f a s s viewed by various people and who will have safety messages. The success of that land of program depends entirely on how good the masters of ceremonies and the people n0 one can buy th?m unless they use the. Safety Council material as the program portion of even a station break. They are run twice a day, six days a week on who are planning the progriun are. It ran WBBM, in spite of the fact that our sta- be a swell program. It ran.be bad. If it's tion is turning down- orders .for station I- bad, it won't stay on long. breaksevery day. We have orders for four r There is one thing I should mention be- or five times as many as we can run, but it fore I leave the sustaining program. You we think enough of it--this is typical of all ;t t ir 264 33ra National Safety Congress. 1944 the stations' thinking--to say that they can* school boy patrols, because they are very not be sold unless they go along -with the dose to the hearts of all the people in any Safety Council work. neighborhood, and it makes a beautiful tie- Outside of those, you have one-minute pieces. You can get on them with a little safety material. Then there are the'five minute programs, again, much like the sus up. You can get almost anything you want for safety in the name of the school boy patrol. Practically no station will torn you down. .\ taining type. Little dramatized playlets are Then you have the same situation on the about the best for them. Then there are quarter-hour programs and half-hour pro the fifteen minute programs which can grams, and bn some Aour programs. handle a safety spot That goes particu That, I think, as far as I see it, gives larly well with a news program. It goes yon a brief outline of the way in which well with sports commentators, and any- you can work radio to serve your own other program of that nature, the talking ,interests. The main message I want to type. It goes over with a lot of women's' leave with you is that the stations and the programs, bringing in the matter of pro networks are very glad to cooperate on the tection of children. broad safety angle, but that you must have That brings in another thing. I would, your contact person work carefully and of course, thoroughly cooperate with the thoroughly with them. A Panel Discussion (Same Subject) Participants: Discussion Leader--C. D. Vibbebxs. Paul Edlune, Safety Promotion Div,, State Motor Vehicle Dept, Madison, Wis. Lloyd D. Hickoesoh, Drv. of Public Re lations, Indiana State Police, Indian apolis, Rid. Sidney J. Kmc, Dir., Safety Div, Dept of State, Salem, Oregon. station the more entertainment yon have to pot on to hold the audience. MR. EDLUND: Each week it is our policy in Wisconsin, in the State Motor Vehicle Department; to prepare a five min ute script that is sent to the key law . en forcement official in every city having a radio station. That official has the respon sibility of giving that talk; eitheron an evening or afternoon program, or whenever the program manager cm arrange it We MR. EDLUND: Mr. Steel, in your men tion of a five mintrte period, you spoke of of a playlet or dramatization, bof in "Wis consin, we use the straight talk. Now many send out a postcard that he returns; telling us the time of the broadcast and the station and the date on which it was given; and if someone substituted for him as a speaker. people object to the straight talk, saying Even that is indicated, so that we have a that they won't listen to it, but don't yon constant record of which stations are broad believe that in the case of smaller stations, casting: snch as there are in Wisconsin---Beaver Dam, Superior, LaCrosse and others, for example. In LaCrosse, we have the Chief of Police, who^is-^dl known, come on the program. If yon provide him with a five minute talk om* a Week, that would prove effective, wouldn't it? Now, we have noticed that these talks will be given for three or four months and then be dropped for a season and then be taken up again. Well, that is all right; be cause there are at least eight to ten stations out of tiie 23 in the State nsing the mate rial, ro we prepare it every wedc. MR. STEEL: Yes, there is no question In addition to their use on the radio; we about that at alb . In the smaller "stations find that these talks are helpful in the driver they'will take a greater-amount of talk. - education courses in the high sdtboL Id a Thqy don't have to have as much show few papers they are even printed full manship and entertainment. The larger the . length. The Beatfer Dam Daily Citizen print we 1 force stati mate meet They cause us fc Ij traf& that yet i warn of es day. But weati warn until the d As you, cate' readi aimoi Ml thing contr horse fid t just time Ml idea long Ml time, minu aretl Ml for ii CE wood Iund* `bppi that - Ml our e fiftee Ml teres thisi fit w; perhj very i any boy i you i the pro* jives rhich own t to l the i the have and e to our otor Tirn- en9r POIv i an ever We Sag Hon d If leer. ta ad* dks and l be be falls ate- we tver in a Ml fan Traffic Section 265 prints these talks one time a month. Then, mentioned, aside from the mechanics of-the we have on our mailing list over 150 en* operating program, is the contact man. 1 forcemeat officers in cities not having radio, . have found, in a study of the relations be stations. These officers are able to use that tween radio stations and police depart material which is up-to-date; for' public ments in Indiana, that the breakdown oc meetings at which they are invited to speak. curs because the police department does not They appreciate the service, apparently, be have `a man to fill that gap between the cause we have many letters on file to thank police and the radio people. > There are any us for them. number of programs that have been started 1 just have one thing to say about these traffic announcements. I agree with you that the date should not be indicated, and yet in a number of states Iknow that the warnings cadi week have a date at the top of each one, one for Monday, one for Tues day, and one for Wednesday and so on. But as you pointed out, if we talk about weather, on Tuesday you have, perhaps, a warning about rain and, it .may not rain in Indiana,' local and. otherwise; that have failed because the police .department; and that might' be the safety people in your locations, did not provide the proper assist ance to the .radio station. About all it would provide, was. a bundle" of figures every once in awhflg, and perhaps cm occa sional speaker, and they leave the rest of the. burden on the shoulders of the. radio station. until Thursday, and so it is better to leave Well, in a number of cases the program the date open that way. failed when the radio script writer, or the Another question I would like to ask you, Mr. Steel, is this: Should you indi cate the number of seconds required for the reading time at the top of each one of these person who was pushing the program, moved to another assignment or left for another position, so the program then was on the rocks. I think that is a very defi announcements? MR. STEEL: Yes, it is a very good thing to put down that timing. It saves the caatinnity writer from tinting it himself or herself, who may be rushed, but. be care ful flat you do have the time right Don't just take. -a guess by words. Actually time it MR. EDLUND:. Isn't it also a good idea to have varying lengths--one rather long and another shorter? MR. STEEL: One minute Is the usual time. If you funtish two, have one at one minute and one at thirty seconds. Those are the two usual lengths. . MIL EDLUND: I think that is enough for now. . - , _ _______ CHAIRMAN VIBBERTS: I am just wondering; Mp/Hked, apropos of Mr. Ed- nite need, as Mr. Steel mentioned, to have that contact man. He should be a man that' -would not only prcmde what the radio sta- tkm required, but have an understanding of those requirements. It strikes me that the police departments and-perhaps the safety people--1 won't go into that field--need to realize a new appre ciation of the value of public relations, and that is, not only to the public but to the people who put out your material, such as the radio. Secondly, I found it is tone in police de partments, and Sergeant Berlin might agree with me, that policemen, because .of the nature, of. the work; perhaps, are peculiar people. They have sot too modi faith in anything; and when some officers in a divi sion start a program, the rest of the divi sion might say, "Now, that Is a bunch of luod's qoestiotif WC^uldn't it be better to say bunk. Why should they do that?" So I "approximate reading time" to'take care of think It Is accessary to get the acceptance that variation?'--^ of your, own department before you try to MR. STEEL: Yes. As a matter of fact get public acceptance.t ;,T our contract for radio timeis done trp for I know it has worked out in one Indiana fifteen minute periods. city department that way! The traffic divi- MR. HICRERSON: Of course; my in sioa was seeking to educate the public on a terest has been from the police angle in new change in traffieVprocedure, and they this question. I don't know whether it will found some criticism arising from then- fit with you traffic.safety people or not It own department; so much, that it was neces perhaps will, but one thing, that Mr. Steel sary to explain fully what they proposed -. ' *?il - ;5 \\ /. t : `.t !\- 'ft 11 266 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 to do before they could go ahead, and once that a fifteen minute spot that comes, some that was done, they had far less trouble times, in the interval of the record makes a than they had first experienced. -very nice program break as far as they are I do want to point out, I think, from the concerned. view of a state-wide organization, the value Naturally, when the men participating in of the use of transcriptions. You can hit the program come from the town in'which your smaller stations very easily, especially the program is bong broadcast, you get a if you take on die five minute or fifteen .little better publicity break. Usually you minute programs. And you avoid, I imag notify the newspaper and refer to that par ine, a lot of production difficulties that way, ticular hoar in the town from which this especially if you have a cast of any size. program is going to be broadcast We have I stress that in particular because it has used that in quiz programs and in connec been used to advantage in our State. There tion with a program based on activity in are any number of small stations that would the particular, town. be glad to use that material, and even re quest it If you can fill their needs you have, gone a long way in promoting safety. We like to keep away from talking pro grams as much as possible. I'd like to hear Mr. Steel, perhaps, mate a little more com It is not only the larger stations that can ment on what is good radio as far as help you, but die smaller local stations do listener interest is concerned. We have a great work towards selling safety. feeling that this is quite likely to be--I MR. SIDNEY J. KING: I think that wish I had some of Charley's words, here one of the things we are more interested in, --perhaps audial monotony by virtue of more than some of the other factors, and hearing one voice over too long a period. I think it might be something well worth I am not sore what die length of that consideration, is the fact that we are trying period might be; but I dunk that there is to get as much community' cooperation in a very good possibility that yon can de state programs as possible. We have found crease your interest by virtue of; the listener that if you bring four men from the Rotary just hearing one sound or one voice for a Club of some small town into the station long period, longer than is necessary. We where you are going to broadcast, and put have tried to go on that premise and avoid those men on the program either in the that. way of a question session or perhaps In avoiding that, we only stick to one through interviews, or have them tell the voice or to a talking program when we story of what they are doing in their own have some name value; Idee one of the town, it serves to increase interest in that visiting firemen or some more or less prom particular program in the town from which inent person. Otherwise; we break it down these men came, and at the same time it to an interview with at least one other very often mates those particular men voice, and very .oftm try to break it down safety conscious where, perhaps, they into at least a roundtable with three per haven't been as safety conscious before. sons. Then, when we don't have a program We like to do that as much as possible, and with any particular person or any particu before the war we were doing it all the lar name for talking, we try to base it more time, trying to get at least four men or or less on a dramatized narrative or a strict women from various communities and have dramatization followed by a narrative, diem come to our stations where we make broken down, again, into two voices; that our programs, die CBS station, and have is, one voice in one paragraph and another them participate in the program. voice in the next paragraph, and try to We transcribe' all those programs and keep it at a pretty rapid-fire pace; on the then send them around the state. We have theory that you are more likely to maintain sort ' of a waxed mail network and die interest if you. don't have a monotonous transcription goes around to nine other program or just that one'voice coming all state stations. They are received very well the time. We use sound effects quite a good by all the stations. Most of the stations in deal, too. / our state, outside of the larger towns, 'are I think, unquestionably, too, that that quite small, of course, and a great majority ' type of program treatment is not success of their programs are recorded. They find ful .unless you have trained people. You bav< real! poss atte thos able less, Y in d schc the mac The gnu cast The proi are to < acts sion we Id I men bilit do oftc .assi; sam the hav Jusi & turn not WIT The on Chi Chi the tins don in i tain atm cesi I "W wlu this ove the real to i someikes a ing In which get a r you t par1 this : have rnnecity in t pro* i hear com ar as ave a be--I . here te of eriod. that tre is a de>tener for a We avoid > one n EU J rromdown other down pergram rticomore strict alive, that other y to a the nfafri. nous g all good / that cessYon Traffic Section . 267 have got to'have actors or voices who are the staff of all stations so that talent is realty trained anil expert, and if that isn't available, but it is usually jfiuch over possible I think probably it is better not to worked, because it seems that in the man attempt it Most stations, I believe, have-- agement of stations, they usually will hire those of the larger type--characters avail too few writers, or they can't get them, so able either in the station or have, more or there are never enough to go around. They less, semi-amateurs around. are there but yon can't get them. You You have another opportunity, of course, have to work that out with the station in drama schools or drama classes in. high manager. schools or colleges, but I do think that all Yon brought up a very interesting point the safety programs should be kept on as as to whether it is better to use one voice much of a professional level as possible. or not I think it depends on whether that They should sound as much like the pro voice is good or not There is, as I said grams that you hear over Tegular broad earlier, no mystery to. radio. Yon just cast periods as you possibly can make them. listen or not, according to whether the The nearer, I think, that we come to that people are interested. professional level, the more reception we are going to get. If it drops' down too much to either decreased listener interest or in actual production value below the profes As for the one voice matter, there is a fellow by the name of Fan! Gibson on WBBM who talks for a full hour every day except Sunday, extemporaneously. He sional level, we lose, interest and I think doesn't lave anything except notes. You'd we are likely to lose the time on the air. say the hour was an ungodly hoar, too, I tiunk these factors should be considered. from six to seven o'clock in the morning, I would like, perhaps, to have Mr. Steel and yet that program is probably the most mention one or two things about the possi popular program, taken by and large, in the bilities of getting writing talent Where City of Chicago. He has 22 sponsors and do yon get it? In newspapers, yon will a waiting list He doesn't do anything but often send your material in and they will talk all that time. assign a reporter. Will., the radio do the MR. KING: Yon probably have that one same? Will they assign a write to cover Mr. Gibson in Chicago. the material that -you make up or do you have to go out and get a commercial man? Just bow can you arrange that? , MR. STEEL: He is not common. Gibson and l went to the University of Cali fornia and we became friends there. He MR. STEEL: Well, with the larger sta came to see me in Chicago. He told -me tions, who are pretty busy all the time, it is about this plan and I said, "ForGod's sake, not always possible to get a continuity Paul, you can't talk for an hour. They will writer assigned to your particular job. throw you off the air." There will be one assigned,, but it may be on a rewrite basis. For instiutce, here in Chicago die material that comes in to the "Well," he said, "I can just the same, whether you think .so or hot" Chicago stations is written by somebody in Ordinarily, given the same amount of the pay of the Safety Council people, and professional ability, of course, there is no this person--I don't know who it is--is un donbt that more voices make the program doubtedly someone who' has had experience less monotonous. Therefore, unless you in radio, because they come in with a cer have some Paul Gibson, it is better not to tain . excellence in writing. They are not have one man talk too long, and you are amateurishly done. That is the most suc absolutely correct about one thing. If you cessful way. are going to dramatize your stuff, you love If you have to go to the station apd say, "We have to' take one of your writers," who if probably overworked already, to put. to be sure your actors are good. There is nothing worse than a dramatization where /the actor is no good. this staff on, you have one- more hurdle to There is one thing that you mention, overcome. If you can get anybody to write there, on which I want to place a warning. diem and you can pay them for it, that There is an actors' union, AFRA, they call really is the best and most successful way it, and this AFRA greatly objects to your to do it There are continuity 'writers on bringing amateur actors, even on a sus 268 , 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 taining program, who are not paid. If we but is only made in certain times of the put on a program, a dramatization that is year.- not sponsored, WBBM has to pay those actors, including rehearsal time. MISS WOOLVERTON: Is that survey made throughout the country? MR. KING: There are quite a few ama MR. STEEL: Yes. Hooper is made teur people who are members of that nationally and so is the Diary. Of course, MR. STEEL: Now, that doesn't mean surveys can be made, but they are rather you can't put on an amateur. When we,put expensive. A survey will cost yon prob on an amateur in Chicago we have to hire ably--well, in Chicago, a survey will cost a professional to sit' there and be paid. about $500. These things are not cheap. SERGEANT BERLIN: Is that true of The Hooper Survey, you see, takes those transcriptions--a transcription made with figures and then sells the service to stations local talent or amateur talent? MR. STEEL: You couldn't even put it on the rack. If a station ran one of your radio transcriptions against AFRA rules, and. networks and advertisers and agencies. It costs about $150 a year to get the service. MR. KING: Of course, this won't give you anything like an exact idea of your you'd get the station thrown off the air. audience, but one thing, that can be done is They won't dare touch it at all. to offer something on the program so as CHAIRMAN VIBBERTS: Our speaker for this panel, and the panel members, have a chance to have a little-say, and we are going to throw this open, this session of "It Pays to Be Ignorant" Direct the question generally or specifically to any one of the four members of the panel. We will throw it open now and let's have your -. questions. to see if you get any returns from it If you get any returns at all, you know, that you've got some listeners, and if you hap pen to get a fairly good little influx, as we happened to get when the National Safety Council put out their little pamphlet on Home Canning Accidents, then yon know it is all right We offered to send that to anyone interested, and made the offer on tire air, and we got quite a left of requests. MISS MARGARET WOOLVERTON As a matter of fact,'in our state we got (National Safety Council): Fd like to ask something like 15 the following day, which a question. Is there any way that a safety I personally think Is rather tremendous, council can measure the listening audience and those requests continued over a period that it has, if it has its own program? If of approximately two weeks, and altogether it has a program, how would it go about we sent out rather more than 50 or 60, finding out how many people are listening to it? . which I think is quite a high request for that type of program in our particular MR. STEEL: That is taken; care of "state. daring the daytime hours. 7 .. - It does show you that you do have some CHAIRMAN VIBBERTS: The ques listeners, and it Is one way to find out tion is raised as to how the Safety-Council whether anybody is listening or not can determine the number of listeners to MR. FABER (Iowa): I'd like to be en any particular program. lightened a bit about the professional people MIL STEEL: I was answering that by using safety programs. Probably I am the saying that there is what we -call the only one who didn't understand turn. I "Hooper Survey," which takes a survey of think that- in this safety work, by using the listening audience all the time from 9 the, radio to get KB Jones, to get Maty o'clock in the morning until 10 o'clock at Smith to walk around the street correctly, night, weekdays, and Sunday from 12 and using the professional.programs like o'clock noon until 10 o'clock. That meas Rinso .White or Clark's Teaberry, makes ures the exact audience at all times for the you lose that personal appeal. stations, so if you happen to come into one ' - MR. KING: I think what I was'trying of those parts you can get it. If it comes to say was that the program-should be kept in one of the nnsurveyed portions, you on a professional level, and that means flat don't get it, except by special surveys. . they should be . as good or nearly as good Columbia has what we call a "Diaty Sur as the program that you normally hear over vey" that is made in all hours of the day. professional periods on-the air. I think thatat an W may quest tttnl the s men hurt Whi <thinj othea erly Whi a ws tion any free gran M knot have statu son we I and oper M that ansu loto may Ithi you caret and ^listto som< ^Phi you one, eraO thinj the < jealc serv M larly thin] radii peril M won it e: iron  Traffic Section 269 the its made itirsc, ather ?roboost heap, those tioas tries, rice, give your ne is o as L If that hap* 9 we ifety t on stow U to r on tests, got rhich ions, ariod Ihf 6b, for alar ome oat : ettople the LI sing fary riJy, like ymg kept that jood >ver link that-is what I said or what I meant to .say, yes. If I were running something and I at any rate. could get it exclusively, I might.like it, MR. STEEL: The other .question, if I may answer that--I think I understood the j yes, bat from your angle, ! wouldn't think it would be good for you to do it, because question which you had in your mind I think, as to whether it is a good thing for the safety message to be tied up with com mercial programs. I don't agree that it will hurt you any to be tied up with Rinso then the rest of the stations are going to be sore about it; and you will get yourself in wrong with all of them to get in better with one .of them. I wouldn't think it would be a good polity. White or any other program, food or any MR. MURRAY: You'd try to put over thing rise, once it is properly handled. In the same thing with all of them on that? .other words, if-.the announcer does it prop erly everybody knows, that it isn't Rinso White talking, anyway. Yon get it in such a way that the authorship of the informa tion is deadly given, and I would not, by MR. STEEL: ^You'd have to be im partial. MR. MURRAY: We have it a little bit complicated. We have a municipal station. any means, decline to go along with any MR. STEEL: Oh, I see. Well, it should free time given on the commercial pro be impartial, regardless of its being munici grams. pal. The safety people should say, "We MR. J. MURRAY (Dallas): I'd like to know if yon find any. difficulty where you have more than one station In town, several stations that you might use.' There is some will give it to the municipal station and the other stations." I wouldn't play any favor ites, even there. I think it would be a mistake to do it. sort of jealousy between newspapers and THE CHAIRMAN: Any further ques we find the same thing existing in radio, tions? and it is a little bit difficult to get co operation. . MR. STEEL: Have any of the safety people' here had any difficulties in working MR. STEEL: We don't find much of out dope with the stations and getting your that in radio, as far as I know. I can't jtftuff on? answer for everybody because there are a lot of stations. There are 600 or so. There may be some times when that would apply. I think, however, it would only occur where you have some program that has been very carefully worked out by the safety people and was really desired and had unusual ^listener interest. Yon know, if you had somebody who was a big stair on the radio, vPJul Baker or somebody, come out there, you might have,jealousy as to who got that ANSWER: We haven't been able to get the program' started. Our pedestrian deaths in Akron are very, very high. What would be your suggestion of bow we can start it, very briefly! Where should we go first? MR. STEEL: Well/1 think you should go first to your Akron stations, and to the various program directors, and the educa tion. departments, if they have them. I'm not sure whether dm Akron stations have one, because it.is,very unusual. It is gen them or not, but go first to the educational erally considered a good thing to do some director or the person in charge of educa thing for the safety people, for the good of tional work on the station, if there is one. the community, and there isn't usually the jealousy angle involved in that sort of service as much as if they got paid for it MR. MURRAY: I was thinking, particu larly, of campaigns where yon had some thing in which you'd want to get all the radio time yon could for some particular period. . If there isn't, go to the program director, and talk it oyer with him and say, "Now, this safety work is tremendously important and worthwhile," and yon will find that they will agree, I know, and then say, "Wdl, look, we would like to furnish you some safety material," those, one minute spots which I mentioned, "which you can put in at your discretion in any open spaces MR.-STEEL: You mean, one station yon have, and we strongly hope and urge would get more credit because of having that you put them in." You give them it exclusively. Well, . I wouldn't think so, material and let them pick the time as to from your angle;. ;! would, from our angle when to pot them in. If you go -about it 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 in the right way, I am sure the Akron is done on the biggest stations. You can stations will cooperate. put over a fifteen minute program that is I have done a lot of advertising in Akron stations. They are mostly live wire people, and I am certain they'd give yon good coop eration, providing you will furnish them with safety messages about one minute long, for them to put in when they can. But, if you go to them and say, "This is a fine thing to do and you do it," probably, they won't do it. If you go to them and say, "This is very good, if it is well written and your narrator is good. You can put on a pro gram with tremendous motional value, and much more so because'it is founded on facts. I think if I were doing that with money anywhere from one thousand to ten thousand. I'd do it that way. MR. MURRAY: That would be eco nomical. the thing to put over, these litde messages, and we'd like to have you take these and put them on," I think it is almost a certainty that they will do it. MR. WHEELER (Portland, O.) : Assuming that your local stations would offer you a fifteen minute program, and again, assuming that your local safety coun cil had up to ten thousand dollars just for MR. STEEL: That wouldn't cost much. You could probably get the money donated. Speaking about donations, 1 think having a worthwhile idea like that is good because you can probably go to some civic-minded people in your town and get money put up to hire the actors and get . a little music and that sort of thing. If yon have a spe cific plan it isn't hard to get the money. that one program, could you give me an outline of what would be the ideal pro-* gram? I know that no local safety council has ten thousand dollars. Could you give me an idea as to what, in your opinion, would be a good safety program? MR. RING: Mr. Steel, that is essen tially what we do in our programs, and the station takes the program and runs it without any program charge. It is run as a public service program, and we have to pay the cost of hiring the actors that they get MR. STEEL: If you had that much money to do it, I believe a program could be designed and written that would be good. First, I would get the instances that you wanted, dramatized. I'd make a drama tization for fifteen minutes with profes sional actors and professional writers of We have' to pay the cost of tire records and the cost of the transcription, so we get four fifteen minute programs a month for a cost in the neighborhood of from $35 to $40. MR. STEEL: That's right Yon can get it at very little cost The cost is not really these playlets, and take on each one the a stopping point If yon have a good idea actual story, the story of the bpy or girl and somebody to handle it properly, yon who was hurt, or who was saved. Base can manage it them on actual stuff, but pick stories that MR MURRAY: One good program a have dramatic value. You have to have week is better than one daily program of dramatic value as well as authenticity. mediocre value? Have it written up by someone who is a MR STEEL: Yes, one good one a week good dramatic continuity writer, have it dramatized, and if the person-was saved, get him or her on die program, at the end. One very successful way of doing that nowadays that saves you some money, even if yon have tea thousand dollars, is this: is better than.six poor ones, a lot better. MR HICKERSON: Mr. Steel, when ever the FCC puts them back on the air and we get permission to do that, what do yon think of the value of the "Man on the Street" interview? That is, the interview You can have a narrator do it'with sound effects and music You can do it with an organ and a sound effects man and a nar rator. It doesn't cost yon much money in any station in the United States. There is no station that doesn't have an organ and sound effects and music They have to have that to run a station. It is a very modern way of doing it. It with the person right on the street? It could be a sponsored program, I suppose? MR STEEL: Yes, it can be sponsored. It is a very good kind of program, when the FCC allows you to do it They don't allow you to do it now. I put over a suc- cessful interview type of program in half a dozen cases. Again, it depends entirely on your interviewer. If the interviewer is good will is a SE your a litl tins, sor ; 600-c scbo< high gram have these tain tion we r say, stren here other the | Ml done or V "Spe you yeste good That were enoui while Use Fie On ing c fact some cense abou our i dido' our thoui has 1 the n Th 'that Traffic Section 271 can at is aloe, ndpd with > ten eco inch, ated. ng a ause aded it up msic spe>ney. ;senand is it as a pay get ords : get for 5 to i ge* sal ideh^ you ma 1 of rede tter. hen: ,air t do i foe new It ose? red. ?hen lon't sucdf a t on r is good* quick and natural and fast, why, you will get a swell program. Of course, if he is a dud, yon have a dud program. SERGEANT BERLIN: I'd like to get your reaction to this: I'll have to give yon a little background for yon to understand this. In Illinois we are planning to .spon sor a contest among our students in the 600-odd driver training courses in the high schools. We have daily contact with our high school students through assembly pro grams, demonstrations, and so forth. We have played with the idea of having all of these 600 driver training courses for a cer tain fifteen minute period tune in to a sta tion winch will reach the entire state. If we were to come to a major station and say, "We would like, because of the strength of your station, you to assist us here in getting the winner to talk to the others"--what would be the reaction from the public service standpoint? MR. STEEL: I think yon could get it done, if you went to a station like WBBM or WMAQ, This would be what we call a "Special Events" program. For instance, you had a National Safety Council talk yesterday afternoon on CBS. That is a good example^ nationally instead of locally. That took off a regular program. They were glad to put it on because there was enough general interest to make it worthwhile. I am sure this could be put on if you go to the special events people and sell them on the fact that your program has enough interest They will judge partly on the fact that it is worthwhile to do so to help safety, and partly upon the interest of the thing. It will depend a lot on how yon work it up. I think it's a good idea. SERGEANT BERLIN: There is a guaranteed listening audience there, whether they like it or not The kids anil have to listen to that program. MR. STEEL: Not only the kids.- All the mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers. They will listen to it I think you can do that with-the special events department MR. KING: I don't know whether other states have it but in our state we have a state-owned station and this state-owned station has programs directly wired to ' school classrooms for consumption. I think other states do that too, to some extent We prepare a script for this school hour every week and that goes directly into the schools. Maybe if you have such a thing it might channel through that if there is no other channel. MD. EDLUND: Wisconsin has tbe.same idea. It is the College of the Air, asthey call it They use safety material on that- MR. STEEL: You can get that on the School of the Air on WBBM. Use of Films and Motion Pictures in Traffic Safety Education By IRVIN E. DEER Field Representative, Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, Inc, Evanston, I1L One of the interesting things in a meet ing of this'kind is to draw attention to the fact that the' so-called Hayes Office, as somebody said, is a blue-nosed board of censors. Most people seem to think that is about all that we do. That is just one of our many duties. As a matter of fact, we didn't take that job over until 1934, and onr organization was started in 1922, al though from the very beginning Mr Hayes has been popularly known as the "Czar" of the movies. The Community Service Department of 'that organization is an organization division. that has been' set up for the purpose of cooperatingwith all sorts of groups in which we feel thai we will be able to render a service. . I have jotted down a few notes so that I can get through quickly here, because I think that the discussion part of the meet ing is always the most valuable. I put down three things that I should like to say as a general background. The first is that no matter how much we perfect onr mechanical equipment, and no matter how much we may develop our traffic engineering, and those are both neces- ; i ' i. . -) / 272 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 sary, in the last analysis the safety and for education, namely, that the presentation traffic situation will depend upon die human is always dramatic, and that-it. appeals to element the emotions; which, after all, is a very The second thing is that if we are to important matter. -. place our emphasis on the human element We need to appeal to the intellect, natu that means that,we must have a continuous rally, we need to get bur information across, program of education, and in that program but jn order to get action we must appeal of education we must use the best possible to the emotions, and that, we can do pretty techniques. well with a motion picture. Of course, In the third place, being a representative traffic is motion. Motion pictures are mo of the motion picture industry, you jwonld tion, and consequently, they are probably expect , me to say that I consider the mo a more effective; a more appealing method tion pictures one of the very important in technique of education than the. spoken techniques which can be used. word, which our preceding speakers have As a matter of fact, the use of motion indicated sometimes can be very, dull, and pictures by the government during die war certainly we have the attention of the people has indicated as never before how valuable as we do not get it ary other way. that technique is. The tremendous problem that confronted the nation in training the millions of men and women who came into the armed services out of civilian life was recognized by very few people. The very complicated apparatus with which modem warfare is waged^ the problem of the num bers to be trained, soon led die govern ment to adopt a technique of using motion pictures in training. We have been very greatly interested in the work of the National Safety Council through die past year, because they went at the thing in. a way that, Mr. Steel indi cates is a good way to approach radio; namely, die motion picture committee that was formed first of all, outside, I believe, the National Satiety Council, although, of course, including the people who are here, representing automobile companies and in Records have been kept and in many of surance companies. these processes we discovered we could save as much as 20 per cent of the time in train ing. In other words, when, as happens in some processes, we save as much as 80 per cent of the time in training, die overall average is -40 per cent That indicates very dearly that this is a potentially good tech nique, and I believe that it will be tre mendously expanded when die war is over and-these millions of men and women in the armed services return to their com munities to participate in the community life. Naturally, we fed that particularly on the screens of the 17,000 theaters of die country we have an opportunity to reach a very large number of people. The general estimate now is that we have approximately 29 millions of people who go to the movies That motion picture committee came to the industry, the motion picture industry, first; hot with a request that we do some thing for them, but with a request that thy be permitted to cooperate with ns and that ' they do something for ns. They presented statistics which indicated flat through the natural,; normd processes- of. propaganda at their disposal, they could reach no less than *a few million people with messages through their publications, bulletin boards and little fillers and envelopes and all that sort of thing. They suggested that if there were sequences in motion pictares that were significant and vital for education and safety . in traffic; included, largely, although other fields were that, thy could help publicize .those pictures and draw attention to .them. every week; and there they can see only Naturally,; our industry was very mud what we want them to see because every Interested in that Through the past tea thing is darkened and they see only what years we have had' very fine cooperation. is lit on the screen, and I would like to We believe that the work of that commit* call attention to this fact, which was empha tee has been very effective, hi drawing at sized by Mr. Steel, in regard to radio. The tention to these sequences and, consequently, same thing is true in any type of education,. teaching a number of people to see what and particularly true of motion pictures, the thy look at The motion picture goes very thing that makes that a very fine medium rapidly and we know that there is very mt pn 1 Sa pn abl she pn cd zat Ms pla wh wa Pel for acc 1 It! ora "Si -did in bbj did can her ran win 1 to: I Sai mit of WO! lot 1 tha waj mai fid. wha tior an' the the to 1 the gift talo das Traffic Section 273 atation sals to *o , natuacross, appeal pretty soorse, re moobabl; nethod spoken s have Q, and people sted io inmril l went 1 indiradio, * that lelievt; gh. of t hen; nd in* me to lostry, some* itf^ setixtJ jh the iganda io less ssages boards n that : there t were safety s wen ibfidze .them. fflndi st ten ration. nmriit. ng ataently. : what s very tvery mufh in every picture that the vast majority fact that it is corking good advertising for probably of the audience doesn't catdh. the people who make Hammond Organs. : I believe that the annual award, by the Safety Coundl for die best motion picture presentation of safety has been a very valu able thing. Colonel John Stilwell, just a. short time ago.in the City of Washington, presented the annual plaque which was re ceived by one of the officers of our. organi zation in behalf of the Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer . Studios and Pete South. That plaqaejpn 1943, which was the year for which that award was most recently given,. was for .die Seventh Column, which was We have made on the average, as far as our industry is concerned, in addition to the pictures that have been made by Safety Coundl on driving; many others. Many insurance companies have made very fine' safety films, among which we might mention, "We Drivers," "Women at- die Wheel," "One who. is Beautiful," "The Coffin on Wheels," the "Devil. Is Driving," "Yon Better Live," and pictures like that and they are available for wide and ex tensive use by local groups* Pete Smith's very delightful and very in The pictures which have been made by formative and very impressive picture .on the motion picture industry, "Hit mid Run," accidents.' and "Drank Driving," have been, reduced Then they -have two honorable mentions. It seems that Metro-Goldwynhave die hon-. orable.mentions, also, for a sequence in "Swing Shift Maisie." Those of. yon who didn't see that picture may not mail that in one of the sequences one of the girls objected to having her head covered. She ' didn't like to have her hair all tied up be cause that interfered with.her.glamor, and her hair was caught in die machinery. You remember that little sequence; those of you who saw it. to 1<S millimeters and are now available tor school use and can be secured by anybody '.applying to the Visual Instruction Service of their State University. In this State of minds, down in Bloom ington, for instance, an insurance company entered into some fchid of arrangement with local theaters and had this picture, "Drank Driving," projected in the morning, when the. theater was not open conunerrialfy, and arranged through the school authorities `to havethehigh school students dismissed in groups of. sufficient numbers to fill die The other safety honorable mention went theater. They also made, arrangements with to a picture node by Columbia called "Good the. State Teachers College, die Normal Tuck, Mr. Yates." University, and the Wesleyan College which I think that committee has become an in tegral put of the program of the National Safety CoundL The secretary of that com mittee for the last ten years deserves a lot of credit, because as a stimulus for the work of that committee there have been, a lot of motion pictures made. is also in Bloomington, so that in that way it was a very, good setup. There was co operation between the theater- and. the teachers and the school authorities and an insurance company, who did it merely as . a public service in an effort to create a bet ter- understanding .of the difficulties and the dangers involved in driving when yon Motion pictures can do a great deal more are not in full possession, of all of your than many other dungs in a number of faculties. v~ ways* I -was interested recently, in the I was thinking, when the question arose matter of advertising. We have to be care as to the .advisability of tying up your ful, of course: A very delightful picture, safety education with tome of the com which, incidentally, is doing 400 jtor cent of mercial people; that when it,comes to any normal badness all over the. country for matter on drank driving I wouldn't take an'average was "Going My Way." After it up with any of die . liquor advertising the church had burned down and they had people. Otherwise; there probably wouldn't die dung sort of put into tetnporaiy shape be any objection.. to be used, H was rather interesting flat It seems as I discuss matters of this land the old priest comes up and very lovingly that there are three problems that arise glosses the lid of an electric organ. He that seem to concern most people: first is takes his sleeve and wipes just a speck of the problem of where are films available, dust-off^ and no mention is made of the and where can they be secured easily and '` f ` l :V ; Ut: X.' i . ,i ; r* *^i Li -i i l. I" hi 274 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 without too much cost, and secondly, where inexpensive. You get them for the same can you get die apparatus. Much of this price from the State University that you kind of education needs to be done in get any of your other films that are used, groups other than in the theater, although because the film is made entirely on a turn- that is a very good place, particularly in commercial proposition.. the situation where the sequence comes in a regular entertainment picture, more or less incidentally. It seems .to go across very much better, I think, than just a straight forward presentation. Where are you go ing to get the portable apparatus that can be used? Third, how can you organize to ' do the thing on a thorough basis, not hav ing it merely haphazard? . Those films are given by the industry, on the basis that they will be distributed on a non-commercial basis; merely the cost to the State University of handling the btisi-: ness is involved. I think' that the problem of the appa ratus is . exceedingly difficult at tius time, because none of the manufacturerAre per mitted to release the 16 millimeter pro Well, there are a great number of films jectors, except on certain priorities which that are available. The insurance companies can be secured, but which are a little have films. The schools have made films. difficult to secure. I was' thinking of.what I notice that the Safely Council has a is gang to happen to all these portable mimeographed list of films that are free projectors which have, been'made by the oh their exhibit table downstairs. One of different Companies and sold to the govern diem was made by a friend of mine for' ment during.tiie war. May of dme fac schools on safety, "Riding a Bicycle in tories hav6' trimmed their nsoal output and Traffic" their enjire^output has gone to the govern Incidentally, some of the communities ment Ttttte wil! be a large number of might well tie in with high schools in an those1 projectors that ought to be available effort to get some of these filths made. Of for tht public; to be sold as surplus, mate course, you will have amateurs doing it, rial following the war, and some of them, but they are very effective, and apparently of course, will be tmnsable. Many of them, do a great deal of good. Incidentally, the however, trill be m usable condition, and high school where this particular film was others conld be inexpensively rebuilt -1 made up in Milwaukee, was so tremendously believe that it might be a very valuable interested in tile tiling that all the students thing; through the National Safely Council, became greatly aroused over it, and prob-- for some approaches, to-be made by such ably one of the bestbits of education tint a national organization directly1 to the gov came out of that was the education of the ernment to seCif some arrangement couldn't boys and girls in that particular, school be made in the release of that surplus ma while the picture was being made.-- That is terial for. same reputable, organization to also a good way to do it I think yon will get it for wide distribution. It could. be do a great deal, for instance, in tins matter done at a very low cost; and I think prob of dramatization for your radio program, ably that would also solve a good many too, in that way. The people who partici other problems. pate get probably the' best education oh It would solve some problems for the that' _ motion picture industry, which is somewhat' ] As I say, the various commercial com concerned that not very many of these panies have made these films and there-are projectors should fall into the bands of certain ones that have been made by the . chaps who. would then be peripatetic 'ex industry itsdf that are available for schools!. hibitors going artand to a lot of small com I emphasize that particularly because of munities, giving performances which wocdd certain restrictions of our copyrighted ma not be altogether a credit to our . motion terial and our desire- not to get into diffi picture industry. culty with our customers, the load ex The various companies- have apparatus hibitors in the theaters. We have to limit which can be borrowed. I know that be the use of these pictures when we reduce' cause I do a lot of that borrowing myself. them to 16 millimeters for schools only, I have known the Ford Motor Company, to be shown on school time without admis for instance; to buy a hundred portable pro sion. But they are easily available and very jectors on one contract International Har vesteroil con these < equipmi it dm ' ting eqi mit yoi -knows ' to take ings. My < number educatii perienc* thegre to sit d I think be used you. ca groups, women*: into tin materia are die spake a you hai I tfai most oi is-writs newspaj culty it Partial Discu E. W Ehf Car Capt. Dei Doson Car Cot : S. < MISS have at idea of worthwl they cut just thr point ir. Carolim Traffic Section 275 vested Company has portable outfits. The some little chance with the radio he prob oil companies have them. Any number of ably has no chance whatever in this field' > these commercial concerns have portable of motion pictures. ) equipment which can be purchased Well, 1 believe that it would be a very advisable it dm be borrowed Many schools are get thing if we could in some way secure the ting equipment and frequently they will per cooperation of somebody who might be at mit you, by getting (me of the boys who tached to your local safety council, perhaps - knows how to run it to go along with you, on a part-time basis, or even on a volunteer ' to take the apparatus around to your meet basis. Let us say that the teacher in the ings. public schools, who is a director of visual My experience is that there are various education, would be a vety good person to numbers of groups that are open to these tie up to and have some part-time service educational approaches. Out Of my own ex and let him have the opportunity to de perience, I can ' say that I am amazed at velop that on a real thorough-going cover the great number of groups that are willing age of the entire community. to. sit down and listen to somebody talk, and I thinks that if you have a picture that can be used which is attractive and interesting, yon. can get an entree into all . lands of groups, alt of the service dubs, and the women's chibs, libraries are now getting I think that I want to emphasize the fact that, you will get along much further in this kind of education if you go into groups that furnish you their groups all ready for you; the high school assembly, the college convocation, the women's dub meetings, into tins fidd, schools are anxious to lave . rather, than to try tp set up.special groups. material brought to their attention, and they It isalways difficult? to get your audience are the ready-made groups that the Sergeant that way. . spoke aboot' They are just brought in and you havea ready-made group. I have been ' instructed to say that the motion picture industry has appreciated I think that our chief problem is that very much the close cooperation it has re most of us have, too much to do. If a man ceived from the National Safety - Council is-writing material and furnishing it to the. through its officers in the past many years, newspapers, he has a great deal of diffi and that it is very open and ready to extend culty in taking on die radio, and if he has that cooperation in any helpful way. A Panel Discussipn (Same Subject) Participants: Discussion Leader: C D. Vibbekjs. . E, W. Winkles, Asst Prof, of Electrical Engineering, State College of North Carolina. ' Cast. J. 0.; Mustek, Safety. Div., Texas Dept of Public Safety, Austin, Tex. Dokothy Peniahd, Executive Sec, South Carolina .Highway Traffic -Advisory Committee to the War Dept, Columbia, S. C . . MISS PENLAND: I don't think we have any problem selling anybody on the idea of whether traffic safety films would be worthwhile. The Army and Navy say that they cut their training program 40 per cent just through films and that is a very good point in itself, and the schools in South Carolina are very interested in motion pic tures and are using them, but we don't have^ a great number of films available for their use, which they thinkare good.. We have in our Highway Department---' most of the work-is done through the Safety Division of the State'Highway Division, under their control, and we have in oar' K-; brary 39 films and more, prints of those films which we consider good, and which we would prefer to send out as bring ap proved by the department. We have three places where people are interested in safely films.. We have the genrial adult groups, clubs, and civic groups. We have the schools and we'havethe train ing of police enforcement officers of the State Highway Patrolmen, and we have the City Police, who also are coming in with the department and working ontraffic safety. We have .^diSS^iopph as to which is ir m m t! 276 33rd National Safety Congress; 1944 the most important, and I am sold on the idea that the school is, because yon get a more important and - more lasting value throughout in. the use of schools than you can get immediately through the civic groups. People here will disagree with me and say that it is important, more so than I think it is, but we don't doubt at all the training value for die men in the patrols and the other enforcement officers in the state. films that we shall have in the future in this respect. When a film is made, I think it is generally true that it is appraised by a group of good authorities who state their opinion of the film, but the use of this film through a controlled situation ought turn out things that we had thought about In our country we hope to make a good many of those studies by taking controlled situations, taking a pedestrian film, for inTstanoe,~and going on to schools as nearly Now, with those' 39- films, you can see that we don't have a great deal to go around and repeat.. If you wanted, say, 10 films for die schools, we might have trouble find ing 10 films that we thought were awfully good. The schools say they don't want en tertainment in traffic safety films. They say they want instruction, mainly. That is identical-as we can get them. We will use the film with one group, and make a study with the other group without the use of the film, and see just exactly -what difference there would be in a month from now or six months from now, and a year from now in the retention.- of the acquired knowledge. I think that we need a great deal more what' we have trouble finding so far. studies in that respect . CAPTAIN MUSICK: We have been using safety films in our country for the last several years. We have been ,using any kind that we could geL I think that we have a lot of films. Some of diem are good and some Of them are bad I think that it would be false if we tried to kid ourselves that till of the films we get are had We have been making; down there in our colleges an<f uni versities, a great many studies that, we have been following with a great deal of interest for some time now. These studies that we have made, .as you no doubt can actually anticipate^ show that We hare made a few films ourselves. The films we have made are such that we are not vety"proud of them, because we had to experiment with them. I would like to hear from this group, if it Is possible; before we get through, as to the reaction and expe rience here relative to the different,kinds of films, the value of a sound fihn 'and the value of a silent film. The research that has been done in our part of the country, has been rather interesting in that.respect We have people who say the silent films are no good. Some of our studies show that a silent film, if properly used, produces a film properly used win increase'leaming good results. I'd like to hear your reactions in any .subject The studies that we have of these 16 millimeter movies and of the made show that learning has been increased film strip and the film slide machine as to from 10 to 50 per cent by the use pPvisnal 'what yon think about them. I think that aids. Wehave been interested in the reten we have opportunities in all of them and tion of knowledge from the use of vjiual that they can all serve good purposes if aids, and of course we knov^ that^the re they are properly used. tention of knowledge is greatly increased. MR. WINKLER: -When Mr. Holcutt Of course; its value to us is high when we .asked me to pinch-hit for him he described can reduce the time that is required to teach briefly what had been'done in the Highway a particular given subject Safety Division in North Carolina. Frankly, Now, I think that we need a greater pro it is very brief as far as films are concerned. duction of safety films for our use in the About three years ago a trailer was made future titan we have ever had in the past showing the Governor speaking on safety. I think that we are overlooking a good bet That trailer, apparently did not produce the there and a good opportunity unless we do desired results, because it was . only shown see to it that somewhere, somebody, people for a short time and no other trailer was who know how, produce films and make made. them available to proper sources through : Now, it may be that they didn't have the out the country. money to make another one. I don't know. I think that we need a little more study He said that he has shown a number of made of the films that we hare and of the films produced by General Motors or by Ford Me available a numb the Nath he has.) said that and hope ASyfai might sa; recently tion in'l ested in t working years, bt tire hom< found ts rerygoo have arq is "Defe to a ntn it seems I have Killing 1 one or t four rivi that seen ladder fifteen n fore shot the audit I tirade t There, idea--tim have see accidents, edy, and. or other results. -' made to plain dai temper, o average which' it which c result in I wool emphasis of aedde people r desirable want to. them I s unsafe-a flat way CHAD Traffic Section 277 Ford Motor Company or by others that are feeling, Mr. Deer, as to the relative merits available. He'also sand dot they, have shown of the silent and the sound film? number of the slide sound films made by National Safety Council: and others, and he has.found those to be.very good He said that he wanted to use more of them and hoped to work diem in. MR. DEER: My feeling in regard to the matter is . that the sound film is stipe- . rior. I might say time my attendance at < many state teachers' conventions, however, leads me to realize that there is a very As pax as my ownwork is concerned, I great difference of opinion on the part of ' might say that as the acting director of the teachers as to the relative merits in the - recently organized center of safety educa classroom. I don't think that that has been tion in'North Carolina, I have been Inter definitely settled yet I think there are some ested in traffic safely problems. I have been situations in which, for instance, the slide working with industrial safety for three or the film strip is a better educational years, but I have lectured a great deal on technique than the motion picture. I may the home safety and traffic safety. I have get shot by my outfit for .saying that, but found two National Safety Council films the problem with the motion picture is that very-good. I have used them because I didn't it goes pretty rapidly and many parts of have any others to use, incidentally. One it may be missed. is "Defensive Driving." I have shown that to a-mtmber of clubs and talked on-it and it seems to produce a very desirable effect. I have shown the fijm, "Are. Your Feet Killing Yon?" to several P.TA. groups/to one or two church groups.and to three or four civic groups, and I have found that that seems to prodnee the desired results.' Mr. Winkler's suggestion as to bis tech nique is the one which is being used and recommended by those who seem to know most about the use of films in education, namely, that you .do not get the desired results merely by showing the picture. You must prepare the group for the picture and it is advisable to have' some discussion of Incidentally, I have always taken ten or it following the showing. You may then, fifteen minutes to present the problem be after the discussion, want to show the pic fore showing the film and have tried to put ture again, because they will see a great the audience in the proper frame of mind. deal more of it, perhaps, on that particular I think both of those are excellent day, or if not, perhaps the following day, >.There is cite kind of film--it is my own i jea--that somebody might work out I nave seen a number of machines sowing accidents,, bringing out the horror, the trag edy, and the suffering, and for sotne reason or other it just doesn't produce the desired results. I would like to see some pictures than they did the first tune. That is good classroom and pedagogical procedure. I don't think that there is a "Yes" or "No" answer that can be given to that I. do * think,' however, that there is a very de cided trend .toward the use of the sound picture. '- made to emphasize that usually it is just plain darn foolishness, stubbornness, high MR. KING (Oregon): Mr. Chairman, I have a little phobia on film, that I'd like to temper, or some such characteristic that the average man doesn't like to admit he has throw out here in connection with this par ticular discussion. In our state, so far which' invariably produces the accidents; as dealing with high schools are concerned, which causes the unsafe act which may after the war, particularly,. we will have remit in the accident -to .lake color and . sound films in or we I .would -like to; see a picture that would might as well not go into the schools. That is a thing that we are facing with certainty. emphasize these characteristics as the source of accidents,. because., it might some people realize that they have certain un desirable characteristics which they might want to get rid of. and if they got rid of th?m I am positive we would,.have-fewer unsafe aj^s' and unsafe conditions^ and in that way we would have fewer accidents. The reason is that there are a lot of other people taking films into the high schools and they are going to be* taking some aw fully good films in. They are doing that now. You go into a high school with a film that isn't as good as they saw yesterday and.the kids laugh at yon. We had one case of a . CHAIRMAN VIBBERTS: What isyour film we got that we thought was pretty " r!i ( -3 i" i 278 33rd National Saji \y Congress, 1944 good. It -was supposed to show an elderly I would like to ask Mr. .Deer something; gentleman and taro youngsters in it; one, Would toe movie companies be interested an elementary school kid, and one a high in making, for sale, shorts that could be school kid. The high school kid, consery- . used in schools? : atively speaking, locked like he just grad MR. DEER: It is very difficult to know uated from school and every high school what .toe motion picture'Industry would kid in the state caught that and laughed be interested in, because/forinstance, in our the minute he came on the screen. association wehave42 companies, and they I think that from our experience at least, are very, very different ' Some are inter you are going to have a very critical audi ested in some things, and some are in ence so far as motion pictures are con terested m other things. cerned after the war. I think a lot of.these May I say this : that I am not at all youngsters are pretty critical now, and if inclined to be oyeroptimistic aboht toe will you go before them with a film that isn't ingness of toe companies to make films for as good as they see ordinarily, or that doesn't this land of education and sell them to you. meet their ideas of what is right, I don't I think they woiild probably be-more in think you are going to sell anything. It terested in an idea which could, be used, in comes right baric to the old story that if a short subject, let ns say, by some chap you are going to sell safety you have got like Pete. Smith of John Nesbitt, and men to wrap it up in a' pretty neat package, and like that I am tiring them now. We have I personally am more or less convinced that a- lot of men, bat I am tiring those' two the only thing we need to do in the post as an example. They would be interested in war period is to have sound and color. a. film-owinch would be just a one-reder It seems to me that there has been a lade of continuity in safety films. You have no series of films that you can take before a group and carry more or less of a continued story through either the'pe destrian phases, the bicycle phases, through child safety on to motor vehicle driving. There is no such thing as a continuity that you can present to your audience; We need something that you can start with in one group and follow through with good continuity, and I think the best ex* amples of what we need are the army train ing films' which probably most of yon have seen. - \ ^ that could be entertaining enough sothat we could use it in toe theaters and then have . it reduced and made available for other grodps. I. think I can say that because that is what we are now doing. Some , years ago toe General Education Board, which is financed as yon know, with Rockefeller money, together with our office, cooperated in setting aside a hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars for a re search project that was headed tip by a committee composed of the most distin guished educators eof America; men like Isaiah Bowman, toe president of Johns Hopkins, and Edmund Day, toe president of Cornell and Carl Compton of MXT. .Those I think it does tire thmg__we need. It are.'examples of toe men who furnished combines sound, the narrative which yon toe brains of that panel ' have to have, more, even, than any charac Huy made a three-year research. They ters. You have to have the narrative which set toe standards and appointed the panels explains, and you have got to have toe of-educators in each particular area .of animated drawing, which illustrates vividly learning, and they examined some 1500! of and dearly toe point you are malting, com-, these short subjects that we had in our bined with some drama, some, accident and vaults that had been used in toe schools out some actual scenes of life. Those points of which they selected 600 which could he are tilings which I fed are veryTlmportant used .as is, without any change. They were -in toe.future of our fihns. Ifwe don't selected on toe basis, not that they were have them I .don't think tnatjsre'at'least educational in a general sort of way, but are going to get anywhere in our sales. that they could be integrated;in toe school MISS PENLAND: Mr. King said what curriculum at a particular point-in a par every school official I have talked to said ticular place in . a class' on a particular and expressed it very wdL Yon have to subject - compete with professional motion pictured That was a very interesting tiling .to us. to disco entertain tiooal vj Now,, in toe i tinning. '. In rej toe- desi is., just' and giri where,.] whatevei point in telligent] Letme tional C there is schools atioh, ji appreda School courses 'Well, alkms,-; tripe an; THE .question MR. ; toe .mat corred.l theatrics have 50 it the 1 made in the das which 1 - started ' made it withdraw that m 1 in the . c get a st the. cole you real mg--we black at half, ceo costs thi ference to toe d defident Now, I am ji to toe p. Traffic Section 279 to discover that films, which we made for we may have more experience which will eatertasunent. were of 'such goodeduca- indicate that we have advanced a bit iooal value. .We were surprised, too. . I- am inclined to agree with him thor- Now,.! think there, will be'more of that ; oughlyon the matter b sound; however. in the future because that -project is con-' -I-mentioned the.fad: that 'there are differ tinmng.That indicates the general trend. ences of opirnte in conventions that I at tended and heard'this matter discussed, by In regard to .what Mr. King said about teachers, but I have been inclined to favor die- desirability of .having something that die sound film. is. justvas good, technically, as. die boys MR. MURRAY: hi our various locali- and girls are accustomed to seeing any ties we have had experience which is just where, I dunk goes without any.question die. reverse from that which this gentle whatever, for education. Just , one little man spoke about a while-ago concerning point indicates how. very.critical and in telligently critical these young people are. Let me point out, that through die Na tional Councils of the Teachers of. English, atmosphere. We found that our films give the. atmosphere. We have worked in a juvenile court atmosphere and ithas worked miracles. It starts off with depicting the there is Blrihg sponsored through our high juvenile court and it works on bicycle rid schools today, courses in photoplay appreci ing mid then finally brings in automobile ation, just like we have courses in .music tilting. When that film is finished--along appreciation, and there are six million high with it we have been showing "Formations," school students today 'that are taking another very. good film--those children are courses of thatkind. .quite ready for a dignified procedure with-. Well, to lapse into just common colloqui . out my having to say a word. The film has alisms, yon can't fool these kids with any done it tripe anymore. That is just something to.pass along, and I took advantage, of another opportunity THE CHAIRMAN: Are there any more .questions? this summer. I heard they were going to show die war films in the parks furnished MR. DEER: May I say something on by the Eighth Service Command. I got die .matter of color, too, which just oc busy and got all the good films that I curred, to me. The general trend in die could get from these various sources that heatrical field is toward color. We shall were furnished free. People are interested Jtve 50 pictures in color this year, which in such material due to the war and it it the largest number that we have ever draws a crowd, and then you spring the nude in any one year. Our experience in traffic film on them; and you have some the classroom, however, with this project thing of value. which I have spoken about is this: we MR. WHITTAL (Washington): 1 was started^ with a number of films that were interested in what the movie industry might made in_ technicolor and they .have been be doing in the future in making animated withdrawn for .largely, two reasons: one, color cartoons. There, are two that I have dot in the amateur projection that you get seen, one. put .out bythe.insurance com in the .classroom, in the .school, yon don't panies and cafe pat ont by the Agricultural get a suffidentiy improved picture to .make Department; and. we have, had exceptionally the . color add anything to itj arid when godd results with these in the lower grades. you realize that just the mere.cost of print The ..kids think they are funny, and as ing--we can print hi. our laboratories a soon as they see a cartoon run they become Mack and white film for about two and a interested. With the lower grades I think half, cents a foot, bnf to print technicolor they are more valuable than the other type . costs thirty-one cents--we findfthat the dif .-of film. . .. ference in value is nofcat all commensurate We have thought, ont there that it would to the difference in cosh particularly in the be a nice dmgpf.Walt Disney could devote defitient film, that-you get -: some time tomakpig that type of film- with Now, I am not saying Mr. King is wrong. . the regular characters, such as Pinto and' I am just saying that our experience up Mickey MonSe and that sort of thing. - to the present momentis that, and next year ' MR. DEER: As yon know, at therpresent 280 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 \ time, Mr. Disney is devoting his foil time not get anywhere and we are doing an or 95 per cent of his time to war work in injustice to try to teach them with these ins studios.- He has done a tremendous very inferior films. To entertain we use amount of .work, for Mr. Nelson Rocke the finest material ayailabley but when it feller's office,' the Coordinator of Inter- comes to the classroom we come with some American Affairs, creating pictures that are thing that is infinitely inferior. good for developing good will between ottr country and' our neighbors to the South; He is now interested in collaborating with - a- person who has developed a system of teaching illiterates to read. - He has' de veloped a system by which it is possible, through the use of charts and diagrams, to teach an illiterate to read his own lan guage in 12 lessons, and there is now a world organization to remove illiteracy from the world. Some of us are hoping that Mr. Disney may be able to get Professor Mickey Mouse .MR. DEER: Perhaps it might; Mr. Chairman, he a .practical working out of a. discussion of this kind to suggest if it isn't already there--the work of the National Safety Council is so blooming big.that we don't realize all it is doing, but if there Is no such group, would it be a service to have the National Council appoint a committee of sufficient experience and background ,in this field to serve somewhat'as an evalua tion committee? That is what we did in the schools. to make those 12 lessons 12 easy lessons. Now I understand- that the professors who are interested in Baric English are interested in and thinking of making mo tion pictures that can be used in teaching Basic English. That may be a surprise to a lot of people to realize dot 75 per cent of die elementary schools in Russia are teaching the boys and girls Baric Eng lish and are using a textbook prepared by Now, for instance, if a public school wants to use . a film they can get. it evalu ated, the evaluation of tins very distin guished committee that has spent three -years with very, good curricnlum builders listing and evaluating. Maybe some com mittee would render a teal service in saving you, possibly, from wasting your time m showing a film that won't really give you the desired results. Madame Litvinof, the wife of Maxim Lit- I don't know whether you need it May vinof, who is an English woman. be you have already got it In view .of the The litde footnote that I would put to your comment about that land of film bring particularly effective with the younger children is that it is equally effective with the older children and the adults. MR. CLEVELAND (American Auto mobile Association): I don't think we can fact that yoo have spoken so often, of be ing disappointed in your films, perhaps that fa what yotMieed; an evaluation committee that would go through the whole thing that fa available, not merely printing lists of staff that fa available, but with that, an evalua tion of its usability. emphasize too strongly the need for better MISS PENLAND; I was just wonder films on safety. Our organization has at ing if we could have a double-edged com tempted to get together,all of these films mittee, as Mr. Deer suggested, the first that are available, and I have shown them part to try to sril somebody, maybe only over and over again before school audi the motftn picture companies, the idea that ences, and with the exception of a few, and we do have an audience for those films, and I am not referring to kindergarten and first that what they can give is important. May and second grades,' these films no longer be Disney would like to bring that in as make the impression on the students that a part of civic training. You cottld bring we would like. The "Hit and* Run" is in all sorts of National Safety Council good and the "Drunken Driving," is, also. ideas and work, for instance; in Ural; in They have gone over, all right, but these cluding traffic court scenes, as the gentle other films toat-we have can in no sense' man from Dallas suggested. I know there compete .with these films that the school are people who want those films. X found children are seeing in their daily shows, that out- If it happens in a small state not only in the movies but shows that they there must be people all over who want the put on at die school. films. . The result is that it seems , to me we do' MR. DEER : I a^i not sure; but I doubt very i tares be sol maids they t ing U availa fa as time. MR turn v to ma films sbowr are oi eral 1 safety some tame we ar bring who : We r toe fil MR caters somev came to tiu toe upon school produ bowei caabt are pi what of tra The a thin out b, this a be t* accost they s film* - who s wood they i Tha feritl da! v house there Traffic Section 281 an *$e Oi iiF.' very math that you could get motion pic tures interested, in making a film that could be sold to a group. They are interested in ne- making films to be shown in theaters. If they could make a film sufficiently interest tfr. fa. sn't ing to show in a theater then you have available something that can be used. That is as far. as we have gone at the present time. . inat we MR. KING:.I think we are in the posi t is tion where we will have to get somebody ave to make die film we want You can't take t* eme films to the schools after they- have been shown commercially. I hope, too, that there ta- are one or two of the companies like Gen the eral Motors who are interested in what die safety people want in pictures. I have had ool ilutinree 'em n- some contact with them and. it would seem to me that It.is perhaps this committee that we are talking about a little bit that could bring some pressure on these companies who axe'jparticipating in film production. We might get. our ideas incorporated in ing in the films they make so that we could'use them. fOn MR. DEER: At a recent meeting of edu- - caters tills whole matter was thrashed out *7the somewhat as you are doing now, and they came to the conclusion that when it came be* to the great talk of films to be used in hat ** hat - ) the tehUols they would have to depend upon companies who produced films - for schools rather than for the industry that mff produces film for theaters. They did feel, ua- however, that ire have some urns , which can be thrown into the general pod if they ler- are properly selected by those who know what educators need. That would be true tn- irst of traffic education, the same as schools. nly These educators, however, did point out hat a thing which has been so clearly brought ind out by a number of the discussants here ey this morning, namely, that these films must as be technically as good as the people are tag accustomed to see at any place. Therefore, id! they said that these companies that produce hi films for schools must employ technicians de* who are as good as any we have in Holly ere wood. That is the way they put it and md they must be ready to pay the price. ate the That was an interesting thing, because'I fed the same way about it Yo hove spe cial writers, you have special publishing ubt houses that produce textbooks;. Here and there and. dsewhere you will find motion pictures that you can use,'but you have got to have a special committee that can analyze those films and evaluate them so that the people who use them will know in advance that somebody with a reputation in the fidd has placed a stamp of approval on them. QUESTION: I think the National Com mittee on Safety Education has recently set up a group that is going over all ma terial used in school After it gets started, I imagine it is going to take films into the scope of its activity. It is commissioning teachers who are in the fidd, and they will probably evaluate and send out material on this, whatever their decisions are. THE CHAIRMAN: I am just wonder ing about one final thing. Is there some thing that this group right here.can do by way of ' recommending to the National . Safety Council, or are we oat of order in doing that? MR. CLEVELAND: Mr. Chairman, it seems to me that only half- of our prob lem' is being covered. The evaluation of the films is important, yes, bat on the production of the films, I don't hear any one say that .they know of' any steps that are being taken to produce the types of films we'need most It seems to me we might go on record to tdl the National Safety Council of this problem which we fed should be covered by some group, and leave it to them to decide' how to do it I.would like to move that this question of having an appropriate safety film pro duced, or a number of than, be placed be fore the National Safety Congress as the problem which we fed should be considered. MR. KING: Isecond it THE CHAIRMAN: I think we will not take time for comment 1 think we are all agreed that this should be done. I wilt instruct the secretary to .cast a unanimous ballot for this group, assuming it is unani mous. MR. DEER: After it is all passed now, it would be entirdy an unparliamentary procedure to ask a question, but would that also indude the matter of evaluation? MISS WOOLVERTON: I understand that is for that, too. THE CHAIRMAN: I think so. It is a t -, ' ) . '^ {; i ! 'M! ' !; if l t I i ii 1 i ' . | i /* 282 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 two-edged sword, production and evalua tion. MR. DEER: You might do as some chap did or as the churches did in finding a chap who was a real estate operator in New York and who left a million dollars in his will to set up an organization to experiment in the field of making religious motion pictures. If you can find some chap who will give a million dollars to set up an organization to experiment in the field of producing films in the field of traffic education, we ought to give him an award next year. THURSDAY AFTERNOON SESSION October 5, 1944 General Session Presiding: Cakl J. Rutland, Chairman, Citizens Traffic Commission, Dallas, Texas, and Former General Chairman, Street & Highway Traffic Section, N.S.C. Where Do We Go from Here--Forecasts lor Safety Based on Points Developed in the Various Sessions (A) Police . CAPT. PAUL J. PRICE Police Dept., Dayton, Ohio, and Chm* Executive Committee, Police Division, Traffic Section, National Safety Council Police officers are approaching one of the most critical periods in the history of policing in our country--the postwar era. We have the opportunity' to prove in this period that policing is a profession, and that it rightfully belongs on the same level as any other recognized profession. We can prove this in only one way--using all the techniques known in modern policing plus a plan of attack coordinated with all other agencies involved. A program should already be in effect to restore police personnel after the war to a minimum of pre-war strength. We should not overlook toe necessity of re-examination of returning veterans, both mental and physical. We will have an excellent oppor tunity to recruit from returning veterans, thus obtaining the benefit of certain types of military training and discipline even be fore the recruit enters a police training school. The next logical step in our planned pro gram is that of training. Many police train ing programs had to be curtailed during the past two years. This is very unfortu nate because it was probably one of the weakest links in our efforts toward efficient operation, especially in municipal depart ments. A keen interest is being shown to day by police executives in all types of training, and this is a healthy sign. Many new ideas are being advanced, one of which is the possibility of centrally located train ing schools in* various states. To these schools could be sent recruits from com munities too small to operate their own training programs. Another advantage to this plan would be that it could furnish training to officers promoted to higher rank,, thus qualifying them to become command ing officers. We cannot over emphasize the need for police training, but neither mustwe overlook the fact that these training schools must be of the proper type, and staffed by qualified instructors. We must guard against the "fly-by-night" schools that will probably spring up after the war. Enforcement after the war will result in many problems, some old, some new. With the lifting of rationing and speed restric tions, millions of mechanically unsafe cars will be driven at higher speeds and over greater distances. Seven and eight year old cars will not all be replaced six months after VE Day. Then, more than ever be fore, we must use selective enforcement to hold our gains in accident reductions. New will 1 forge both an in Ou need whicl the \ undo ingn ings advai depai effitic to tl items and As this < that ends. Co. were in th< only encot tion ; enfor ginee admii ship tweet of 1< props office Like* traffic enfor Co< the l inter* W* expet at thi force cute, intent ious A> iela affic 'ard and New and intensified educational programs will be of great importance. We must not forget the ever present need of uniformity, both in laws and enforcement policy, plays an important part in this program. Our overall program must include the need for equipment of all kinds, much of which it has been difficult to replace during the war. In postwar development we will undoubtedly have the opportunity of obtain ing new and modern equipment, from build ings to guns. We must not fail to take advantage of these opportunities. Many departments are today trying to operate efficiently in buddings that are a disgrace to the community. Many new scientific items have been developed during the war, and certainly law enforcement agencies should have first consideration in the post war period. Aside from medical science, probably more advances have been made in photography and communications than in any other branches, and both of these items are of extreme importance in modern po licing. We can see that we have an excellent op portunity to do an outstanding job in the postwar period. From the start of this war, police organizations have been regarded as leaders in the field of protection of life and property, and internal security on the home front We -have been carrying the ball, and now that we are almost ready to enter the second half, we must not fum ble. Clear thinking, intelligent planning and hard work can do the job. iffic to ot any lich ainie< omiwn s to dish ink, mdthe rast' ting and lost ools irar. t in Vith Ticcars >ver old atbs beaent ons. (B) Traffic Courts HON. ROY A. MILES Judge, Nashville Traffic Court, Nashville, Tennessee As we approach the time for adjourning this Congress, I am impressed with the fact that thereupon our job begins, instead of ends. Cooperation and coordination of effort were two outstanding points of discussion in the traffic court group sessions. It is not only important but indispensable that we encourage, in every way possible, coopera tion among such agencies as traffic courts, enforcement officials, legislators, traffic en gineers, public safety education leaders, and administration officials. The closest relation ship among these agencies seems to lie be tween the judicial and executive branches of local government -- that is, without proper enforcement of traffic laws by police officers, the traffic courts would be useless. Likewise, without proper disposition of traffic 'notation cases by the traffic courts, enforcement would be hopeless. Cooperation between the traffic courts, the law enforcement agencies and others interested in traffic safety is indispensable. We were reminded that traffic judges are expected to judge, not prosecute. Looking at this picture from the opposite angles en forcement officers are expected to prose cute, not'judge. This observation is not intended to relieve the enforcement officer* of their responsibility to exercise sound discretion as to what constitutes a violation of the traffic laws and when such viola tions should be prosecuted. There are some borderline cases in which the public interest demands that the arresting officer decide, whether or not a violation has oc curred or whether or not a questionable violation should be prosecuted. But as a general proposition, it is well for each of these agencies (police officers and traffic court judges) to remain steadfastly con scious of the functions they are expected to perform. Judges are not prosecutors and should not take or be forced to take the position of a prosecutor at a trial; where there is nti prosecutor, however, the judge is forced into this unpleasant situation. The traffic court improvement program will continue to bring about better functioning of such courts in this respect A great deal has been said about the importance of such adjuncts of the traffic courts as proper surroundings, decorum, physical facilities, competency of the presid ing judge, such loyalty as will discourage the "fix," eliminate so-called J.P. practices, and generally promote a high standard of administration of justice. Improvement of our courts in these adjuncts has made and ) 1 *t 284 33rd. National Safety-Congress, 1944 will continue to make substantial contribu tion to the advancement of traffic safety. -- I predict that we will return to the National Safety Congress next year , with reports of continued progress in the traffic court field. This progress will be measured by the number of people whom we can interest and influence in bur program of public safety. In my opinion, state- traffic court conferences and local institutes offer splendid opportunities for an expansion of this program. The need for such expan sion is boldly revealed by the conditions which may readily be anticipated upon de mobilization of several million men in mili tary service and the lifting of such restric tions of automobile driving as wartime conditions have imposed. The latter will involve even more millions of civilians than will be involved by the demobilization of soldiers, sailors, and marines. We have a serious responsibility* a. re sponsibility which cannot be considered merely as a Sunday Christian considers his religion. Our responsibility is a full-time and big-time job. Through such confer ences and discussions as. the traffic judges and prosecutors have had at this Congress, supplemented by state traffic court confer ences and local institutes, I predict dot great strides will be made in educating die public to follow that facetious admonition to "watch the guy behind the guy in front of yon." Traffic courts have a vital responsibility and a substantial contribution to make in helping meet the;post-war problems we are certain to have"bn our streets and highways. (C) Public Education CHARLES D. VIBBERTS * Director of Safety and Education, Ohio State Automobile Association, Columbus, Ohio Substituting for Sidney King; Director, Safety Division, Department of State,' Salem, Oregon The several meetings of the Public Safety picting and describing traffic safety activi Education group and die Traffic Education ties. Association were well attended by repre 4. The more frequent use of arddes sentatives of die several brandies of state which provide local human interest government concerned with.. traffic safety education, state and local safety councils Second, this organization add be main and other organizations in the field.. taining a much closer relationship with On the basis of developments resulting radio broadcasting stations; from these meetings, I should Eke to make This will'involve: ' this report to you a forecast of what a 1. Having a well informed contact man hypothetical traffic safety organization anil mi its staff--a man who.knows the traffic be doing in the post-war era--in other safety field as well as the techniques of words, where it will go from here! radio work His contacts win be with the First, this organization will be maintain ing a much doser relationship with the press. This anil involve: 1. More effective persona! contacts be tween the public relations representative of the organization and .the gentlemen of the press. 2. Better cooperation with the press through the provision of correct factual educational and promotion departments of the radio, stations winch, use his material. 2/ Better preparation of tbe several types of programs used y radio stations: 54-1 minute spot announcements 5 minute transcribed programs 15 minute programs of the dramatization or interview type,. 3. Tying in traffic safety material with commercially sponsored programs. materials. Third, this organization will be engaged 3. More frequent use of pictures, mats in the extensive use of modem pictures and and plates with attendant information de `other visual aids. i pn mi tm me nic col an< the to- tyi the .1 1 tw the tios Me nee nht KB pd of Tn hat sdi dea bee am pla ret .1 lea ags rad atii car wil jus act) ane idea } his timi* iferdges ress, lfertJjat \ the itico front bility te in tare vays. Traffic Section 28S This will involve: . continuous program of activities relating to 1. Theuseof films which have been traffic safety education. prepared and evaluated by a national com 2. Provision for special emphasis on cer mittee of experts in botn'the motion pic tain phases of traffic safety education ture and educational fields/ through the use of special promotional 2. The use of projectors and other equip ment which will be more accurate tech nically and better, adapted to the use of color film. . activities directed at the driver, the pedes trian, the cyclist, different age groups, rail road grade crossings, weather hazards and others. 3. Only those activities which have been 3. .The use of films which are technically carefully evaluated from the standpoint of and educationally correct, films which meet- direct action as well ais carry-over value the needs of the various grade level groups will be used. to which they are shown. TO SUMMARIZE: This hypothetical traffic safety organization will be doing the Fourth, this Organization will use all many things which any. organization pri types of special promotional activities in marily engaged in the field of disseminating the field of traffic safety education. public safety education can and should be This will involve: doing! These many things all point to the same end-rreduction in traffic accidents and .. 1. First and foremost, carrying on-a:: injuries and fatalities resulting therefrom. (D) Traffic Engineering Ohio ROBERT A. MITCHELL Chief, Bureau of Traffic Engineering, City of Philadelphia cdvi tides . '"> y with $ man traffic ss.of h tiie its of tesiaL typo cation with gaged sand From a national traffic safety standpoint have to put up with pre-war gasoline for two encouraging signs have,come out of quite a number of years as no satisfactory the engineering sessions of'the 33rd Na method has yet been found for the produc tional Safety Congress and the 15th Annual tion of 100 octane gasoline on an economic Meeting ofthe-Institute of Traffic Engi commercial basis. neers. .First, there seems to'be a more defi nite and clear-cut picture of the responsi bilities of each of the organizations and public officials concerned with the reduction of traffic accidents and congestion. The Traffic Engineering profession appears to love been accorded Hs rightful pbee In tiie scheme of tilings. Secondly, that a great deal of worthwhile thought has already been given to post-war street traffic control and safety measures. In fact, many of these plans can .be put info effect as soon as we return to normal civilian life. : : It was indicated that the airplane might present a post-war problem to the traffic engineer.- A majority of the. traffic engi neers who spoke felt that the profession only had a right to be concerned over the Control of highway traffic generated by the location and activities of toe airport. One, an officer in the United States . Armor Air Corps; however, saw a real opportunity in air traffic control for the. traffic engineer. Citing figures recently released by General Arnold showing that 17,000 out . of the 42,000 army planes destroyed so tar in this We have been assuAd by two important war were being flown in the United States, men in. the automotive industry that at' he indicated that many of the techniques least two years wiB dapse after cars are used by traffic engineers to control highway again produced for civilians before' any traffic were applicable to air traffic control. radical change can be. expected in the oper Many disabled veterans, according to one ation or appearance of private passenger . speaker, will want to drive automobiles. cars. As a natter of fact, they believe we The rehabilitation of these mot for driving win have at least five years in which to ad and how they shall be licensed to drive are just ear thinking on traffic control to meet problems that motor-vehicle administrators any. radical change in motor vehicle appear- and safety educators should give immediate ance and performance.- Motorists may even . consideration. A statement was made that !*-- J: \* . : :5 ' - I.1i l ;? : } i . f' ) 286 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 automobile manufacturers are already study ing ways of equipping vehicles so disabled persons may drive them with ease and safety. It appears from the information released at the sessions that we know more about where we are going in the matter of high way planning than any other phase of the traffic control problem. Emphasis has shifted from rural to urban areas and it looks as if better highways in and around our urban areas of population are assured for the fu ture. The Public Roads Administration seems pretty well decided on certain details of highway construction and recommends 12 foot wide lanes; wide, well kept shoul ders; and that all highways, four or more lanes wide, be separated and the wider the center island the better. - Everybody seemed agreed on one point and that is that there will be far more motor vehicles on our highways after the war than before and that unheard of con gestion will be prevalent unless drastic measures are taken to improve our urban streets and highways. This need has pointed the way towards a new method of ascertaining the travel.habits of the population in any urban area. It is similar to the "public opinion" poll used by Dr. Gallup and others, and according to the Public Roads Administration has proved most accurate in determining the traffic and mass transportation trend for the entire area even though only a small percentage of the residents are interviewed. From a report given at one of the meetings tins type of survey in Atlanta, Georgia, costs 75 cents per dwelling unit for the field work and approximately 1J4 'cents per schedule for tabulating. It was also brought out that a great deal more can be done to improve traffic, control on our present streets and highways by various methods that have been used suc cessfully by traffic engineers in many cities. These methods include correctly placed and timed traffic signals; uniform signs and markings; channelization and pedestrian islands and physical changes at intersections to relieve congestion. We look forward to seeing a great deal of this type of work being carried on in the post-war era. A trend towards more consideration of public transit operation by traffic and high way engineers seems evident as some of the speakers and several persons in the audience talked at some length on the need for improving present roadways and de signing new ones so as to provide more efficient operation facilities for public tran sit vehicles. * The relation of traffic accidents to losses of manpower and money b industry can be definitely established according to compre hensive, survey reported on by one of the speakers. He stated that in one year 19 million man days were lost to business and industry through traffic accidents. He urged that management interested in efficient oper ation would do well to give serious consid eration to traffic accident reduction pro grams b the post-war era. In conclusion, the post-war program-of the Institute of Traffic Engineers as sum marized by its President, Harold Ham mond, gives a very good indication of. where Traffic Engineering believes it is go ing from here. That Is: 1. Decongest critical locations and areas. 2. "Accident-proof" streets and highways. 3. Coordinate traffic plans and operation with highway planning, design and conjmunity planning. (E) Driver Licensing > T. ELMER TRANSEAU Director, Highway Safety Bureau, Department of Revenue; Harrisburg, Pa. It would be incorrect to say that the present war has had no effect on driver licensing procedure b this country. Its most noticeable effects have been the low ering of legal age requirements in some of our states, and a greatly increased number of violations of age limit requirements in respect to the operation of commercial ve hicles. - Actual falsification of age b first appli cations, as well as the operation of com mercial vehides by youths bdow the legal age have *beea quite noticeable, 'no doubt due to the manpower shortage. Il sod has fttl com gem som Coll chie Aex exp anal has fica pro! erin pilo oth< bd gua and It sue on cem whj all sue bee rul< the den set woi con mg He we trai lad can tor atu oni cor tra I lice the tioi Pa em lov cal the tro rol nd nd iao ms to >rk of fr- of the wd deare ari ses be re tire 19 tnd fed er- sidro- of' mi imof. go- sas. iysion "9r ve- pliim!gal robi Traffic Section 287 In the last connection, the American As- sodation'of Motor Vehide Administrators has been giving much study to the youth ful operator and the likelihood of his be coming a new and important part of the any time in the past It may not be too much to say that if the acddent curve turns upward sharply at the .end of the war, as many expect that there may be a sharp tightening-up all along the line. general accident hazard. A surprising and I do not need to tell this group that one somewhat disturbing artide appeared in of the major problems in this field in the Collier's magazine of June 17th last The next few years will be the retraining and chief of the Safety Bureau of the Civil training of disabled veterans. At this time. Aeronautics Board, a man with 17 years' I wish to record two statements that have experience covering, the investigation and been made recently.- analysis of nearly 60,000 flying accidents, has recommended the lowering of all quali fications for civilian pilots. The first and probably most important change is the low ering of the minimum age for a private pilot certificate from 18 to 16 years. Many other changes are made in this proposal, induding knowledge of the English lan guage, physical and mental requirements and flying time. Quoting from Governor Kelly's speech before the Motor Vehide Administrators in June:---"A singularly significant part of as sisting the returning veteran to live a nor mal life in America is to arrange that his transportation by automobile be normal-- and just as satisfactory as that of his friends and neighbors. To do this, he must be able to drive his own car either for busi ness purposes or for pleasure and to do it It may be said that our only interest in safely." such s change may be in its possible effect on the granting of motor vehide driver li censes. It may be interesting to examine why the Chief of the Safety Bureau, after all his acddent experience, would make such a recommendation. It appears to be because "no matter how forcefully certain rules have been hammered home at pilots, there have been and always will be acci dents due to violations of the very ones set up for their safety." In other words, it would appear that many pilots, with almost complete knowledge and experience in fly ing, get into trouble fay taking chances. Hence, it is argued, or so it seems, that Again"Every disabled veteran, no mat ter how serious his disabilities, should be given an opportunity to drive--if it is at all possible or practical The position should be taken that every veteran we fail to put back on the road represents a deterrent to . our normal economy and is a disservice to a man who deserves the best we can give him." . Elsewhere the Governor had said, "... It would be an equally great injustice to the disabled veteran to permit him to drive if be were to drive unsafely and thus endanger himself and others." we need not be so careful in selecting and Quoting from the report of a committee training pilots, since these factors,, or the of the American Medical Association which lade of than, are not the chief acddent had been named to study problems of Motor causes. Whethermotor vehide administra Vehide Accidents:--1"There exists the very tors will ever take such a view is problem great danger -that public sentiment toward atical. Personally, I do not flunk so. All licensing activities may be influenced by a our experience points,to the need of orderly, strong sense of sympathy toward those who competent and complete universal driver have become physically or mentally impaired training, if we want ardent-free operators. through no. fault of their own. Public opin It is difficult to predict the trend of driver licensing in ihe next year or two, due to the uncertainty at this time of the termina tion of the war in Europe and in the ion in this direction could most certainly es tablish a trend toward lowered license stand ards, which in tom could result in a great increase in traffic deaths," Pacific. Certainly we know that the tend "There is no disagreement concerning the ency of the war in general has been to consideration which should be extended to lower standards somewhat, yet paradoxi returning servicemen, particularly those who cally there is probably greater interest in have suffered serious physical or mental in the value of good practices in driver con juries. But to alldW the latter group to op trol as an acddent reduction factor than at erate automobiles as they did in the past. l. { \ 288 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 and some may even drive buses or taxicabs, is endangering not only their lives, but the lives of others every time they get behind tire wheel." The writer Is impressed by the reaction to the problem of those so dose to life and death as these physicians. Certainly all will agree that licensing authorities are going to have their work cut out for them in the near future. I, for one, anticipate that these problems will be solved as have others in the past Already there has been related at these sessions. some of the experimental work now bring'done with veterans. . ' Once the problem is fully understood and faced sqixarely, I am confident it can be solved. Here again, the dissemination of knowledge almost as soon as it is acquired may be of extraordinary and unusual im portance. (F) General Sessions BURTON W. HARSH Director,Traffic Engineering and&fety Department, American Automobile Assodatioit Washhigton, D. C. Never has there been greater opportunity for significant public service and personal achievement than will exist in the weeks and months ahead. The '{pgantic task which faces all of us has been emphatically pre sented in our traffic sessions. The participation of outstanding national leaders and the contents of their talks mate crystal dear a highly encouraging develop ment--the growing understanding, respect and cooperation betwedi various types * of specialists whose joint efforts alone can pro duce the desired improvement pf traffic con ditions. Effective teamwork is improving all over the countiy with outstanding examples in many places. Important jobs to be done have been spelled out'for ns most effectively. The new program for post-war traffic safety, spon sored by more than 40 national organiza tions and' set forth in summarized form in the pamphlet, "Danger--Traffic JamAhead 1" will prove a useful guide. Each of us faces tire problem, after choos ing the few main activities to which we are going to give principal emphasis, of finding out how best to do those particular jobs. Some of the "how" has been presented most interestingly .at tius Congress. Each of us faces many lands of difficulties in getting things done these days. One thing is certain, each of us must find ways to multiply his own limited time, energy and resources. Obviously, the better organized the effort is in our community and the better - staffed we are for doing it, the more can be done. * In most communities there are bigh- grade, intelligent, public-spirited persons who are williugto make a civic contribu- bon and are waiting to be called upon. It is a job to find them and they have got to fed that they are. working on something worth wlule and important, fmtvtheyIwilf '- often prove to be bdlwethers in getting a program accepted and into effective opera tion. x Commissioner Thomas H. MacDonald of the Public Ropds Administration painted a most illuminating picture of highway de velopments, problems and futures. 'Where as the emphasis used to be' on how much mileage of highways cotffd be built, it is now becoming^recognized that the quality of the road and what it -mil produce in convenience,' efficiency and safety are of greatest, importance. New type of facili ties--such as freeways--ate necessary in urban areas, where'it is -generally accepted that the major traffic bottlenecks, and prob lems exist today. The possibility of building highways with high safety factors was pointed out. The example cited was the freeway system serv ing toe Pentagon Braiding at Washington, D. C, on which there has not been one fatality in more than a'year sinte it was opened in 1943 and only three injuries, de spite very heavy traffic and the fact that most drivers did not know, the road net . In terms of use, these high-type highways are not expensive. In fact, they are less expensive than other roads. Commissioner MacDonald emphasized,roe grfatueed for public support of. such n^ivstype facilities. Norman' Damon, Vicc^Prc&ident 'of the Autojn a very in enf< cases, while there i formit ing adi work, effects proper driver Part which for lx driver school pointer reach splend ersfoi TC.I csoiA istratb post-W progra motor proVet the p inspec Geo City' Wfe going two.y Howe doctio War,! Iasi x dustq time? It i prep* war.. tion i biles lit push ( Tragic Section 289 Automotive Safety Foundation, presented .u International Association of Chiefs of Po a very comprehensive statement on progress lice, pointed oat the need for coordination in enforcement and adjudication of traffic of police with other traffic activities. He \ leases. Mr. Damon showed, dearly that ...emphasized.the.growing recognition of how while splendid progress' has been; made, - large a part of :the entire police job is in there is much that needsto be'derte in uni ' the field of traffic. formity of laws, in. seeming and maintain -Harold F. Hammond, President of the ing adequate traffic police; in police training wort, in making more vital the exceedingly effective work which can be donethrough proper handling of driver licensing and driver enforcement work. Institute of' Traffic Engineers, stated that a post-war traffic planning committee has already devoted a year to consideration of post-war traffic needs. .The increasing need for greater attention to problems of traffic - Particularly outstanding, is the progress operations, and of bringing' engineering which has been made in understandingneeds skills to bear npoq such problems was em-` for improvement in traffic courts. Also, phasized. driver education and- training in high schools has proven outstanding. Mr. Damon pointed ont that nearly 2 million perrons reach driving age each year,' presenting a splendid opportunity for crating safe dnv- - ersfor the future. Hal G. Sours, Regional Vice-President of the1 American Association of State High way Officials, described highway transporta tion problems of the future and ways that they must be attacked. The solution of the first stage of post-war traffic problems must ' C F. Joyner, Jr., President ofrite Ameri . rest largely on enforcement.' In the longer can Assbdation of Motor Vehicle Admin range, engineering will'become an increas istrators,' indicated a. number' of principal ingly major factor..' post-war traffic activities in the AAMVA program, including promotion of uniform motor vriride legislation and driver im provement programs, proper emphasis; on die pedestrian,' and compulsory. vehide According to Mr. Soars, traffic engineer ing ritould be given-equal prominence with- other divisions in .the organizational set-up of a highway department. Early traffic en gineering emphasis was on signs, signals inspection. ' ' . ' .. and markings. It is now importantly re General D. C. Draper; President of die lated to design policies and planning. . The Job We Have Ahead By LESLIE J. SORENSON City Traffic Engineer, Chicago; HL, and Vice President for Traffic and Transportation, National Safety Council We have heard tint automobiles are not going to be available In large xmmbers tmtil two.yeara after the European war m oypr. However, we have seen the tremendouspro duction capacity in prodacmg weapons of war, and'should we sot take tins as a warn ing and realize that it is* possible-for in dustry to produce cars in advance of the time sdtedole suggested. It is up to us as safety leaders to be prepared for any eventuality following the war. We mnst; therefore, be ready for meeting the problem of increased produc tion ami consequent operation of antomo-. biles eartier thaa some .of ns are thinking. . K all.of. our safety planning; we most push onr efforts in order, to be ready when the European conflict is over and be cer tainly ready when we have the Japanese beaten to the ground!' 4 It is . up to the men in this room to .go bade to their communities and initiate meas ures and carry them through, to. fruition which will hold the line against a gnat spree of accidents on our streets and highways. , It is not enough to. come here to. the Congress and get all of the information and inspiration of these meetings. It is up to everyone to go home and do something about 'the accident prevention job in his own community. If .the mat in this .room can't do tbe.jbjv .who can?- . 1 ' **r!~:"j \t ;\y3 T :t ` ii i.1 -ii ii' .1l ;* ; \f .v ' \y v. i{ `' * tif '; . 'i i r > 290 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 V ' THURSDAY AFTERNOON SESSION October 5, 1944 Group Session for City and State Police Presiding: Don F. Stives, Supt., Indiana State Policy Indianapolis, Ind. "POLICE INFORMATION. PLEASE" Participants: -meats are offered without cost for the use Discussion Leader--D6n F. Stiver. of police departments in the smaller com Caft. G T. Atkinson, Asst Supt, Ar munities. kansas State Police; Little Rock; Ark. SUPT. STIVER: In Indiana the state Catt. Herman Crttes, Traffic Div, Po police, have cooperated in the training pro lice Department Flint Mich. gram for local officers for a number of Inspector L. A. Hons, Federal Bureau years. They are also cooperating with, com of Investigation, U. S. Dept of Justice, munities -in the state in analyzing accident Washington, D. G records to obtain information useful in en Judge James W. Hodson, Municipal forcement planning selective educational, 1 Court Seattle, Wash. efforts, and for engineering purposes.. The Inspector Herbert J. Kitchenman, Com Pennsylvania State Police love run train manding Traffic & Motor Div., .Bureau ing programs for local officers for a num of Police, Philadelphia, Pa. ber of years. The -South Dakota State Laurence A. Lyon, Supt, Uniform Div., Motor Patrol and the Colorado State High Michigan State Police, East Lansing, way Patrol have participated tn cooperative Midi. training projects for local officers; drawing Lieut. Robert E. Raleigh, Acting Direc- upon load police departments for both in ` tor. Safety Dm, IACP, Evanston, HL structors and students. The Missouri State SUPT. STIVER: This will be an in formal session, at which this Board of'Ex perts will attempt to answer traffic police questions from the audience. You have at tended three group sessions zor police duringjhis National Safety Congress and, I Highway Patrol makes its laboratory facili ties available to all peace officers within the . state as does the Indiana State Police;. In the state of Oregon, the state accident rec ord bureau summarizes the accident ex perience for all cities within the state on a am sure; have many questions in your minds regular basis to supply them with accident which you would like to have -answered. facts useful in their planning. ' Similar Now is your chance to spring the tough projects are'being carried on in many other ones on the experts. states. I have dted just a few as examples. . QUESTION: What steps, if any, are - QUESTION: What is. the nature and bong taken to adapt the nse of "walky- extent of the traffic training offered by the talky" radio to the seeds of police services? National Police Academy? . % INSPECTOR KITCHENMAN: In INSPECTOR HENCE: The training Philadelphia experiments' are bang con program is sot designed to make students ducted with this means of communication. traffic enforcement officers per st; but So far we have had excellent results at rather to broaden their knowledge of gen disaster scenes such as fires or train wrecks, I repeat that this is still in the experi mental stage. QUESTION: What is being done to improve relations between city, county and state police? CAPTAIN LYON: In Michigan, the State Police conduct an annual training eral police work. The present course tier votes three weeks to traffic enforcement training out of the total 14 week course. However, many of the other subjects cov ered are those which are necessary for traffic enforcement officers as well as for policemen assigned to other duties. QUESTION: Will the police ever get school lasting one week for all newly cars designed specifically for police work? elected sheriffs. The facilities of the state' LIEUT; RALEIGH: So far, steps taken police and certain large city police depart- have not been successful. The first requi site- upon basic Somt our i amp! tain i ing Cttiel a sp need to bi aver: meas a ve! polio Step SI ampl area* 'nseft in. tb QX from Chie lice: LI tush* upon sister orgai and pecte expe of in OX to .it traffi . IP ferec and This Janie Bar Coue ferefc Corn that for ; , of p devel mucf force ditioi Traffic Section 291 site-is for the police themselves to agree coming' year as a continuation of this pro npon the type of vehicle needed and the gram. basic equipment which it should include. QUESTION: What is the status of legis Some of the vehicles designed for use by our armed forces, such as the jeep and the amphibious jeep have proved useful,in cer tain police.assignments. At the recent meet ing of the International Association of Chiefs of Police^ we were informed that a specially 'designed police vehicle would need to have widespread approval and use to bring tiie price within the reach of the average police department. This does not mean that it is impossible to secure such a vehicle, but that it-is necessary that the police; agree on what they need as the first step in designing a special police vehide. lation on tests for intoxication? SUPT. STIVER: Tlie revision of the Uniform VeHide. Code wilt probably in-' dude a provision similar to the present Indiana law. The success of such legisla tion is dependent upon its indusion in the traffic code to : prevail sharpshooting by opposition groups.' QUESTION: What is the current atti tude toward mandatory revocation of. a driver's license for one year when that driver has.been convicted of operating while under the Influence of intoxicating liquor? SUPT. STIVER: We have bsed the amphibious jeep to good advantage in flood areas and believe that this will become a " useful police vehicle for emergency work in.the yearsto come.' . CAPT. CRITES: Penalties that are too severe result in reduction of charges or fail ure to convict defendants. This defeats the aims of good traffic law enforcement If judges or-juries fed that revoking the op QUESTION: Are instructors available- erating license for a full year, imposes a from the International Association of too severe penalty on a person convicted Chiefs of Police for re-training local po lice and, if so, what is the cost? LIEUT. RALEIGH: Instructors are fur nished by the Safety Division of the IACP. upon application by local departmentveonsistent, with the staff limitations'of. our organization. ..The. cost is shared by IACP and the local group, with .the latter ex pected to pay traveling expenses and living expenses of the instructor during the period of instruction. of. driving under the influence, the result is. that such charges are reduced to reck less driving or some similar.charge and the defendant pays only an extremely light penalty 'for the violation he has committed. The use of chemical tests for intoxicatioa can .do much .to eliminate this, practice by presenting sound' evidence of intoxication and by eliminating prosecutions for driving under the influence in cases not showing a sufficient degree of intoxication. INSPECTOR KITCHENMAN:. fo the QUESTION: What steps are being taken eastern states where people have grown to improve relations between police and .accustomed to severe penalties for this traffic court judges? charge .over a period of years, we .find .. JUDGE. HODSON: Traffic court- con ferences have been field in 40 states to date and are greatly .improving the situation. This is % cooperative project with the judges and juries willing to convict if suffidentevidence is properly presented. QUESTION: What can be done to curb juvenile traffic offenders? Junior Bar Conference of the American CAPT. LYON: The juvenile traffic of Bar Association and the National Safety fender should hot be turned over to a ju Council. In. several states regional con venile court but should be dealt with in ferences have- followed the state Traffic traffic court the same as any other traffic Court Conference and there are indications offender. The mere fact that such of that these may become a regular method fenders, are granted a license to operate for periodically bringing to the attention a motor vehide indicates an acceptance of of police officials and court officials new the responsibility for such operation. . If devdopments in the field. They have done this assumption is correct^ then they should much to strengthen and improve traffic en be subject to the'same penalties as are all forcement generally at all levds. Many ad traffic law violators. ditional conferences are planned for the JUDGE HODSON: It would seem' de- 292 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 sirable to handle the ordinary juvenile traf the police, they should certainly be reported fic law violator in the regular traffic courts to. (he state driver license authority for rather than, setting up a separate procedure proper action .. in the juvenile court hi many jurisdictions, traffic offenses by juvenile violators are ' treated with indifference or given' extremely light penalties which tend to. detract from the effectiveness of good traffic law enforce ment. QUESTION; What is the proper method for handling applications for driver's li censes from epileptics? CAPT. LYON: This question is included on the Michigan driver's. license applica tion. If the applicant admits having epilepsy QUESTION: What can the police do1 he is refused a license; if he denies bring about the psycho-neurotic cases now being an epileptic and later is found to be so released from the armed 'forces? afflicted, perjury has. been committed and - CAPT. CRITES: We have heard a great deal about the psycho-neurotics. I think it is important that we keep in mind the fact that many of these men are classed as psycho-neurotics merely because they, were usable to adjust themselves to military, life. There is seldom anything wrong with them his operating privilege is revoked. An ap peal to the license board, may be node, if the applicant has not had a seizure for at least three years. However, doctors win not say that epilepsy can be cured. ' ARTHUR H. ROWAN (Statistician, Motor Vehicle Bureau, Ontario): We re mentally. Rather h is fhe result of a tem ceive information from Federal agencies on perament which finds certain situations par persons frtrn the armed- services and from ticularly difficult. Upas' their return to ci health departments. licenses are refused to vilian life they are in tee surroundings in epileptics.^' which they have gotten along well for their QUESTION: What rim police depart entire UfeTup tothe tune they entered the ments do to secure new cars now? aimed forces and most of them within a few SUPT. STIVER: The IACP maintains weeks are normal cifirms again. Perhaps a file of iqhtodate information on tins we' are making too much of a.problem of, subject and will gladly furnish the latest this particular issue. Remember, however, information to any department inquiring^ that'among all of the persons released as psycho-neurotics, there are a few with acute mental conditions. These will require special treatment, and, in some cases, suspension of die operating privilege. A number of police organizations have had former mem bers released-from the armed forces as psycho-neorptics. and upon their return to duty have found them as efficient as they were previously. QUESTION: How can officers assigned to Intersection control be impressed with the importance of adequately enforcing traffic laws; especially in regard to pedestrian en forcement? - INSPECTOR KITCHENMAN: Our corner men were instructed to enforre pe destrian regulations sometime ago. Tins promptly met with a great deal of public criticism and resulted in softening of the CAPT. ATKINSON: Is it not true that . instructions. We fed that much more work the serious psycho-neurotic cases will come must be done in public education before to the attention of police by reports from our city is ready for effective pedestrian. theirfamilies, or neighbors? Certainly some of them will show up through driver license DEPUTY CHIEF Br. R. CALDWELL examinations and through physical exam (Police Dept, Los Angeles, GiL):. We inations for industrial .positions. It`is my have been enforcing pedestrian regulations understanding, teat the armed forces will for several years aid this has'met'with sot release information concerning tbis mat public approval. The actual enforcement by ter so far as the individual is concerned. officers was preceded by an intenrive. edu-' Consequently, we have no laxge . groop with cational program designed to build public which we can deal collectively. Therefore, acceptance, and support for. this necessary it Becomes necessary to handle die individual form ,of traffic control. . ! believe that any case as it appears through various sources. city 'can do the same thing If they, plain When cases requiring restriction of oper . their entire program,carefully. I would like ating privileges come to the attention of to emphasize the necessity of preceding the 3rhia1 edtkati resider progra QU1 nutted and assigns CA1 Presid Panel Pond a H Rev Ss ' si Alb D -B Bek E D MR in. la educai ' are ~h helped record there fortl Wb regulz csted .victim He is both or ses ; from period . Traffic Section 293 actual Jaw enforcement program try intensive educational effort. Without the support of residents of the community, no enforcement program can reach maximum effectiveness. QUESTION: Should officers be per mitted to drive department-owned cars to and from their homes to their point of assignment? CAPT.- ATKINSON: We have found it necessary to permit our Officers to use the state-owned vehicles for transportation to and from their homes.' Frequently the state officer is required to answer emer gency calls at night and consequently, .hit. patrol vehicle is required. In addition, the difficulty of securing transportation in many rural areas would , place an undue burden upon officers required to travel to and from offices and assignments. THURSDAY AFTERNOON SESSION October 5, 1944 - Jontt -Scirion Public Safety Education, Motor Vehicle Administrators Driver Licensing and Accident Records Group* Pretiding: Sidney King, Dir., Safety Div., Dept, of States Salem, Ore. Educational Use of Accident Becords A Panel Discussion Panel Leader: Sidney King. Panel Members: Da. John R. Bowman, Chief, Research & Statistics, Bureau of HigbwaySafety, Harrisburg, Pa. . Reybubh Hoffmann, Secretary-Manager, , Safety Council of Greater St. Louis, ' St Louis, Mo. Axbekt E. LaRosee, Manager, Highway Div,, Massachusetts Safety Council, Boston, Mass. Beet L- Woodcock,- Director, Safety Education Div; Dept of Public Safety, Des Moines, la. MR. WOODCOCK: We are fortunate in. Iowa in that the functions ofksafety education and accident record'. collection are in the same department This - has helped ns in the production of acddent records useful to the educator. We believe there is more material in acddent records for'the educator than for any other user. What can the educator use from the regular accident summaries? He is inter ested in . the occupation of drivers .and of ^victims. He . is interested in age groups. He is interested in the time of accident both the hour of the day and the month or season of the year. By using summaries from the previous year, he can plan for the period just- ahead through the use of acd dent information from the corresponding period of the preceding year. . We have readied the condusion that the best news release is one- that pulls material from the conventional summaries and) puts it in a brief and concise state ment of the month's experience. We use one sheet--both sides--with pertinent in formation on.type and'number-of acddents, time, location, and a few contribut ing drcumstances. In our opinion, it is important that such a release be not too detailed if it is to be used by newspapers, radio stations, and others. MR. LA ROSEE: It is possible and sometimes desirable to camouflage statistics-- by . graphs and graphical methods. It is important in any rase to keep.acddent data as up to date as possible, for we want to get to the individual or groups responsi ble as soon as possible. We have had good success with a quar terly inter-community report This is allied a contest but actually it'is merely a tabu lation of acddent experience in the various communities in' Massachusetts.' This has aroused considerable interest and we fed that it is very worth-while. MR. WOODCOCK: We toy to keep our 294 33rd National Safety Congress, 1944 records as-up to date as possible^ and we difficult to get school safety instruction have had good use by both dally and weekly started, but such a program will bear fruit papers on our accident releases. Indicative of this is the record of -83-million DR. BOWMAN: Newspaper releases deaihless child days set in St can contain charts, maps,,material in tabu lar form, mid material in paragraph form. We have had good-response from papers in Pennsylvania. It is important to recognize that when we talk about traffic educators, we do not necessarily mean school administrators or teachers. The first educator in Pennsyl vania was the State Police Department They are still in the field today, - with There is no point in gathering statistics if they are not used, but it is entirely pos sible , to -use accident statistics among affected groups to prevent a repetition of accidents that have occurred. To do this, the data must be fresh and must be inter preted in terms of losses which the average person can understand--wage losses, family dislocations, loss to society, etc. . . greatly expanded educational activities. Edu cational work in Pennsylvania is today car ried on by four departments which have coordinated their efforts--the Department of Public Instruction, the Highway Depart ment, the State Police and the Department of Revenue (Bureau'of Highway Safety). Special studies-' of the pedestrian accident problem and the bicycle accident problem have met with wide acceptance, and thou sands of copies have been distributed. / The outstanding feature of all this, Ihow ever, Is that school teachers v|ant little hV` the way of safety information. Despitfe^M fact that the law requires them to teach Urges Selectivity We cannot use a shotgun method but must be selective. For instance, we can consider age groups and. canses, placing the blame for pre-school, age accidents on parents and for school age accidents on school authorities and the police. We can spot mi maps the residence of drivers and pedestrians*and and we can determine the ..racial characteristics of these people, thus .directing our educational program into the 'most effective channels. We can locate dangerous streets and intersections. We can identity and stress seasonal hazards. safety, they do as little as they can. They Those who collect statistics without tiring will use lesson plans, but they will not them are in reality misers. Accident data take ffie time nor trouble to create a lesson can be used by the engineer, by die police, plan themselves from baric safety informa by the educator and they can be used many tion. There must be a concerted effort to times over. Only by such use can then- train educators to teach safety before we collection and processing be justified. We -are going to accomplish much along tins must aim education at the group affected, line; however, and the education must haw MR HOFFMANN: It is admittedly appeal and it must be timely. ' Genera First l ' Second Orle Third " Secrete waul Trogra Mo. Membt Raih News homed Phils Membt Kt EL G J. ' ` M. E. Rc W A. H. W Staff C Fast