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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 1952)
i Page '4 ^ THE BATTALION Thursday, December 18, 1952 Poor Vision Named Cause Of Many Highway Accidents How much clear vision should you have to pass another automo bile when it is going 50 miles an hour and you are going 60? This is one of the problems fac ing Texas highway planners in their efforts to modernize Texas highways and make them safer. They must make it possible for you to see a half-mile ahead, or you are taking a chance at passing another vehicle traveling at a mile a minute. With highways built for only two-lane or three-lane traffic the highway department has to depend upon yellow paint to furnish the safety factor. Every year thous ands of dollars are spent painting the center stripe and warning lines down the highways. Ignore Warnings “We are all too prone to ignore these warning stripes when we think we have even a half-chance,” says Jack Kultgen, president of the Texas Good Roads Association. “Sometimes when you are driv ing along at 60 miles an hour, have your companion clock you. You’ll be surprised at how many times you are facing death in the mat ter of just a few seconds,” he said. Such carelessness last caused a big percentage of the 206,000 mot or vehicle accidents that killed 2,546 persons in Texas. Pedestrian Death Checked Pedestrian experience in 1951 is termed “an island of encourage ment in last year’s ocean of acci dents.” A comparison of 1951 with 1950 shows that pedestrian deaths were “held in check” while injur ies were reduced by nearly 9,000. Nearly two million casualties, the wox-st automobile accident toll in the nation’s history, were re corded in 1951, according to fig ures released by insurance com panies. Last year’s ti’affic deaths total ed 37,100, an increase of 1600 over the 1950 mark. The injury count soared to 1,962,600, more than 160,000 over 1950. Many Killed Last Year More than 13,000 persons were killed and 570,000 injured last year by drivers who were exceeding the speed limit, according to the re port. Excessive speed was “far and away the most dangerous mistake in driving” in 1951. More than 11,000 drivers under 25 years old were involved in fatal accidents and 416,000 more in per sonal injury accidents, the figures reveal. Other facts shown by the sta tistics are: Satux-day was the most danger ous day of the week to dxnve. More persons lost their lives during the hour from 6 to 7 p. m. than in any other hour. In- jux-ies hit their peak two hours earlier, fi’om 4 to 5 p. m. Ninety per cent of dx-ivei’s in volved in 1951 accidents wex’el males. Ninety-seven per cent of drxv- Here Are Reactions After Car Accident By FRANK N. MANITZAS Battalion Co-Editor Scene: A I’ecent-make passenger car has just runoff the side of the X’oad. It hit a culvex-t and toppled over on its side. It rolls. Two pex’sons, a man and his wife, ax'e dead. The man’s body was thrown out through the open door. The woman was halfway thi-ough the front wixxdshield. These are the X’eactions. First person to the scene: “He was speeding.” Highway pati’olman: “Damned fools. Fall asleep at the wheel.” Front tire: “I screeched. I tried to hold. I failed.” The man’s coat: “He is still bleeding on me.” The doctor: “Nothing can be done. Try and keep the body to gether while xxxoving it.” Ambulance driver: “I could vomit.” i) llis attendant? “'“Let's get them in the , ambulance and get outa hex’e.” The windshield: “She screamed a little when she passed through me. I said nothing when I passed through here.” A passer-by: “Dx-unks, I guess.” Brakes: “He kept pushing on me. There was little I could do. The gx'avel was loose. We went off the x-oad.” The gravel: “I slipped under the cax'’s tires tixxxe and time as he tried to get back on the road.” The steering wheel: “His hands were cold as he clutched me fran tically in the last few moments.” The car’s clock: “It happened so fast, I lost track of time.” The cai’’s radio: “He should have kept me on a little longer. I would have helped keep him awake.” The man’s stomach: “He gave me a cup of coffee, but that was about three hours ago.” The man’s eyes: “I’m open now.” The woman’s bx’ain: “She said I guess I’ll have a beer. You’re driving. But I went to sleep first.” Highway patrol chief: “Won’t they ever learn?” Texas Deaths (Continued from Page 1) fixed objects killed 206 persons and injured 2,218. Accidents of this type totaled 5,178. Automobile crashes with other objects caused the death of 24 persons. Out of 5,662 accidents of this type, 710 persons were injured. Overturned Car Slaughter Automobiles ovei’tunxed in x’oad- ways to kill 77 persons and injure 681. These accidents totaled 1090. Automobiles xainning off roadways slaughtered 533 persons in 7,588 accidents. In this number 4,361 persons were injured. Forty-nine pex’sons were killed in 303 automobile non-collision ac cidents. From this number 188 persons received injuries. Accidents occuring in urban areas with population of 5,000 to 10,000 have totaled seven killed and 56 injured. Throughout the United States, 2,546 persons have been killed and 70,025 have been injured in motor yehicle accidents this year. Culvei't: “His car’s bumper chipped me. But I got even. I turned his car a double flip.” The curve: “He didn’t even see my glowing sign 20 yax-ds ahead. Seiwes him xight. He’ll never do it again.” The mid-stx’ipe: “I wanxed him many times. I kept wobbling, telling him to stop and get some fresh air. Now maybe he’ll lis ten.” The drivex-’s son: “If I had on ly gone with them. It wouldn’t have happened. It’s my fault.” The mother-in-law: “I knew he was no good.” The xxxan’s pastor: “I love to think of my little children whom God has called to himself as away at school—at the best school in the univex'se, under the best teach ers, leaxnxing the best things, in the best possible manner. O death! We thank thee for the light that thou wilt shed upon our ignox’ance.*’ His God: “As for pxan his days ax’e as gi’ass; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. The wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thex’eof shall know it no moi’e, “Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destxnxc- tion, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few thei’e be that find it.” New Death Record Expected in 1952 Deaths caused by motor vehicles were the highest duxang 1951 than any year and 1952- is expected to set a new record. For a 24-year period from 1927 to 1951, deaths inci'eased fi'om 25,800 to 37,300 during last yeax\ At the start of World War II, the death total dropped from 39,969 the previous year to 28,309 in 1942. The following year only 23,823 wex'e killed by autos. Other years the number of deaths were 1944—24,282 and 1945—28,076. At the end of the war, the death to tal jumped to 33,411 and has been rising yearly. U.S. Has 76 Percent Of World’s Autos The United States has 76 per cent of the wox-ld’s passenger cars, according to the Automobile Manu- factux-ers Association. In 1940, the world total was 37,184,199 and the United States held 73.9 pex’centage of automo biles for the last decade with Americans driving 77.9 per cent of the wox-ld’s 42,842,953 total. The U. S. holds 42,692,591 of the 56,001,403 automobiles in the woi'ld last yeai’. This year’s pex-- centage is expected to be lax-ger. Britain Leads in Export Of Motor Vehicles in ’51 Great Britain is the leading ex porter of motor vehicles with a to tal of 1,300,414. The United States is second lax’gest exporter with 433,665 motor vehicles leaving the states during 1951, ex-s involved in 1951 accidents had at least one year of experience be hind the wheel, Thix-ty-eight per cent of last year’s fatal accidents occxxrred on the opexx highway. There wex-e 92 per cent more fat al accidents on icy roads last year than in 1950. Easy to Pass Driver’s Test Hex-e ax-e thx-ee bits of ad vice for those planning to make application for their op erator’s license: • Know the road rules. • Practice the rules when driving. Don’t get nexwous. Ap plicants are given another chance unless his physical con dition prevents it. State Roads Take Pounding From 81 Million Miles Daily Texas highways take a pounding from 81 million miles a day of automobile and truck traffic, according to recent studies of the State Highway Department. Of that amount, 47 million miles a day are driven over roads financed entirely with state funds. Federal and county funds are used in financing a portion of the remaining roads. Recent reports show that 56 per cent of the state main tained system now is more than ten years old. It has passed the half-way mark of the 20-year life expectancy for such highways. This accounts for the large amount of current revenue that must be used on maintenance instead of new construction on the state’s system. Nationwide Christmas Plan For Saving Lives to Start The National Safety Coixncil to day announced a nationwide Christ mas savings plan to stop accidents. “If evex-y American will join this savings plan before the Christmas holidays, a x-eal yuletide boxxus— human life — will be paid,” said Ned H. Deax-bom, Council presi dent. The campaign has been joined by more than 160 national ox-gan- izations, and by city and state pub lic officials and civic leaders. They will enlist voluntax-y cooperation froxn every American to hold ac cidents to a minimum this Christ mas. - Most Dangerous Period The year-end holiday season is the most dangerous period of the yeai-, Deax-box-n said, and accidents annually mar the celebration in thousands of homes. Traffic ac cident deaths on both Christmas eve and Chx-istmas day ax-e about twice as high as the annual daily average. This year, with the holiday con sisting of four days for many per sons, the toll could be even higher than the 351 ti’affic deaths x-eport- ed during the foui’-day Chx-istxxxas weekend last yeai-, Deaxborn warn ed. “Tx-avel is especially heavy over long holidays, which encourage tra ditional faxxxily get-togethers even when the members must drive con- siderable distance,” he said. “The festive spix-it of the season, plus Highway 13 Times As Deadly Today In 1951, the gasoline consump tion for the nation increased 58 percent over the 1941 calculations. The year 1920 saw slightly over three million gallons of gasoline burned, and last year over 38 mil lion gallons were consumed. This means about 13 times as xnany cars travel the roads today as they did in 1920, and the chan ces of an accident today are 13 times greater than they were 22 years ago. the normal winter hazards of bad weather, slippery roads and longer periods of darkness create added danger.” Here Are Precautions „ For a safe and MeiTy Christmas, the National Safety Council sug gests these px-ecautions: ® Dilving or walking, put the Christmas spixlt of “good will to- ward men” into practical use by being extra courteous to others. And take your time. • If sti’eets are icy or slippery, keep your speed down and your caution up. • If you imbibe Chxdstmas spir it in liquid fonn, stay away from the steering wheel of a car. • Avoid home hazards, too. Don’t use candles, be sure tree lights and wiring ai’e in good con dition and keep gift wrappings away from the fireplace or other soux-ce of heat. The hour from 6 to 7 p.m. is the most dangerous of the day or night in traffic. When it's a tie - you die! Hundreds of motorists lose their lives every year in need less accidents like this. Thousands more are injured, many per manently. Not all these accidents are caused by racing a train to a crossing. Frequently grade crossing tragedies are the result of being “half-way” careful. Take a tip from the bus drivers, They always come to a full stop, look both ways and listen. Remember, when it’s a tie—you die. Be careful —fhe life you save may be your own. Slow up before intersections—even when you have the right of way. It may save the life of a pedestrian who didn’t see or hear you. Next time the pedestrian might be you! All signs mean “Caution.” Highway signs and symbols are there for your protection. Learn what they mean, do what they say ... it may help prevent an accident today. Driver fatigue is a factor in many non-collision rural accidents. Before you doze yourself into the ditch, pull off "the road and take a nap or stop for coffee. An official public service mes sage prepared by The Adver- tising Council in cooperation with the National Safety Council. Be Careful-the life you save may be your own! THIS MESSAGE SPONSORED IN THE INTEREST OF YOUR SAFETY BY In The Interest of A Better Texas A&Mj THE EXCHANGE STORE “Serving Texas Aggies”