1955 Safety Edition; Please Read Closely
The Battalion
Number 68: Volume 55 COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1955 Price 5 Cents
One Aggie Could Die This Christmas
Takes More
Than Ten Men
For Safety
By JIM NEIGHBORS
Ten men can’t make the col
lege safe; it is the job of ev
ery student and college staff
member. These were the
words of Herman B. Segrest,
chairman of the College Accident
Prevention Committee.
Segrest was speaking of the ten
members of the Committee. It is
composed of a military department
representative, one faculty mem
ber from each school, members of
the physical plants office and
Building and College Utilities De
partments, Editor of The Battal
ion, Corps Staff representative,
and a civilian student repi'esenta-
tive.
Cooperation is needed from all
departments on the campus to help
in accident prevention. Safety
measures must be taken to cut
down the number of accidents. It
is the job of the Committee to find
out what measures must be taken
and to see that the are carried out.
Hazards Eliminated
Some typical hazards that can be
eliminated include low - hanging
limbs, loose railings, faulty steps,
loose plaster, loose bricks, uncov
ered manholes, broken coke bottles,
faulty insulation, playing too near
dormitories or on concrete side
walks, bicycle riding on Wrong side
of street or on one-way streets the
wrong way or without lights at
night, and others.
Segrest estimates that more stu
dents are injured playing practice
intramural football than by any
other single means. Students
should realize that most accidents
ai’e caused by carelessness and
they can usually be avoided.
The Committee make recommen
dations and sends them to the pres
ident of the college for approval.
Then they act on the recommenda
tions and do whatever is necessary
to make the campus a safer place
in which to work and to live.
Dreams End for Somebody
Influenza Leads
Influenza was the leading disease
in the College Station-Bryan area
last week with 36 cases reported by
the Bryan-Brazos County Health
Unit. Strept throat was second with
18 cases reported and mumps was
third with 13 cases.
Students Facing
Holiday Traffic
More than 3,000 cars will leave the campus for the
Christmas holidays, and if every one of those 3,000 drivers
aren’t careful at least one may not return.
Of course, it is not always you that causes an accident.
But, many times it actually is. If someone isn’t killed during
the holidays, there’s sure to be other cars involved in serious
wrecks which will result in personal injuries and property
damage.
A&M has been lucky this year in the number of students
killed or injured in automobile accidents. Only two students
have been killed this year. Last year at this time three had
been killed.
One of these, Don Schilling,
This Semester
Accidents Kill Three
By JIM BOWER
Three dead and seven injured
make up A&M’s tragedy roll for
this semester.
A gun accident and five car
wrecks are the factors responsible
for the tragedies.
The dead are:
Arch C. Baker, 55, killed Nov. 2
when his 20 gauge shotgun acci
dentally discharged.
Donald Ray Schilling, 19, killed
Nov. 13 when his car crashed head-
on with another in Pasadena.
James E. Sarran, 19, died Nov.
24 as a result of injuries sustained
thi’ee days earlier when he was hit
by a car while serving coffee to
bonfire guards.
Shotgun Accident
Baker, A&M system architect,
was attempting to pick up a tele
phone when his shotgun, which he
had been cleaning, apparently
dropped to the floor and fired.
He Took A Chance,
The charge went into his right
side. He died on the way to the
hospital.
Schilling, A&M’s first traffic
fatality of the year, was going
west on the La Porte highway in
side the Pasadena city limits when
his car crashed head-on into a car
driven by a Pasadena youth. The
Pasadena boy and two people with
him escaped serious injury.
Others Injured
Two other sophomores, riding in
the car with Schilling, suffered
cuts and bruises. Also hurt in the
crash was his fiance who was last
year’s freshman sweetheart at
A&M. She too had minor cuts and
b raises.
Witnesses expressed the belief
that there was a two-car race go
ing east on the highway when the
accident occurred.
Sarran was serving coffee to the
bonfire guards near the West Gate
entrance to the campus when he
was struck by a car going north on
>ld highway six.
Thei'e were several boys around
the rear of the coffee truck. When
he saw the car approaching, he
•houted a warning and pushed two
•ther boys to safety.
He was caught between the on
coming car and the coffee truck.
The truck had to be lifted to free
him.
Sarran Dies
Sarran suffered broken legs,
arms, pelvis and a concussion. He
died at 11:15 p.m. on Thanksgiv
ing Day, having remained uncon
scious from the time of his injury
three days earlier.
Two of the sophomores hurt dur
ing the Oct. 8 weekend were on
their way to Stephen’s College in
Missouri to visit one of the boys’
fiance when their car crashed into
a bridge railing near Pryor, Okla.
They suffered cuts and bruises
and were kept in the hospital three
days before being released.
Cause of the wreck was attrib
uted to the fact that the driver of
the car was overcome by carbon
monoxide fumes which entered the
car through a faulty exhaust sys
tem.
The other sophomore hurt in
; this same weekend was hospitalized
[ five days following a car wreck
near Texarkana.
Two more Aggies received cuts
and bruises in a car wreck near
Denton, Oct. 14. They were about
a mile out of Denton when their
car went out 6f control and left
the road. Throwing the boys free,
the car turned over five times. It
was listed gs ■, a total wreck and
sold for junk.
All of these accidents took place
duiang a 30-day period.
was killed Nov. 13 near Hous
ton following the Rice foot
ball game. The other was
James Sarran, killed during
the bonfire week while serving
coffee to fellow students guarding
entrances to the campus. He push
ed two students to safety before
being hit by the car.
Every 23 seconds, someone,
somewhere in the United States is
injured in a traffic accident. And,
every 14 minutes, someone dies due
to injuries received in traffic acci
dents.
Last yeai - , 36,000 persons were
killed on highways alone. Another
1,250,000 were injured with 1,393,-
000 drivers involved. Property
damage ran as high as $4,400,000,-
000.
Remember, accidents can happen
anytime anywhere. Time lost in
industry last year, due to work
injuries, was 230,000,000 man-days.
Besides this, thei’e arb drownings,
fires and explosions to take lives.
Approximately 29 per cent of
all accidents happening last year
involved drivers below the age of
25. Six per cent of all vehicles
involved in accidents last year were
in unsafe conditions. These prin
cipal unsafe conditions involved
brakes, tires, lights and steering
mechanism.
One Aggie .may die during the
holidays—don’t let this Aggie be
you. Accidents don’t just happen,
they are caused by some careless
act on your or another’s part.
Students Top
Accident,
Death Record
People in the college age
group are involved in more
fatal accidents every year than
persons in any other age or
occupational classification.
Out of 11,900 accidental
death occuring in the 15-24
age group in 1954, 10,900
were caused by motor vehicle
accidents. Even at this rate
accidents have dropped 6 per
cent under 1953, but don’t get
too careless — the automobile
accident rate is still 14 per
cent over what it was in 1949.
Other causes of death in or
der of their frequency were
firearms, railroad accidents,
burns, falls, poison gasses and
solid or liquid poisons.
Safety Edition
This special safety edition of
The Battalion is for the benefit
of those students and faculty
who take safety too lightly. It
is also for those: that are usual
ly careful, for they, too, can
have an accident. Please read
these stories — and remember
them.
’55 National Safety Council
Award Presented To City
The City of College Station has
been awarded the National Safety
Council’s “Outstanding City”
award in its population class for
1955, according to Sgt. A. E. Jones
of the State Highway Department.
“The award is presented on the
basis of scoring on a check list of
over 200 items in the city’s safety
program,” said. Sgt. Jones. “These
include traffic' regulation, traffic
warning signs and facilities, park
ing accomodations, number of tick
ets given, staff members, judge’s
activities, and many others.”
Police Chief Lee Norwood gives
much of the credit to the drivers
of the College Station vicinity.
“We handle an amazing amount
of traffic at three peak times each
day,” Norwood said. “It speaks
well for the drivers that we don’t
have more accidents than we do.”
There have been 57 accidents
reported in the city limits of Col
lege Station during the past year.
A reported accident must involve
at least $25 worth of damage.
“At least 97 percent of these ac
cidents happened 1 on farm road
60, on the stretch from the rail
road, through the North Gate area,
to Highway 6, and on Highway 6
south to the city limits,” said
Chief Norwood. “I can think of
only one or two accidents that have
happened in the residential area.
The city employs three police
men in addition to Chief Norwood.
They work eight-hour shifts with
two on duty at rush times.
A study of the College Station
Court Docket shows that the offi
cers issue an average of five mov
ing violation and 40 stationary vio
lation tickets each day. Most of
the moving violations are speed
ing and reckless driving, while
most of the parking violations ai’e
overparking in the six hour zones
at the North Gate. City Judge
Phillip B. Goode, professor in the
Business Administration Depart
ment, presides over court in the
city hall once a week.
Your Troubles
Only Begin
With Accident
You’ve wrecked your car, sever
al people were hurt—not seriously
perhaps, just bruised and cut. It
looks like a bad accident to you be
cause your friends were hurt and
your automobile looks like it’s to
tally demolished. Actually your
trouble is just beginning.
According to the Texas Depart
ment of Public Safety, when you
drive, a motor vehicle on a public
street or highway you assume mor
ale and legal responsibilities. Sev
eral of these obligations begin af
ter the accident.
Protect the accident scene from
further damage by having assist
ants flag approaching vehicles
from all directions. Have someone
turn headlight beams on the
wrecked vehicles if the highway
is obstructed at night. Keep oth
er vehicles parked at least 100 feet
from the accident.
Give first aid to the injured.
Avoid rushing if possible. If in
juries appear to be serious, wait
for a doctor before moving the
person.
Call an officer to the scene of
the accident. In town call city
police and out of city limits call
the highway patrol.
Get the name and operators lis-
cense number of every driver in
volved. Get names and addresses
of all persons involved in the ac
cident. Get information necessary
to identify the location of the col
lision, such as highway numbers
and direction and distance from in
tersections and towns. Write down
the exact time and date of acci
dent, and describe how the accident
happened.
Report the accident to the De
partment of Public Safety on an
accident form. You will be sub
ject to ari’est within two years
from the date of the accident if
you fail to report an accident that
caused a total damage of $25 or
more. You are protected by law
against anyone using the informa
tion you place on an accident form
against you in court.
Since it is a state law that ev
eryone carry liability insurance on
his automobile, all responsible
drivers will have it. Get the name
of the insurance company and pol
icy number of the other driver and
give him yours. Report the acci
dent to your insurance company,
they have to investigate.
If you’re lucky,. you will have
fulfilled all of your obligations and
all obligations to you should have
been settled.
Doesn ’t Look Serious?
But An Aggie Was Killed