University Daily Kansan Tuesday, Nov. 25, 1952
Return A Student Not A Statistic
Return A Stu Ice, Crowd Imperil Holiday Driving
Tonight and tomorrow the roads leading from Lawrence will be filled with students' cars heading home for the holidays. Every year at this time it is usually the purpose of the paper to warn drivers of the hazards that will be ahead of them.
Going back through the files of old Karans we see that every pre-holiday contains some type of traffic safety warning. We hope, that as a rule, these editorials are read. Reading the front page of the post-holiday paper gives the impression that there are always a few who won't bother to read the warnings, or refuse to believe that the editorial is meant for them.
It is rare that a holiday finishes that one or two students are not maimed or killed. During the past two years, holiday accidents have claimed 10 University people, either
killing them outright, or causing severng injury.
It is doubtful that this holiday will be any different. We hope so, but the chances are that the front page of Monday's Kansan will tell the story of the death of a KU student or faculty member.
The weather will not be of much help today and tomorrow. Snow and more rain are forecast for most parts of Kansas. The Kansas highway patrol warns that highways may become slick and hazardous, and that shoulders will be soft.
speeding in this type of weather is just plain suicide. You might picture yourself as the perfect driver, but you might be bound for an accident.
Play safe and slow down. Let's all live to enjoy our Thanksgiving dinner and get back to school again.
-Don Moser.
New Traffic Toll Set In Douglas County
By RICH CLARKSON
The traffic accident problem is nothing new to Douglas c
nent problem is nothing new to Douglas county. With more than a month left in 1952, this county has a new traffic toll record of 14 killed in auto accidents. And according to records of the National Safety council, October is one of the worst on the nation's highways.
Douglas county passed the old mark of 11 killed in traffic accidents in one year (1951) on Oct. 18 when a Lecompton housewife died in Lawrence Memorial hospital of injuries received in a car-tractor collision one week earlier.
Since that time, a serviceman and his date died in a fiery head-on collision with a gasoline transport truck to boost the grim record. Eyewitness accounts of that wreck which occurred in the early hours of Nov. 1 reported the car was on the wrong side of the road while attempting to pass when it struck the truck headed in the opposite direction.
Included among those killed in this county are three University students. One was killed when he failed to make a curve at Teepee junction north of Lawrence on U.S. Highway 24-40-59. The bodies of the two other fatalities were found after a week-long search, pinned in their car which was submerged in an inlet of Lone Star lake south-west of Lawrence.
In addition to these serious accidents, records of the Lawrence police department, county sheriff's office, and the highway patrol, indicate that about 140 persons have
received injuries in accidents within the county limits this year.
A further tabulation reveals that almost 700 accidents involving nearly 1,500 cars, many driven by University students, have occurred to date in 1852.
But the problem is nothing new to the area. During 1951, 183 persons were treated in local hospitals for injuries suffered in traffic accidents. Within the county, 846 wrecks were investigated by local law enforcement agencies in that period.
It was during 1951 that one of the area's worst accidents occurred when a car attempting to pass on a hill on U.S. Highway 24-40 northeast of Lawrence, hit another. Three Kansas State students riding in the front seat of one of the cars involved were killed. The scene of the accident was just a short way across the county line.
The only bright spot in the picture is the daily tabulation of Kansas traffic fatalities made by the highway patrol. The 1952 total, although held even with that 1831 toll, has not climbed above that figure to date.
But the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday periods are still to come.
By DON MOSER
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Auto Accident Peak During Winter Months
Accident records compiled by the National Safety council show that this four month period is the peak of the annual highway slaughter. And the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years holidays contribute heavily to the discouraging, ever-worsening accident picture.
The winter months of November through February are the worst on America's streets and highways.
The rate of accidents take a sharp jump with the beginning of autumn. Contrary to popular belief, the summer months when many motorists are on the highways taking vacations aren't the danger time of the year.
With shorter days and then bad weather, the wreck rate takes a quick jump before rising slightly through the winter months to its February peak. The effect of darkness on drivers involved in accidents is shown in the most common times of accidents.
The period in the late afternoon from 4 to 7 p.m. is the peak time of the day for traffic accidents. The
Motorists' inability to notice the earlier hours of sunset and to drive accordingly is considered one of the main reasons for this late afternoon-winter accident period. In many accidents which occur at dusk, the lights of one or all cars involved were found to be off when the wreck occurred.
Most of the new crop of cars are on the market already and each one boasts that it is almost safe enough for a baby to drive.
significance of that is even more striking when one stops to consider that in the winter months, darkness is setting in by 5 o'clock.
The next worst time on the highways is the late evening and early morning hours. The period from midnight to sunrise finds many motorists on the road, seeking to
The modern automobile is equipped from bumper to bumper with devices to prevent accidents. As the car has progressed year by year during the past 50 years, each new model has advertised its improved safety features.
In the early days the steering wheel replaced the tiller handle. Shock absorbers prevented dislocation of fine adjustments and the hand crank gave way to the self-starter.
Non-skid and balloon tires were added, then hydraulic and four-wheel brakes and shatterproof glass. Sealed-beam headlights and fog lights cut down the night accidents, directional signals improved road safety, and countless other major and minor inventions all made the driver's life a little easier and safer.
Highway commissions have gotten rid of the bumps on most roads and the only real hazard left is the one behind the wheel.
There is still no invention that will keep his foot from jamming down on the gas pedals to save five minutes in driving time, nor is there one to keep him awake at the wheel and to teach him courtesy in passing.
Undoubtedly the one invention needed most is a mechanical brain for the driver that will offset his idea that he is the hottest man on the highway. The attitude that nothing can possibly happen to him or he is too good a driver to get caught in an accident, are still the biggest cause of death on the highway.
Until they invent the safe driver, which doesn't seem very likely, car drivers are still going to have to depend on their reactions and skill to keep them alive. New automobile inventions might make driving easier, but it is the man behind the wheel that makes it safer.
U. S. Doles $82 Billion To Allies Since 1941
Washington — (UFP)— The United States has passed out $82 billion in foreign aid since the start of World War II, the Commerce department reported today.
Of this total, foreign countries have paid back $11 billion in one form or another. The net total in foreign aid, given to help allies during the war and to bolster the free world afterwards, amounts to $71 billion for the past 11 years.
Mail subscription rates: $3 a semester or $4.50 year (add $1 a semester if in Lawrence). Published in Lawrence, Kan., every afternoon during the University year except Saturdays and Sundays. University holidays and examination periods. Entered second class master Sept. 1910 at Lawrence Kan., Post Office uncle of act of March 3, 1879.
Weather adds to the winter toll. Twenty-three per cent of all nonfatal accidents occurred during rain, snow, or fog conditions and 18 per cent of all fatal accidents happened under such circumstances.
make up for lost time while traffic is light. That is the period when intoxicating liquor takes its heaviest toll. It has been reported that 17 of every 100 drivers involved in fatal accidents had been drinking.
Add all of these factors up—weather, holiday traffic, and the winter accident rate—and it becomes obvious that the Thanksgiving vacation period is indeed a poor time to be on the highways.
-Rich Clarkson
DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU—The driver of this car was severely injured when this vehicle collided with a truck near Lawrence about a year ago. The accident occurred during a light drizzle and with fog holding down visibility. When one of the vehicles attempted to pass without being able to see oncoming traffic, both drivers hit their brake pedals in an effort to stop. Both the truck and car skidded on the slick pavement and the above collision resulted. Like yesterday, today's weather is forecast to be foggy with a drizzle similar to conditions in which this accident occurred. Don't let it happen to you.
News Briefs
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Newport, R.I. —(U.P.)—The Cinderella story of a pumpkin turning into a stage coach received a new twist at Frank Cutter's home. Cutter had an 80-pound pumpkin which required the help of two persons in placing it on his front porch. A few days later the pumpkin was missing and in its place was a tiny green pepper.
Detroit — (U.P.)— When Sam Wilson complained to the Accountant's Guild that it never got his address right, he made the mistake of saying, "If I were the secretary, I'd keep the mailing list up to date." The Guild elected Wilson its secretary.
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Omaha, Neb. —(U.P.) The thief who stole a camera from Mrs. Joy Harding's home should get a pleasant surprise if he tries to take a picture with it. Mrs. Harding said the camera had been used as a piggy bank and was stuffed with about $35.
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Norfolk, Va. —(U.P.) Patrolman Morris Black was guarding thousands of dollars worth of clothing at a fashion show in the city auditorium. You know what happened—somebody swiped Black's raincoat.
Remember the Meaning of Thanksgiving
and play it safe on that trip home. WEAVER'S wants to see you back.