Driving and Operating.
—Mention has already been made of reckless driving. Speeding might be looked upon at times as reckless, at other times not, although it at all times is more or less dangerous, for there is always a chance that some part of the mechanism might suddenly go wrong, that another machine may come in from a side road, or that there may be an unseen bad place in the road. Reckless and fast driving together are almost sure, sooner or later, to lead to accident and perhaps loss of life. The Maryland State Road Commission has its patrolmen collect and report accident data. During the three months of May, June and July of 1921, their records show that 90 per cent of the accidents are due to speeding.
It has been suggested that automobiles ought to be installed with governors which will limit the vehicle-speed to twenty-five or thirty miles per hour. This is a very doubtful expedient for very many accidents occur when vehicles are traveling at a very much less speed. Even trucks with governors that limit them to 12 or 15 miles per hour frequently have accidental collisions. Laws limiting speeds to 8, 12, or 15 miles through villages while possibly wholesome will not wholly prevent accidents. In congested cities speeds as high as 25 miles per hour are at times not only allowable but highly desirable to relieve the congestion. The driver in such instances must have his wits about him and drive with utmost care.
The sudden rounding of a sharp corner has caused many a car to turn turtle; likewise suddenly turning a car from a rutted track will sometimes cause the driver to lose control and the car to go into the ditch. If there is snow, ice, loose earth or mud on the roadway or pavement, skidding, which may result in a broken wheel or more disastrously, is quite likely to take place. The remedy, of course, is to slow up before turning.
Passing or attempting to pass a car on the wrong side, and driving on the wrong side of the street are sources of danger. So, also, is every infraction of road customs and rules such as driving rapidly over crossings and those portions of the street where the public have a right to walk, failure to slow down at railway crossings, not watching the car ahead for hand signals, or not giving hand signals when turning or stopping the car. How many drivers run on past a street car when it is stopped for taking on or discharging passengers. How many drivers watch the sidewalks, the store fronts, or turn around to talk to the passengers on the rear seat instead of watching the street with its many passing vehicles and pedestrians.