The Phoenix, May 27, 1904
“A proselyte is the most obnoxious type of an enthusiast and new purchasers of automobiles seem to suffer in a similar direction. A few arrests for fast driving by automobiles would have a salutary effect and might prevent some serious accidents. Several automobiles constantly run their machines, both in and outside of the village, at excessive speed.
They frequently come tearing down Putney road at a 20 mile an hour clip and pay little attention to the rights of people with horses. Several men who have fast horses which are not afraid of the cars have had the animals so badly frightened by the sudden approach of automobiles that they are now very difficult to control whenever an automobile appears.”
….
In 1904, I might have responded thusly: “It would seem wise to limit automobile speeds to 5 or 10 mph, and limit them to certain times of day. Or, perhaps, forbid these new, loud vehicles from the village boundary entirely.”
And I might have added
And I might have added
“Though some might argue that I am employing the slippery slope fallacy, if we don’t set strict limits on these cars, we will see people travelling at the dangerous speeds of 50 mph or more on some of our roadways ! The desire for speed is insatiable, and technology will shortly enable drivers to travel at greater speeds than they can do safely”.
Even increased risk of broken bones and death become normal,
“As a death dealing machine, the automobile has wrought greater havoc within the same amount of time than anything else ever introduced as a factor in the every day private life of the people of this country. It’s potential for utility and amusement is great; but so also is its capacity for inflicting injury and death. This now such an established common place that readers of the daily newspapers no longer give more than a passing thought to the constant chronicling of automobile horrors, one or more of which is recorded, almost every day or evening.”
The above is from the Middlebury Register, in 1911, which reprinted the opinion piece previously printed in another journal. See the first column all the way to the left of the paper, at http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn93063557/1911-09-29/ed-1/seq-4/
The last sentence is the one I find most interesting. Once people accept something lethal as normal, they stop even wanting to do anything about it, and claim that there is basically, little than can be done beyond light efforts to regulate the danger. Anything that would be “inconvenient” is deemed too high a price to pay for more safety.
For example, when citizens on my street documented that people were hitting speeds of 60 mph on a near daily basis, we proposed removable speed bumps and or stop signs, to slow the traffic. Stop signs were added to Cedar Street, to slow the speeders there, who were trying to quickly get to 91, by cutting from Route 30 to Western Ave, and we thought that would be appropriate for our street too. What we did get, and were very grateful for, was more police presence, and white lines, and that has helped slow some of the speeders, but of course, white lines, which make the road look narrower, don’t stop all speeders, and the police cannot always be here. Speed bumps however, were deemed a major inconvenience, as was the idea of putting a stop sign at the Oak Grove intersection.
I don’t mean to report this solely in an attempt to further for a specific political solution to a specific problem. I really do think it is fascinating that humans in general will accept increased danger if it means that convenience is maintained. People like to move, unimpeded, un checked, un slowed. They see it as their right, and anything that gets in the way of that unbridled freedom, is unacceptable, especially if the danger has been on the scene for more than a hundred years.
Horse accidents
Of course, the papers prior are filled with stories of horse bolting and overturning carriages, causing broken bones and other injuries. Almost every day, too.
We don’t read much about pedestrians or bike riders injuring themselves quite as often, if at all.
Middlebury reprint warns pedestrians forced to save themselves
Four pedestrians were struck in one day on a Sunday in Rochester back in 1913, and it resulted in at least two deaths, possibly a third. This prompted this reaction to the general state of affairs on roads, over 100 years ago, which was reprinted in the Middlebury Vermont paper.
“The time will come – and unless there shall be more conformance to these wholesome laws, it will come quickly – when highspeed automobiles will be denatured, through the enforced usage of speed control appliances.”
I assume the writer means something like a “governor” which can mechanically impose limits on the speed of a vehicle.
The writer continues, ” But that time is not yet. Until that day arrives, the plain everyday pedestrian must stop, look, listen, whenever he leaves the beaten track of the sidewalk.”
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn93063557/1913-11-14/ed-1/seq-4
Horseless carriages will be safer
Dear sir,
One must not scoff at the dangers of the four legged beast. Look at today’s news (May 29,1896, The Phoenix) and there are multiple reports of equine calamity, chaos, and danger to society at large:
1. “Expressman Holton’s horse ran away with horse cart No. 4 Saturday, demolishing the wheels somewhat.”
2. “Irvin Coombs was training on the state road and was riding at a 2:10 clip, when he collided head on with Chambers, a green rider. Coombs remained by the roadside two hours before he was found and taken to his boarding place. Dr. G.F. Barber found him with front teeth gone and a face that was a mass of bruises and discolorations. Coombs was training for a road race and had ridden a mile recently in 2:11.”
and perhaps worst of all…
3. “Warren Pratt of 13 Western Avenue was seriously injured in the yard of Herbert Walker Tuesday. In turning his team too short he was thrown out and the team passed over him, breaking his shoulder and bruising him in several places. The horses ran down the avenue and freed themselves at the top of the hill, and were finally caught on Green street, after running into a telephone pole. E.C. Crosby’s dog was run over by the team and killed.”
The horseless carriage will be completely under the control of the driver, so these sorts of dangers will be eliminated if we adopt their use more widely. Accidents will undoubtably decrease. Let’s hope Mr. Ford has success with the horseless carriage, far and wide, for the safety of the children.