SECTION TWO-
Recent Research Shows Women Figure In
Less Highway Accidents Than Men Drivers
A psychologist and a motor vehicle
administrator met last week in Ra-!
leigh to compare notes on the causes
of traffic accidents.
The principals: Commissioner Ed
ward Scheidt of the Motor Vehicles
Department and Dr. Dannie J. Mof
fie, head of the Psychology Depart
ment at N. C. State College.
Scheidt fingered the speeder as lead- '
er of the accident parade more than
a year ago and ordered electronic
speed controls and radar to put the
brakes on him.
Accident research —the “why" of
collisions —meanwhile was being inves
tigated by Dr. Moffie and his staff at
State College. The Motor Vehicles
Department authorized a $17,000 year
ly grant to the psychology department
more than three years ago to finance
the study.
How to cut back traffic accidents,
which had claimed more than 1,000
persons annually, was the target for
the scientific research.
Researchers began their work by
assembling IMB cards furnished by
the Motor Vehicles Department. Dri
ver license applicants, in addition to,
meeting certain driving requirements, j
were asked to fill in their age, race, j
sex, occupation and approximate num-j
her of miles driven per year. This
information was in turn punched into!
the IBM cards and the vast research j
project got underway.
Soon after it became evident to Dr.
Moffie’s staff that vision, emotional
instability, attitude, judgment, and re
action time were factors present in al
most all traffic accidents.
They have presented officially their
preliminary findings to Commissioner
Scheidt who in turn hopes to imple
ment some of the more specific rec
ommendations into the state’s licens
ing program.
The research project is part of the
State’s Ortho-Rater screening pro-'
gram for license applicants. Some of
the more significant findings result
ing from the investigation are as fol
lows:
The driving population is comnosed
of 60.5-per cent male-whites: 25:5 fe
male-whites; 12.5 per cent colored
males, and 1.5 per cent colored-fe
males.
White drivers do nearly all the driv
ing the study showed. Male and fe
male whites do 91 per cent of the
driving and colored males 8.5 per
cent. Colored females do only one
half of one per cent of the driving.
One of the most surprising statis
tics revealed that when accidents for
each sex-race group was equated for
mileage driven, colored-male drivers
had 2.5 times more accidents than
white-male drivers.
And good news for the women driv
ers, too. On the same basis fequated
mileage driven) white-male drivers
had 1.3 times more accidents than
white-female drivers.
Men drivers in general were in
volved in a great many more acci
dents than the ladies according to the
study. Males ( white and colored) in
curred 91.5 per cent of the mishaps
analyzed.
Lady drivers triumnhed again in the
traffic violations bracket in that male
white drivers incurred .3,7 times more
violations than the womenfolk.
Dr. Moshe’s : analvses confirmed Mr.
Schedit’s anti-speeding edict.
In studying the factors present in
59 driver fatalities he noted more
than 30 per cent were traveling 80
mph and oyer. Tn fact, wrecking at
speeds in excess of 50 mph accounted
for 89.5 per cent of the fatalities
studied.
In the visual phase of the investiga
tion Dr. Moffie found that approxi
mately 720 license applicants per
month failed the vision test, which is
administered by the Ortho-Rater.
But over 75 per cent of the drivers
referred to an eye doctor later report
ed improved vision.
In a vision vs. accidents study re
searchers paired a number of accident
free drivers with those having had
three accidents. The accident-free
drivers were found to have much bet
ter ability to see fine detail at near
and far distances and to judge depth
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Page Six
or space.
| Present at the meeting in Schedit’s
office were Prof. Chas. Milton, assist
ant director of the project; Major C.
!A. Speed, director of the Highway
Safety Division, and Elton R. Peele,
chief of the Licensing Division, who
was largely instrumental in launching
the project.
N. C. Corn Prospects
Lowest Since 1945
Crop Forecast at 55,562,-
000 Bushels; Caused
By Dry Weather
On the basis of condition reports
1 from growers, as of July 1, produc
tion from the current Tar Heel com
crop is forecast at 55,562,000 bushels.
This is the lowest production of com
in the State since 1945 when 55,100,-
000 bushels were produced. A 1954
| com crop of 55,562,000 bushels would
be 2,137,000 bushels or 3.7 per cent
j less than the drought-stricken crop of
; 57,699,000 bushels last year.
I The average yield per acre for the
| current crop is forecast at 26 bushels
J by the North Carolina Crop Reporting
Service. This is the second lowest
yield per acre since 1945 and compares
with an average of 27 bushels last
year. The lowest yield since 1945 was
set in 1952 with an average of 25.5
bushels.
The harvested acreage for 1954 is
forecast at 2,137,000 acres, which is
the same as the acreage harvested last
year.
Extended dry weather combined
.with abnormally high temperatures
has damaged the corn crop in most
areas of the State. The hot, dry
weather has been particularly damag- •
i ing to the portion of the corn crop
now in the tasseling and silking stage •
of maturity. ’
i
Specialist Tells How
To Combat Mildew!
m i
It s about this time every year that i
homemakers throughout North Caro- i
lina are plagued with mildew. i
Mildew, however, isn’t selective
about where it grows. It may show up
on your best pair of shoes, your leath-'
er gloves, in your bookshelves, or it
Economical
l!
*! i
ii Estate Management f
1 J!
■Ii!; —-f 1
1 I
jf’i In serving as Executor for an estate, our Ii
I jj first consideration is the conservation of as- 1
. tii sets. Our experience has shown us the way I
: if* i
jjji to take advantage of every possible saving in |j I
1 |!|. taxes and administration costs. Your estate
- Ii! I
■j 1 1 in our care will benefit by our knowledge and
I j foresight. ,|j J
We invite an opportunity to discuss your es- ;| |
j tate plans, in cooperation with your attorney. 1
j BUY UNITED STATES BONDS
! THE BANK OF EDENTON I
EDENTON, WORTH CAROLINA |
Safety for Savinyi Since /894 J
MKMBKK FEDERAL EESEIVE SYSTEM
| MKMBB* <O>KUI. DEPOSIT INSURANCE COBPOEATION
THE CHOWAN HERALD, EDENTON. N. fe, THURSDAY, JULY 29, 1954.
Nation*. 4-H’ars S«ek to Cut Death
Toll of Farm Folk on Rural Highways'*
Look cut, yaunfl falUrl
CHlCAGO—(Special) —“Make
Safety Your Number One Crop,”
the slogan of several million
rural boys and girls throughout
the nation since its introduction
in 1945, continues to be fostered
by more than 615,000 4-H Club
members. They are taking part in
the 1954 National k 4-H Safety Pro
gram being conducted in 46 states
for the tenth consecutive year.
Participants receive training in
farm accident and fire prevention,
which includes checking and re
moving hazards of every conceiv
able nature.
These surveys are credited by
safety experts as being a valua
ble contribution to the nation
wide campaign to reduce the
tragic annual toll of 15,000 lives
and 1,225,000 disabling injuries
to farm folk.
In conducting their surveys,
the 4-H’ers look for such safety ,
hazards as loose or floppy cloth- j
ing worn about moving farm ma
chinery, cluttered stairways, oily
rags, frayed electric cords, broken
ladder rungs and sharp tools.
What is becoming an increas
ingly serious problem is that ae- i
may even spread across the walls of
your house. )
According to Pauline E. Gordon, I
State College Extension specialist inj
housing and house furnishings, mildew|
may form on the walls of a house in
damp, humid areas where there is ani
absence of sunshine, food in the form (
of oils in paint films, and the presence |
of mildew -spores. Adding a fresh ■
coat of paint over a wildewed wall is
no Way to combat the problem. In- J
stead, the brush will just spread the |
spores so that the mildew may re- .
turn more vigorous than ever.
Miss Gordon explains that mildew
is a fungus which lives on vegetable
matter like paint oils. It can eat
cidents to farm people caused by
motor vehicles now account for
nearly one-fourth of all deaths
and injuries that occur on rural
highways. Also, 700 of the fatal
faraa accidents reported last year
involved wheel tractors. One-third
of the fatal tractor accidents re
ported involve persona under 20
years of age. One case in ten was
a child under 5.
To help correct this problem,
the 4-H’ers are giving highway
Bas et y demonstrations Defora
farm groups and over local radio
stations, as well as putting win
dow displays in town stores and
booths at county fairs.
The 1954 National 4-H Safety
Program is conducted by the Co
operative Extension Service. As
incentives for outstanding records
in the program, General Motors
provides medals of honor which
i are presented to four county win
ners, and an all-expense trip to
I the National 4-H Club Congress
! in Chicago to the state winner.
Eight of the latter will be se
lected as national winners, each
receiving a $300.00 college
j scholarship.
through several coats of paint.
I To get rid of mildew, wash your
I walls with a solution of one pound
’of trisodium phosphate to one gallon
!of water. Then rinse the walls with
I clear water. Tisodium phosphate may
be bought at a drug store.
( Miss Gordon adds that special mil
'dew resistant paints are available. A
- poison can be added to paint but it
should be used with great caution.
| Some products of this type are avail
able w-hich are non-toxic to humans or
,to animals.
I The point to bear in mind if your
walls are mildewed is to wash the
walls with a solution to kill the spores
: before you add fresh paint.
AMERICA
America by 1975 will need twice the ;
amount of energy it uses today to ]
meet the needs of an expanding econ- (
omy, according to the report of the ,
President’s Materials Policy Commis- ,
sion of June, 1952.
It seems likely that electrical sup- j
ply must increase about 260 per cent- ,
from 389 billion kilowatt-hours in 1950 ,
to 1,400 billion in 1975.
By 1975 it is expected that 350 bil
lion gallons of water will be needed
daily in contrast with 170 billion gal
lons in 1950. More than 80 per cent
of the increase will be for the estimat
ed rise in industrial activity.
Petroleum consumption in America
by 1975 is expected to reach 5,000
million barrels. In 1950 oil consump
tion of all sorts totalled 2,375 million
barrels.
Natural gas consumption is expect
ed to rise from 6.300 billion cubic feet
in 1950 to 15,000 billion in 1975. Coal
consumption is expected to climb from
493 million short tons in 1950 to 751
million short tons in 1975.
ICE-COLD
WATERMELONS
AT
Edenton Ice Co.
f
l Bourbon j
STAGO distilling co.# I
M PtOOT. THE SXMG DOT. CO* RNWOCT. KL
Francis E. White Is
On USS Antietem
Serving aboard the world’s first
canted deck aircraft carrier, the USS
Antietesm, is Francis E. White, avia
tion machinist’s mate third clasg, USN,
son of Mr. and Mrs. George White of
Edenton.
The carrier recently took part in the
Navy’s largest exercise in anti-sub
marine warfare.
Known as ASDEVEX 1-54
Submarine Development Exer ci & 9
1-54), the six-week operation off Ber
muda was designed to test the effec
tiveness of new types of submarine de
tection equipment and team operation
under simulated wartime conditions.
There were more than 30 vessels
participating in the exercise including
six “enemy” submarines and some 20
air squadrons and detachments.
TRY A HERALD CLASSIFIED AD
iijjp==^~
SUMMER COLD
TAKE
/J /J /J symptomatic
ODO RELIEF
NOTICE
To VFW Members
The VFW Post home will
be open every Friday and Sat
urday nights for the benefit of
members and their guests.