I ordered the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to carry on with the
very strictest enforcement of the point system and procedures for the
suspension and revocation of the licenses of offending motorists. I
attempted to emphasize to the trial magistrates of the State the urgent
necessity for consistent and uniform determination of cases involving
traffic offenses. And I pleaded for the continued cooperation of the press,
the radio and television stations, the many private and public agencies
and organizations in our efforts to promote traffic safety through the
medium of education.

I can only hope—I cannot guarantee—that these measures will be
successful. I issued them, believing that the safety of citizens—in their
homes, on the job, at play, in travel, wherever they may be—is a primary
responsibility of government—believing that the safety of the people is
the supreme law of the land.

I have a strong conviction that the problem of safety could be licked
if somehow we could convey the idea to everyone that he has a personal
responsibility for the safety of his own life and that of his fellow-man.
It is such a simple truism, and yet it is a point that is hard to make
stick in the minds of too many people.

We cannot, in my opinion, over-emphasize the importance of indi-
vidual responsibility for accidents in our overall program of traffic safety.
The prevention of accidents begins with the individual exercising his
instinct for survival. No sane person—and most of us are sane, of
course—deliberately exposes himself to useless danger. We, therefore,
begin our efforts for community safety by practicing personal safety.
If everyone drives his car in such a way as to protect his own life, no one
is going to get hurt.

What a simple proposition! It is a pity that it cannot be understood
by all.

I am sure that all of you here are conscious of your responsibility for
your own safety and health and for the safety and health of those around
you. Your presence at this conference is evidence enough of that. Let me
encourage you to continue in your effort to spread the word of safety
throughout our great State.

To all of you who have come here to give so generously of your time,
your talent and your effort, I offer my most sincere thanks and apprecia-
tion. With your continued assistance, I am confident that we will
succeed in making Maryland a safer and more healthful State.

565