of Canada that are represented at this conference. The point I would
make is that the problems involved in the administration of motor
vehicle laws increases proportionately with the increase in the number
of motor vehicles and the increase in the miles they travel.
The first registration of automobiles in this State occurred 60 years
ago. As we all know, there were very few motor cars at that time.
The automobiles in 1904 were registered by the Secretary of State. At
the time, the automobile owner simply painted the permit number on
his car. The Secretary of State issued an operator's license and a
metal badge which signified that he had been given permission to drive.
The operator was supposed to wear the metal badge on his coat lapel
when he was driving. There was no purpose and no need for strict
regulation and control of motor vehicles and their drivers in those
days. But today it is more common than not for each family to have
more than one automobile.
In today's complex society, the administration of motor vehicle laws
has become a complicated and unending task. You have seen our
building and plant where the motor vehicle laws of Maryland are
administered. More than 800 persons are engaged in the administration
of these laws, while 60 years ago they were administered by one State
official as an additional duty to his many other tasks. The promotion
of traffic safety of course is just one of the many responsibilities of the
motor vehicle administrator. But we all know that it is a primary
responsibility.
Certainly one of the greatest problems which confronts our modern
society is the problem of highway fatalities and injuries. Upward of
40, 000 people lose their lives on the highways of the United States
each year. There is no one sure remedy for this ill, but certainly one
of the most effective deterrents to highway accidents is a strict en-
forcement of the motor vehicle laws.
A primary cause of death-dealing highway accidents is driver ir-
responsibility. Here is where the motor vehicle administrator figures
prominently in the overall program of accident prevention. For it is
his responsibility, in the first place, to refuse to issue licenses to drive
to persons who are incapable of driving. And, in the second place,
it is his responsibility to withdraw permission to drive from persons
who for any reason have shown that their driving is such as to menace
not only their own lives but the lives of all others who are traveling
on the highways.
In this connection, it is most satisfying to me to note a decline this
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