of Governor Herbert R. O'Conor 101

The Commission is now fully organized with chairmen in every County
and in the City of Baltimore. An Executive Committee of ten, representing
every section has been selected and Mr. Thomas B. Abbott, an outstanding
business man of Baltimore, accepted my invitation to act as general chairman.

Realizing that the solution of various questions pertaining to the general
problem depended upon three basic points, we decided to strive for the im-
provement through education, enforcement and engineering. To accomplish
the best results, it was also decided to appoint six permanent committees to
deal with the following important phases of the situation: Public education,
school safety, law enforcement, legislation, statistics and engineering. On the
Executive Committee are included: the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, the
Superintendent of State Police, the State Superintendent of Public Education,
the Chairman of the State Roads Commission and the Police Commissioner of
Baltimore City.

A working organization, in which the members are to devote their full
time, is already set-up and the word "Go" is being given tonight, throughout
Maryland. It will succeed because we are determined that it can succeed. I
bespeak your active cooperation which is so essential to the success of any
such general undertaking.

By public proclamation I have designated this approaching week, from
October 1 to October 7, as Traffic Safety Week. This done because experience
and accident records show that the months of October, November and December
constitute the worse periods of the year from a fatality standpoint. Isn't it
worthy of your best efforts to cooperate in order that a number of people who
would otherwise be killed or maimed for life can be spared during the next
three months?

In the schools, arrangements have been made to teach every high school
student methods of driving automobiles carefully, and well-considered lessons
will be demonstrated for the benefit of all students to teach the way to public
safety. Fifty thousand pamphlets will be placed in the hands of school children
and members of civic organizations, and motorists generally, which show by
chart and interesting factual data what this problem is and how it can be
improved. We are not going to stop, and we are encouraged to believe that
success will be achieved because of the assurances already received from
civic organizations and interested groups throughout the State.

Every citizen of Maryland can cooperate in this effort, and no matter if
you drive a pleasure car, a truck or a bus, you can eliminate accidents by
driving carefully and by studiously obeying the laws. A great proportion of
accidents are attributable to failure to observe regulations regarding the pass-
ing of cars on curves and hills, swerving in and out of traffic, disregard of
boulevard and other stop signs. Equally dangerous is the practice of driving
when you are not physically fit because of fatigue, illness or otherwise.

There may be romance in the all-day-long journeys where you cover four
or five hundred miles in a relatively short period, but there is danger too. In
a great many accidents, speed, excessive speed, appears to be the root of the
trouble. We are engaged on a program of road building which will give to the
people of Maryland the best roads we have ever enjoyed. But this is not an
invitation to speed at the greatest rate because a good stretch of road is ahead.
No matter how careful or expert you may be, the other driver may not be so