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320 Annals Am. Acad. Pol. & Soc. Sci. viii (1958)

handle is hein.cow/anamacp0320 and id is 1 raw text is: FOREWORD Since World War II, both President Truman and President Eisenhower have described traffic safety as one of the nation's urgent domestic issues. The subject has claimed the attention of legislators, state and local officials, business and industrial executives, educators, research agencies, civic leaders, and in recent years, members of the United States Congress. Among groups which have become in- creasingly active in behalf of safer traffic are businessmen, the medical profession, church leaders, newspaper and magazine editors, club women, youth organizations, and schools. This volume of THE ANNALS contains fifteen articles on the subject, con- tributed by men who are pre-eminently qualified in their respective fields to dis- cuss the current situation and to appraise the outlook. It is by far the most comprehensive symposium on traffic safety published anywhere to date. The humanitarian appeal of this movement is strong. It is not uncommon to hear a dedicated civic leader say that if his time, money, and effort result in the saving of only a single life, it will all have been worthwhile. Traffic safety also is a moral issue, in the sense that thoughtfulness and courtesy behind the wheel, if universally practiced, would do much to eliminate the trans- gressions of the traffic code which contribute to public hazard. It may be true that for an individual, the saving of one human life may justify almost any amount of effort. Certainly the movement offers much deep personal satisfaction to its devotees. But the modern concept of traffic safety, while ac- knowledging the validity of these humanitarian considerations, is not content to stop there. To do so would be to limit accident prevention activities to moral preachment. And since most people, Americans and Canadians, at least, seem to hold good driver images of themselves, generalized moral appeals and admoni- tions have little motivating power. It is the other fellow who is guilty of wrong doing; all messages automatically are addressed to him. In addition to this practical consideration, there is another reason for the humanitarian appeal not being enough. If traffic safety becomes an end in itself- the sole object being the prevention of accidents-then logic requires that steps be taken which, although they may result in fewer hazards to life and limb, actually have the effect of restricting traffic itself. The ultimate expression of this point is the view that death and injury in traffic can be eliminated simply by eliminating traffic. While this idea may have a certain philosophical attraction for some, it has very little to do with the world in which we live. The people by their own choice have adopted the motor vehicle as a family unit of transporta- tion, and it has been integrated into the economy. It would be vain, indeed, to dream of turning the clock back. Automotive transportation, present and future, is therefore the realistic reference point for consideration of all traffic problems. Mr. Owen, in his brief but ad- mirably comprehensive article, describes it well. The data he presents make clear how large a factor the motor vehicle has become in United States economic life. Against this background, Mr. Baldwin outlines the dimensions of the accident problem, in life, limb, and property. He discusses also the vital, if somewhat neglected, need to collect, analyze, and put to work complete records of accidents. viii

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