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About The Grantonian (Portland, Ore.) 19??-???? | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 1966)
Mistaken teen opinion of police leads to lack of communication by Elaine Wolfe reprinted from the November 22, 1966 Automobile Show supplement to the Oregon Journal Teenagers have the mistaken idea that the police are out to get them. “We try to do what can best be done to help re habilitate the young person. We don’t want to do anything that will hit him in the face later in life,” stated Lyle B. Mul lin, juvenile traffic court referee, while speaking of the purpose of juvenile crim inology. Those teenagers who squirrel restau rants and drag Broadway may not be lieve that the police are looking out for them, not to hinder but to help. This basic lack of communication is the main source of troubling relationships be tween teenagers and police. Mr. Mullin, who was appointed by a traffic court judge to serve in that posi tion, believes that citizenship is one of the main objectives of his court. A stu dent’s previous record including his school grades, attendance and effort are taken into consideration. It would be impossible to know a great deal about every one of the 1,000 odd violators which appear monthly in court, but “we do try to know something about each of them.” This helps to provide a just penalty for the juvenile. “We try to see what’s behind the figures,” stated Mr. Mullin. The penalties are much harder on ju veniles than they are on adults. It is not so much the harshness of the judge ment passed by the court, but more that of the pressures it brings to bear upon the individual. In adult court a violator is fined for his traffic violations and his license is not suspended on either the first or sec ond violation of the year. Whereas the only penalty that can be served upon a juvenile is suspension of his license. Mr. Mullin feels that a teen ager will become more aware and care ful of his driving when he knows his license is at stake than when a fine is his only penalty. License suspension means cutting the teenager off from his activities, social and otherwise. Far more important re sults of license suspension, however, is the higher insurance rates and the in ability to achieve certain positions or appointments because of a disqualifying question on a form asking if your license has ever been suspended. Few juveniles seem to realize these far-raching consequences, and a traffic violation still remains “no big deal.” This apathetic view is taken by adult drivers also. “If adults set the right example, juven iles will do the right thing,” believes Mr. Mullin. Will these same apathetic drivers feel the same way when they accident ally run a stop sign and hit a pedestrian? Each year the volume of accidents ex ceeds that of the previous year. Each year more of the blame seems to fall on the drivers under the age of 18. Actually during 1965, of the 46,215 traffic acci dents taking place in Portland only 2,370 involved drivers under the age of 18, while 9,828 accidents involved drivers between the ages of 18 and 24. Those people who pose the answer to this problem of increasing traffic acci dents as raising the driving age from 16 to 18 should observe the above statistics taken from the Summary of Motor Ve hicle Traffic Accidents Report published by the Department of Motor Vehicles. The solution to this problem lies deeper than legislation can dig up. One very effective method of provid ing juvenile traffic violators with a law abiding incentive is an institution known as the traffic school. Of the 1,080 cases of juvenile traffic violations last month, 480 violators were sent to this school, which is conducted by policemen every Saturday in the basement of the police station. Successful as this school is no one has yet been willing to provide larger facil ities for it. The small classroom in the police station will hold at the most 45 students. The police are willing to further staff the school to meet its growing student enrollment, yet there is no more space to allow for either students or teachers. This situation provides the juvenile traf fic court program with its most disturb ing deficiency. While speaking of major difficulties in the program, Mr. Mullin stated, “Citizens only want traffic enforcement for others, not for themselves.” People are ready and willing to be pro tected from other drivers, but not for others to be protected from themselves. Traffic law enforcement is for everyone without concentrating on either adult or juvenile offenders. ^u.it December 2, 1966 THE GRANTONIAN ßitn— not driving. On The Shelf by Cynthia Barrett Nader probes auto safety deficiency “The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile” is the subtitle and the subject Ralph Nader’s shocking book Unsafe At Any Speed. It reveals how and why manufacturers have been stalling safe automobile designing, and gives examples of bad design in all mod els and makes of cars. Most injuries occur when the pas senger slams against the interior of the car during a collision. By elim ination of certain features of car design, many injuries can be avoid ed. “For years,” Mr. Nader writes, “the most common feature of crumpled auto mobiles has been a rearward displaced or arched steering column with broken spokes . . He mentions impalement and broken necks as some of its effects. Another common car danger is the glove compartment. In a colli sion it can fall open and severely cut the forward-falling passenger. Mr. Nader believes complete elim ination of the dashboard in front of the right forward seat would solve this difficulty and allow the passen ger freedom from the “dash-smashed face.” “Newness” in automobiles is “almost Students’ insurance rates depend on individual by Lorna Viken Participating in school and how one’s time is spent are plus-factors for auto mobile insurance rate discounts. Factors determining insurance rates for younger drivers were learned in interviews with representatives of Famers Insurance Letters to the Editor Mr. Read Grant High School Art Department 2245 N. E. 36 Avenue Portland, Oregon 97212 Dear Mr. Read: The active participation of the Grant High School Art Department in promot ing National Zip Code Week was a major factor in making this program a local success. The cooperation shown is deeply ap preciated, and we wish to thank you and the students for your contribution to this worthy program. Sincerely yours, H. W. Morgan for Albert Hodler, Postmaster Generalities Junior Steve Tyrer won the national Amateur Athletic Union walking cham pionships in the 19 and under division last weekend at Berkeley, California. Group, Safeco, and State Farm insurance companies. Why does today’s generation of youthful drivers pay two to three times more for their insurance pre mium than older drivers? “Insurance companies do not make rates. Rates are made by drivers of auto mobiles,” stated Gordon Dunsire of Safeco Insurance company. But youthful drivers are healthy, alert, willing, eager, trained, and have faster reflexes. In all fairness, shouldn’t it be concluded that younger drivers are better drivers? A nationally conducted survey for 1965 shows that drivers under 25, 18 per cent of all drivers, were involved in more than 30 per cent of the fatal acci dents and more than 28 per cent of the nonfatal accidents. How is it possible that one age group spanning nine years, about one-fifth of all drivers, is involved in almost one-third of all fatal acci dents? Young drivers have tendencies to take chances. Failure to observe traffic rules takes a toll of youthful drivers. They lack experience and judgment, accord ing to information provided by Duane Peterson, of State Farm Insurance. “They might not realize that chances for an accident almost dou ble after a speed increase from 60 to 70 m.p.h. At this increase rate, only four minutes would be saved in a 30 mile trip,” explained Mr. Peterson. Also determining a driver’s insurance 3 rates are the number and cost of acci dents he has had. According to Mr. Pe terson, it has been found that accident damage involving drivers under 25 is three and one-half times more costly. Men are involved in more than six times as many fatal accidents as women. Doesn’t this mean that women are the better drivers? “No one knows how many miles are driven each year by the average male or female driver nor under what conditions the driving is done,” pointed out Mr. Dunsire. Anyway, aren’t girls better insurance risks? “Although boys do have more acci dents, an increase in accidents involving girl drivers has raised their premium rates 30 per cent in the last one and one- half years,” observed Terry Rude repre sentative of Farmers Insurance Group. “In determining rates for individuals, where you drive, how much you drive, when you drive, how you use the car, and how much coverage you want are considered,” stated Mr. Dunsire. Rates may increase with traffic cita tions. A pattern recognized by the 1964 California Driver Record Study shows that drivers with three convictions in the last three years are three times as likely to have an accident as a driver with no convictions. “If everybody would be just a little more careful when driving, insurance rates would be reduced for all of us,” assured Mr. Rude. “Good driving is no accident,” added Mr. Peterson. completely stylistic in content,” and this relegates safety considerations to a sec ondary role, Mr. Nader maintains. “Styl ists can even be credited with overall concepts that result in a whole new va riety of hazards,” he continues, referring to hardtop convertibles that crumple in ward in roll-over accidents, crushing oc cupants. Traditional safety traffic empha sis has been placed on the driver. Readers who are taking drivers’ ed ucation realize this. Mr. Nader calls the emphasis “a political strategy” defending “special interests,” not ably the automotive manufacturers of America. They subordinate safety to profit, he asserts, and offers documentation to sup port his accusation. He especially lam- basts existing traffic safety organiza tions, who form an “establishment” dom inated by auto manufacturers. The car should be designed to protect the man in accidents that are inevitable. Existing cars put unnecessary dangers in the passengers’ way. An uninformed pub lic once accepted safety concentration on the driver. Since the advent of Unsafe At Any Speed, coupled with well publicized Sen ate hearings on traffic safety, public knowledge has been broadened' and its interest quickened. Two important breakthroughs in the field of vehicle safety design have been made this year. The Federal government has been given control of car safety standards and is able to require states to include their standards in the state safety program. Mr. Nader predicted this in advocating “greater federal authority extending to the establishment and enforcement of safety standards.” Ralph Nader is a 32-year-old Connecti cut attorney who has been described as a “crusader” and “loner.” As an adviser to a Senate subcommittee investigating traffic safety, and as a Congressional witness, he has been agitating for vehicle safety laws. tan Published weekly by the advanced jour nalism class of Ulysses S. Grant high school, room 203, 2245 N.E. 36th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97212. Phone 288-5975. Printed by Modern Typesetting company with a circulation of 3000. Second-class postage paid at Portland, Oregon. Sub scription cost $2.00 per year. Vol. 69, No. 12 — December 2, 1966 Editor............................. Barbara Earnest 1st Page Editor................Gayle Fleming 2nd Page Editor..................Elaine Wolfe 3rd Page Editor..............Cecile O'Rourke 4th Page Editor............... Mike Hoffman Reporters ........................ Cindy Barrett Bonnie Brown, Mike Cochrane, Casey Coughlin, Cynthia Evans, Cynthia Froom, Mary Jane Hulett, Marilyn Leonard, Lorna Viken Business Mgr........................ Marilyn Best Circulation ........................... Lorna Viken Photographer ................. Blake Riscoe Cynthia Evans Adviser ............................... Willard Mohn