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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 26, 1957)
Safety Door Locks, Seat Belts Said To Save Thousands in Auto Collisions Tuesday. February 26, 19S7 MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNB FIVE DST IPQDSfa (BOW Fdltor'i note: Followtn If thp ir-1 and of five article dealing with trtej problem of auto accident on the na-1 bona highways. BY ROBERT J. SERLING United Preii Correspondent New York (U.R) Thousands of American motorists have been saved from serious injury or death by two safety devices i which the automobile industry began to install on new cars last year. One now standard equip-; ment on all new cars is the so-j called "safety door lock." These, j locks are designed to keep doors from popping open in accidents. They cost about 50 cents a door. The other, offered as optional equipment on new cars, is the seat belt. Have these two iteams belts and door locks saved lives and prevented injuries? "Yes" is the answer from a group which should know Cor nell University Medical Col lege's auto crash research in jury project. For months, the project has been studying de tailed accident reports filed by I police officials in twelve states. These reports provide a con trast between accidents in cars equipped with the new safety features, and accidents of com- parable severity in cars without these features. This is what the record shows: Seat Bells 1. Occupants in cars with safety belts had 60.4 per cent fewer injuries of all degrees. 2. )ccupants with belts had 80 per cent fewer injuries in the moderate-to-fatal injury grade category. 8. Occupants with belt had fewer dangerous-to-fatal grade injuries, but the difference was "not satistically significant due to insufficient data." Door Locks rjl- Reduced the risk of doors opening during impact by as much as 33 per cent in non-rollover accidents and somewhat less in rollovers. 2. Decreased the risk of oc cupant ejection through open doors by up to 49 per cent. 3. Reduced the risk of danger ous and fatal injuries by 29 per cent primarily the result of re taining passengers in the protect tive shell of the car. Both belts and door locks are aimed primarily at preventing ejection from cars. Ejection as a major cause of automotive crash injuries came as a surprise to many experts who figured that what happened inside the car was the biggest factor in causing injuries. But the Cornell project since 1953 has studied more than Q 8.000 separate accidents. It found that ejection is one of the most frequently reported causes of injury, accounting for 20 per cent of injuries and deaths. The other major injury-causing com ponents; Instrument panel 12 per cent Steering wheel 11 per cent. Windshield 11 per cent. Door components six per cent. Some safety experts have criticized seat bells, claiming that they can cause as many in juries as they prevent and they are not of appreciable value in preventing occupants from be ing thrown forward. The Cornell findings appear to refute such charges. Boris Tourin, supervisor of technical operations for the Cor nell project, says critics of belts "'ignore that their prime respon sibility is to keep occupants from being thrown out of the car." Lack of Logic "VV'heii someone says belts are not good because they're only 60 per cent effective," adds Tourin, "that's like condemning a serum because it ciyes only 50 per cent of the patients. We saw one report denouncing a belt that didn't hold when the car hit a parked steamroller at 40 miles an hour. Actually belts are less effective in accidents in volving collision with fixed ob jects, but such collisions repre sent less than 15 per cent of highway accidents." . According to Tourin, some published reports on the alleged ineffectiveness of belts have in volved inferior belts, manufac tured far below the minimum standards set by scientific tests. "Many inferior belts on the market are giving all belts a bad name," says Tourin. "A good belt will do the job expected of it except in unusually severe ac cidents at terrifically high speeds. One of the things we may have to study is whether it wouldn't be a good idea to have a 'breaking force' in a belt al lowing it to snap at a certain for ward force to prevent the belt itself from causing injury." Faulty Belts The Cornell project, in its stu dues of belt performance in act ual accidents, bluntly reports it has found "increasing evidence of irresponsibility both in belt manufacture and installation." Project director John O. Moore believes all belt manufacturers should be forced to adhere to minimum standards for belt con struction, just as electrical equip ment manufacturers now com ply with industry-established standards. Moore also recommends: 1. ftesearch to determine whether stronger belts are need ed. There is evidence to indicate that deceleration forces in an automobile accident are greater than those in a light plane crash. Many car belts are patterned after CAA aviation belt stand ards for private planes. 2. Some kind of auxiliary de vice for pre-1956 cars, to keep doors from opening on impact. Belt can be attached to any car, but only 1956 and '57 models have the new-type door locks deemed assential ' to passenger protection. The next dispatch in this se ries will discuss a controversy over automible structure. Is the modern car loo flimsy? Is the popular hardtop style really safe? Have manufacturers thin ned corner posts and roof struc ture so much as to make cars as weak-skinned as an egg? Measure To Set Up Community Colleges Introduced in House Salem (U.R) Two-year com-1 munity colleges could be set up I in many areas of the state under terms of a bill introduced in the Oregon House yesterday by 26 1 representatives and 17 of the I state's 30 senators. The bill house bill 593 pro vides that school district or sev eral adjacent districts whose cash value exceeds $20 million and who have 500 students or more in grades 9 to 12 can set up a community college with ap proval of the State Board of Education and a vote of local people. purvey Called for A two-year survey of the en tire state by the Board of Educa tion to determine community college needs and possible col lege district boundaries is called for by the bill. Results of the survey would be presented to the 1959 legislature. Rep. Pat Dooley, Portland, speaker of the house, said the bill would be assigned to a com mittee today. Proposed colleges would share in state basic school support funds except for reimburse ments for busing or boarding students. Ten per cent of the voters of a school district could initiate action in starting a community college. Their request would be investigated by the superintend ent of public instruction before approval would be given. Representative Named Signing the bill were Reps. Ole Grubb, Bend Democrat; George Analla, Hood River Dem ocrat Carl Back, Sixes Demo crat; Clarence Barton, Coquille Democrat; H. H. Chindgren. Mo lalla Republican; Vernon Cook, Gresham Democrat; Robert Dun- wmek & mm SOUTHERN OREGON'S OLDEST & LARGEST FURNITURE STORE NOW ON SSosW VjS I EXTRA-FIRM MATTRESS Limited Time Only! MADE BY THE MAKERS OF THE Famout "Perfect Sleeper" Compare! This mottrMi advertised b th Journal of the American Medical Association 'V CHECK WHAT YOU GET AGAINST MATTRESSES AS MIGH AS $59.95 7. Extra Strong Inner-Spring Construc tion, Fully Insulated 2. Exclusive) Extra levelixing layer For Spine-level Support 3. Upholstered to Perfection with neeog, no-bufge Construction 4. Beautiful. Lena-Wearing, High Quel ity Coverings, Mad Right 5. Crush-Proof Borders... Handles Par Easy Tvrning...Vanri!ators COME IN TODAY, YOUR CREDIT IS GOOD! NO CARRYING CHARGES OR INTEREST! can, Medford Democrat; Ben Evick. Madras Democrat; Rich ard Eymann, Mohawk Demo crat; William Grenfell Jr., Port land Democrat; W. H. H o 1 m strom, Gearhart Democrat: Nor man Howard, Portland Demo crat; Guy Jonas. Salem Demo crat; W. O. Kelsay, Roseburg Democrat; John Kerbow, Kla math Falls Democrat; Thomas McClellan, N e o t su Democrat Katherine Musa. The Dalles Democrat; Grace Peck, Portland Democrat; Jess Savage, Albany Republican; R. E. Schedeen, Gresham Democrat; Keith Skel ton, Eugene Democrat; Glen Stadler, Eugene Democrat; Allen Tom, Rufus Republican; Sam Wilderman. Portland Republi can; and Carl Yancey, Klamath Falls Democrat. Senate Signers Named Also signing were Sens. Harry Boivin, Klamath Fallsh Dem ocrat; R. F. Chapman, Coos Bay Democrat; Ward Cook, Portland Democrat; Alfred Corbett, Port 1 a n d Democrat; Dan Dimick, Roseburg Democrat; Carl Fran cis, Dayton Republican; Warren Gill, Lebanon Republican; G. D. Gleason, Portland D e m o c rat; Dwight Hopkins, Ibler Demo crat; Jean Lewis, Portland Dem ocrat; Ben Musa, The Dalles Democrat; Boyd Overhule, Mad ras Democrat: Walter Pearson, Portland Democrat; Leader Quir ing, Hermiston Republican; Mon roe Sweetland, Portland Dem ocrat; Daniel Thil, Astoria Dem ocrat; and Anthony Yturri, On tario Republican. Cop Killer Added To FBI'S 'Wanted' List Washington ' (U.R) The FBI has added the name of George Edward Cole, an ex-convict sought in the "cold-blooded slaying" of a San Francisco po liceman, to its list of 10 most wanted fugitives. The FBI warned that Cole is armed with a powerful .357 Magnum pistol and is extreme ly dangerous. He has said he would shoot any officer who tried to capture him. "Violent crime is nothing new to this 29-year-old gunman," the FBI said. Cole's crime career began when he went AWOL from the Army in 1945. He serv ed a sentence for first degree robbery at San Quentin prison from 1948 to 1951. Cole is wanted in connection with the killing of an off-duty police officer in a tavern in San Francisco's "Tenderloin" district on Dec. 30, 1956. Washington (U.R) President Eisenhower has nominated Am ory Houghton, chairman of the board of the Corning, N.Y., Glass Works, as new ambassador to France. Court Records MUNICIPAL COCRT Alphonso Chavez, no operator's li cense. S5. Clarence B. Black, failure to yield right of way, S10. Donald Parker McNeil, failure to yield right of way $3- Russel Lee Howard, violation of basic rule, S10. mi am s eis uanistrom, xoiiowing too close. S10. James Waller Gordon, violation of basic rule, S10. Glenn Dimmett Martin, failure to stop at stop sign, $5. Michael James Kaiser, no tail light, $5. Richard Earl Sprague, violation of basic rule. S10. Herzog Herbert, failure to stop at traffic signal. S3. James W. Liek, violation of basic rule. $10. Hers hall L. Mooney. permitting un licensed operator to operate vehicle, sio. Lloyd Keller, failure to stop at stop sign, S3. Maxine Estelle Yates, failure to stop at red light, S3. Don Blankenship, violation of basic rule. $10. Orval Lawrence Butler, failure to stop at red light, S3. DISTRICT COURT Dale Allen McCay, one headlight, $10. bail forfeited. David Dale Boatwright. defective tail light. S3: defective horn. $5. Ralph Floyd Champion, operating a vehicle in excess o weight limita tion. $193. Jim Seth Cunningham, failure to stop at stop sign, S10. CIRCUIT COURT Charles E. Watson vs. Winifred Wat son, divorce complaint. TRUSTED BY MILIUMS Cf MOTHERS.. because it's ap proved by thou sands ot doctors! Orange flavored. accurate dosage. SLIOSEPH ASPIRIN FOR CHILDREN j Ufcfift largest SsSijg hum fir Gs&si X 2 GafiSjCG3 WONDERINSE WASHER automatically conditions water... softens fabrics . . . RINSES NEWNESS BACK INTO CLOTHES! Whites come whiter, colors are more colorful. No automatic washer ever made can match it. 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