MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Or.
Monday, Jan. 25, 1960 A '
, s " ;
"A
1 j- -J
ft
. t ' . v-
7:7
v7'V .
TV;-'- U-
. 7J-
-A "7. . .
A.
4 1
fl Sri
tv r r r r . , . t
) -1--: .0 O . X-I;.iO-C::l4;
v O O. U Q "... . O .w.
7 0
O Mi
O 0
?oboo oco ooo ooxco o o crpcoo oa(6 ooo 6 o&ooo
- 4 I
v , a
rooooooXoooooo"oa
v . . - v
.- 9'-'
1
j '
. , . v, . mm --m -j s&mmmm. - ?
- 1
Roads Threat to
Drivers of New,
Lower Vehicles
Washington, (Science Serv
ice) Many roads and high
ways traveled today by driv
ers of fashionable low-slung
cars pose a safety threat in
the form of reduced visibility.
Today the average driver's
eyes are less than four feet
above the pavement, Clyde
E. Lee, assistant professor of
civil engineering at the Uni
versity of Texas, told the
highway research board
meeting here.
But many well-traveled
roads have been designated
by highway experts using the
4.5 feet previously recom
mended as the average height
of the driver's eyes above the
pavement.
Drivers Plagued
As a result, drivers of
smaller, lower cars are
plagued by restricted visibil
ity at times. Their horizontal
sight distance is restricted at
many locations, for instance,
by stationary objects such as
guard rails, wing walls and
parked vehicles, he said.
The threat to motorist safe
ty can be corrected through
minor changes in road design
the designer recognizes
that drivers' eyes are not as
high as they used to be, Lee
said.
Suggestions Made
K. A. Stonex, assistant di
rector of General Motors
proving grounds, Milford,
Mich., suggested that guard
rails be eliminated where
possible to improve new high
way safety. Next to skidding,
he said, side slopes prove to
be the big factor in a car's
rolling over if it leaves the
highway. To improve safety,
he suggested the slopes be
gentle, smooth and clear of
obstacles, and be built of
firm material.
- To cut down chances for
bad skids, fine bituminous
mixtures can be given a sand
additive. Profs. Jack E. Ste
phens of the University of
Connecticut and William H.
Goetz of Purdue university
reported that mixtures made
with sand having rounded
particles gave the best over
all anti-skid performances.
Mixtures made with sand
having particles with sharp
points at first gave higher
skid resistance, but these
sharp edges soon wore off.
Doctor Worries
About Lack of
Medical Students
New York -(Science Service)-
Fewer students applying
to the nation's medical schools
and the lower grades of those
that do apply can mean dis
aster for U. S. medicine.
If something is not done
about the shortage of top-
grade candidates for medical
schools, "medicine will deter
iorate and we will fail miser
ably to provide the physi
cians" the U.S. needs, said
Dr. Robert A. Moore, presi
dent of the State University
of New York Downstate Med
ical center.
He told scientists attending
the annual William Henry
Welch lecture at Mt. Sinai
hospital here that the percent
age of college graduates ap
plying to medical schools has
Jeclined from 11 per cent in
1928 to about 4 per cent to
day. At the same time medi
cal schools have increased
their enrollment by 1,671. To
day 18 per cent of the appli
cants have "A" averages com
pared with 40 per cent 10
years ago.
Reasons Listed
There are several possible
reasons for medicine's inabil
ity to attract more of the best
graduates, Dr. Moore said.
These include: long prepara
tion time; high education
costs; limited scholarship
funds; inflexible program, and
the general public's miscon
ception that it is difficult to
be admitted to a medical
school.
Dr. Moore urged that this
serious challenge to medical
education be analyzed as a
"scientific research problem."
Active recruitment and a
shortening of the total period
of preparation to become a
doctor were two remedies he
suggested.
Pettey Attends
Meeting in Eugene
Ashland - Raymond E. Pet
tey, regional representative of
the state system of higher
education's general extension
division, Friday attended the
monthly meeting of the di
vision's staff members in Eu
gene. Slated for discussion at the
meeting, were plans for as
signing instructors for spring
term evening classes, bud
getary problems and the di
vision's activities during the
current winter term.