Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Editorial
January 2, 1951
Madison County Democrat
London, Madison County, Ohio
What is this article about?
Major General Philip B. Fleming highlights how highway safety depends on the integrity of the highway system, amid increasing traffic and truck loads. He notes a $1.5 billion annual funding shortfall for maintenance and improvements, urging states to address this for safer roads.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
DRIVING SAFETY-AND THE SAFE HIGHWAY
Major General Philip B. Fleming, General Chairman of the
President's Highway Safety Conference, recently cast a new
light on the problem of driving safety when he said, "I wonder
how many of us realize that safety on the highway is directly
conditioned by safety of the highway?
"In raising that question I am not referring merely to the
surface condition of our streets and roads. I have in mind a
much broader frame of reference, one which involves the in-
tegrity of our whole highway system . .
"Under the impact of today's traffic volumes and load weights
we are forced to make increasingly rapid replacements, while
at the same time traffic congestion, with its attendant hazards,
forces us to provide more ample and much costlier facilities,
including expressways and divided highways.
"One resultant is a serious financial problem. We have an
estimated minimum need of $4,500,000,000 per year and the
visible revenue is not much more than $3,000,000,000.
"Obviously money that is spent for highway maintenance
limits the amount available for improved and safer facilities."
General Fleming then went into a discussion of the immense
increases in the loads our roads must carry, due to the growth
in both sizes and number of commercial trucks. He found that
excessive axle weights on our highways are about 30 times as
frequent as they were two decades ago! The present-day truck-
and-trailer units can be fairly compared to railroad boxcars. The
great difference is that the railroads' cars run on tracks they
built with private money-not on roads everyone must pay for.
It's time every state seriously considered the fact that "safety
on the highway is directly conditioned by safety of the high-
way.
Major General Philip B. Fleming, General Chairman of the
President's Highway Safety Conference, recently cast a new
light on the problem of driving safety when he said, "I wonder
how many of us realize that safety on the highway is directly
conditioned by safety of the highway?
"In raising that question I am not referring merely to the
surface condition of our streets and roads. I have in mind a
much broader frame of reference, one which involves the in-
tegrity of our whole highway system . .
"Under the impact of today's traffic volumes and load weights
we are forced to make increasingly rapid replacements, while
at the same time traffic congestion, with its attendant hazards,
forces us to provide more ample and much costlier facilities,
including expressways and divided highways.
"One resultant is a serious financial problem. We have an
estimated minimum need of $4,500,000,000 per year and the
visible revenue is not much more than $3,000,000,000.
"Obviously money that is spent for highway maintenance
limits the amount available for improved and safer facilities."
General Fleming then went into a discussion of the immense
increases in the loads our roads must carry, due to the growth
in both sizes and number of commercial trucks. He found that
excessive axle weights on our highways are about 30 times as
frequent as they were two decades ago! The present-day truck-
and-trailer units can be fairly compared to railroad boxcars. The
great difference is that the railroads' cars run on tracks they
built with private money-not on roads everyone must pay for.
It's time every state seriously considered the fact that "safety
on the highway is directly conditioned by safety of the high-
way.
What sub-type of article is it?
Infrastructure
Economic Policy
What keywords are associated?
Highway Safety
Traffic Volumes
Financial Shortfall
Truck Loads
Axle Weights
Expressways
Road Maintenance
What entities or persons were involved?
Major General Philip B. Fleming
President's Highway Safety Conference
Editorial Details
Primary Topic
Highway Safety Conditioned By Infrastructure Integrity And Funding
Stance / Tone
Urging Investment In Safer Highways To Address Traffic Hazards
Key Figures
Major General Philip B. Fleming
President's Highway Safety Conference
Key Arguments
Safety On The Highway Is Directly Conditioned By The Safety Of The Highway Itself
Highway System Integrity Involves More Than Surface Conditions
Increasing Traffic Volumes And Loads Require Rapid Replacements And Costlier Facilities Like Expressways
Annual Funding Need Is $4,500,000,000 But Revenue Is Only $3,000,000,000
Maintenance Spending Limits Funds For Improvements
Excessive Axle Weights On Trucks Are 30 Times More Frequent Than Two Decades Ago
Trucks Impose Heavy Loads On Public Roads Unlike Privately Funded Railroads