For much of the twentieth century, judges held motorists primarily responsible for the safety of children in streets. Many auto club executives, mindful of their members’ interests, disagreed with them.
In 1920 Charles M. Hayes, president of the Chicago Motor Club, argued that “the streets are made for vehicles to run upon”; others enter them at their own risk. Over his 43 years as president of the club, Hayes earned a national reputation as an advocate for drivers.
Traffic engineers increasingly concurred with Hayes, in part because their loyalties were often complicated. In 1958-59, Matthew Sielski was president of the Institute of Traffic Engineers. At the time he was also a 20-year veteran at the Chicago Motor Club.
Sielski served the club from 1938 to 1963, when he was hired by American Automobile Association; in 1968 he returned to the Chicago club. He was also prominent in the National Safety Council and in the Highway Research Board (today’s TRB). Such combinations of affiliations were common.
In 1955, when Sielski wrote this article for ITE’s journal Traffic Engineering, Charles M. Hayes was still president of the Chicago Motor Club. As a traffic expert and as a leader of his profession, Sielski’s conclusions consistently aligned with those of his employer.
Some pretty low level Process Control victim blaming going on here
This poor mother lost her child because of someone else’s dangerous driving (I see the kid didn’t cross appropriately) and she blamed her self.
In 2014, a dump truck driver killed a mother who was putting her child into a minivan from the street side, next to an elementary school. People blamed her for using the street side. The driver was found guilty of failure to devote full time & attention to driving.
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