MOTOR VEHICLE TRAFFIC DEATH RATE

To the Editor:—  In his excellent article on prevention of injuries in college athletics, in The Journal, March 28, 1959, page 1405, Thorndike writes: "Highway safety engineers have so far been unsuccessful in reducing the accident and death rate among our motoring public."This is not true. The facts are available from many sources. One interesting source is the table on page 109 of "CAA Statistical Handbook of Civil Aviation," U. S. Department of Commerce Civil Aeronautics Administration, 1958 edition, obtainable from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D. C., at 55 cents a copy. The data in the table are from the National Safety Council. The table referred to shows a steady decline in the motor vehicle traffic death rate from a high of 4.7 deaths per 100 million passenger-miles in 1937 to 2.6 in 1957. This includes passenger automobiles and taxis. The rate for 1956 was 2.7 per