De Silva Puts Harvard Students With Delivery Boys as Road's Worst Drivers

Delivery boys, children of wealthy parents, men of foreign birth, and Harvard students are the worst drivers on the road, according to Dr. Harry R. DeSilva of the Bureau of Traffic Research. In a lecture last night at Pierce Hall Dr. DeSilva demonstrated the tests by which he decided these conclusions.

The better drivers are married and only moderately well-off. While a dark-eyed person is less subject to glare blindness than a blue-eyed one and therefore a better night driver, he is more apt to be colorblind, said Dr. DeSilva.

Imaginary Driving

After criticizing the present licensing tests as impracticle for weeding out unfit applicants, Dr. DeSilva illustrated several of his tests with the aid of innocent victims from the audience. Sitting before a dashboard and steering wheel to simulate actual conditions, the driver was able to apply the brake within three-fourths second after a red light flashed on the dial. But when forced to keep an imaginary radiator in a narrow road projected before him, the operator experienced considerable difficulty.

With the addition of a stop light on the road, which shifted continually, control of the radiator became a Herculean task. Dr. DeSilva explained that the average driver can stay on the road 64 percent of the time, but some are in the ditch 90 percent of the test. If the car were left to steer itself, it would be in the ditch only 30 percent.

Alcoholic Effects

Although reaction time decreases with a small amount of alcohol, a more pronounced state of inebriation results in "an inveterate tendency to strike between the pedals when applying the brake." Coordination of the foot is lost sooner than control of the hands, Dr. DeSilva stated. "Often a man with no control of his feet could do a good job of steering, if he could only see."

Besides glare and color blindness a common defect of vision is "tunnel vision". A person falls in this catagory, if he cannot see more than 60 degrees to etiher side, when his eyes are focused straight ahead. Average range of vision is about 85 degrees on either side.