Statement by the President in Response to Report of Harlow H. Curtice, Chairman, the President's Committee for Traffic Safety.

THE DEATH of more than 40 thousand Americans in traffic accidents during 1956 is a shocking record. The tragedy is that most of the accidents could have been prevented. I want to thank your Committee and through you all of the fine organizations which are cooperating in the uphill fight to prevent a repetition of this grim statistic in 1957.

I am hopeful that the traffic safety report formulated by the Governors' Conference will result in prompt and uniform action by state and local governments to curb irresponsible driving. But while the basic authority for traffic control rests with state and local officials, the responsibility for behaving sensibly in traffic is shared by all of us. I hope that every organized group in every walk of life in America realizes it can help promote safety on our roads and streets and stop the wanton killing. There is no more worthwhile objective.