Highways: Ghoulish Guess

Traditional to any U.S. holiday is a national urge to gas up the family car and take to the road—and a National Safety Council compulsion to predict the number of travelers who will never get home. The ghoulish guess on highway carnage resounds on TV and radio, runs in routine lament through endless headlines and holiday editorials. Observing tradition, the Safety Council predicted that 450 corpses would litter U.S. highways during the four-day July 4 weekend. By July 5, the estimate proved conservative: 509 car riders had been killed, and "a new record" set. Lamented Safety Council Vice President...