“Local Auto Deaths Soar to Six”

Oct. 8, 1934, front page, The Sacramento Bee

Half a dozen traffic fatalities may not seem like a civic crisis in today’s world, but in the fall of 1934, Sacramento community leaders considered them just that. “Auto deaths” had been increasing alarmingly in the 1930’s, an era well before streetlights, traffic schools and stiff jail sentences for dangerous driving, but it took a spate of deaths in October to spur action.

The mayor, city manager, police chief and other civic leaders decided to make a major effort “to combat (the) unprecedented wave of motor vehicle fatalities and injuries.” They called a meeting on Oct. 19, 1934, that drew representatives from 50 public organizations. That evening, the group voted to create a community safety organization called the Sacramento Safety Council.

Over the past 75 years, the Council, now known as Safety Center Incorporated, has expanded well beyond traffic safety programs and is now among the most respected providers of safety leadership and training throughout California and Nevada.