European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 19, 1967, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes thursday october 19, 1967 Edge Over . Venus Landing puts Russ ahead from a and up dispatches the historic soft Landing of russian built instrument pack age on Venus wednesday gave the soviet Union at least a six year Edge Over the United state sin planetary exploration. It also showed that the russians Are moving ahead with an ambitious space pro Gram at a time when America s is threatened with a massive slowdown As a result of con Gressional cuts in the space Agency s budget. The shortage of funds has virtually killed . Plans to match the soviet feat in 1973 by Landing a spacecraft on Mars to search for life. And the Success of Russia Venus 4 probe will overshadow the less spectacular results expected from America s Mari Ner 5 spacecraft in its passing within 2,500 Miles of Earth mysterious sister planet thurs Day. Russia is believed to have had at least 15 announced and unannounced space project fail ures in efforts to explore Venus and Mars. The United states has had single successes in two tries at exploring each planet. But the . Spacecraft herein the Mariner class which is designed to Fly by a planet an take a Brief look at it with a Battery of electronic  4 snapped 22 historic photographs of Mars in 1966. Russia s first Success was a big one and overlapped Ameri Ca s previous successes by penetrating the dense venusian atmosphere and depositing instruments on the planet s surface for the first time. The United states now has no plans to land a spacecraft on Venus and no such attempt is expected before 1977 at the earliest. The space Agency How Ever is devoting More attention to Mars and its project voyage was designed to land two sophisticated one ton spacecraft on Mars in 1973 and again in 1975. To get voyager moving the space Agency asked Congress to approve $71.5 million funding in the current fiscal year. The House refused to appropriate any funds for the project and the Senate agreed to $36million. The matter is now before a conference committee. Even if the $36 million is finally approved space Agency officials said it will not be enough to get voyager headed toward a 1973 Mars Landing. The project is expected to be delayed at least until 1975. As it now stands America last planetary Mission will come in 1969 when two mariners willbe sent to Fly by Mars and snap closeup pictures 10 time Sas detailed As those sent Back by Mariner 4. American space leaders said meanwhile that the soviet feat represents an accomplishment any nation can be proud  to go from sputnik 1 to Ven us 4 in 10 years illustrates the powerful base of technology being developed in the soviet Union James e. Webb administrator of the National aeronautics and space administration said in response to queries about the feat. The fact that this has been accomplished in connection wit the 50th anniversary of the communist revolution is intended to encourage those in and out of the soviet Union who believe the use of rocket technology to master and use the newly opened environment of space can become a major Factor inthe balance of technical Power among nations. In my View this accomplish ment will convey the intended  or. Edward Welsh executive director of the National aeronautics and space Council and principal White House adviser on space programs said the apparently successful mis Sion indicates great technical competence on the part of the soviets. This is a very Clear record that they Are deeply interest Din a planetary program and give it very High priority Welsh said. They have contributed very much to what we know about  sense of humor helps death an danger Haven t dampened the sense of humor of embattled marines at con Thien South Vietnam As evidenced by this grinning Leatherneck emerging from a Bunker sporting a please keep off the grass sign. Up Tough new regulations Britain pushes traffic safety London up British motorists Are being subjected to one of the most extensive Road safety campaigns Ever begun. Britain s no driving woman minister of transport Barbara Castle is exhorting motorists to practice Road safety and As an added persuasion she is introducing Tough new Laws with stiff penalties for  already Pride them selves on their driving ability and Road Courtesy generally considered to be above the standards of most other coun  mrs. Castle contends there is still much room for improvement in View of the More than 350,000 persons killed or injured in Road accidents in Brit Ain each year. At mrs. Castle s request parliament recently empowered police to apprehend and prose cute Drunken Drivers More easily by forcing them to take Roadside breath tests. She has also been empowered to enforce regular inspection of trucks and to prohibit their operation if found defective. Mrs. Castle has sought parliamentary approval for a Central Road safety unit within her ministry which would coordinate All Road safety work a strengthened Highway code and the introduction of regulations requiring More extensive use of seat belts. These measures would strengthen a wide Range of Road safety regulations already enforce in Britain. One of the main requirement for a Driver s licence in Britain is a detailed knowledge of the Highway code which sets Dow the rules for motoring in this  for a licence Are questioned closely by ministry of transport inspectors on the code which has 94 separate rules and regulations. Then the candidate is put through a rigor Ous Road test usually lasting about 20 minutes. To pass the test he must perform All  according to the Highway code. Most foreigners who have driven for Many years in their own countries As Well a Many britons fail the test on the first attempt but once licence is granted it need not be renewed. British motorists generally observe the Sanctity of pedestrian Crossings. These Are located atall major intersections in most cities and towns. As a result of research by the ministry of transport s Road research lab oratory into the most suitable types most Crossings in Britai consist of Black and White Zebra stripes parallel to the  yellow beacons Are mounted next to the Crossings to warn motorists. At major intersections where there Are no Zebra Crossings traffic signals Are controlled by pedestrians pushing a Button. The general effect of such installations is to allow vehicles to proceed in Waves at a set Speed without interruption with pedestrians receiving on demand a signal to Cross Between Waves. No recent statistics Are available but the Road research Laboratory says it is confident that Zebra and pedestrian con trolled Crossings have helped re Duce pedestrian casualties. To enforce Road safety rules British courts in addition to imposing fines or prison sentence for traffic offences often Dis qualify offenders from holding or obtaining a driving licence. Another enforcement measures the use of radar speedometers for measuring the Speed of vehicles from the Roadside or from a stationary vehicle. In a Experiment carried out by the Road research Laboratory a me Ter was installed just inside a 30-mile Section of trunk Road with prominent notices warning motorists that it was in  result was that vehicles entering the zone reduced speedy an average 6.8 . And those leaving it increased speedy 2.7 . The government s Campaign tomake motorists More Road safety conscious will involve a three year program of Public information and publicity through Mas communication Media. In Britain automotive manufacturers Are required to install seat belts on All new cars and Light vans. Mrs. Castle proposes that motorists be required to in stall seat belts on All cars that came on the roads in 1965 and1966, before the regulation went into effect. She claims they reduced fatal and serious casual ties to people in the front seats of cars by 70 per cent. European edition col. James w. Campbell us editor in chief it. Col. F. S. Michael jr., u8af Deputy editor in chief Arnold Burnett managing editor Elmer d. Frank production manager Henry r. Epstein circulation manager an unofficial newspaper of and for the . Armed forces published by the co Miander in chief . European command and printed Dally at Darmstadt Germany. Military address the stars and stripes Apo 09175. International mall the stars and stripes Postrach 1034, 61-Darmitadt, Germany. Tel Griesheim c prefix 06156 2071 m Darmstadt air strip prefix 2376 741. 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