Miniature Driving School

Back in the 1930s, if a Detroit judge suspected a driver was mentally unfit to be on the road, he might send the driver to see Dr. Lowell Selling, who would test the driver using a miniature street intersection to simulate various situations. However, I'm not sure what exactly this testing involved, beyond that vague description.

I found a brief note about Dr. Selling in the Law Enforcement Executive Forum (2008, pdf, p.51):

Despite the high incidence of both motor vehicle accidents and mental disorders in the general population, a literature examining correlates between the two is sparse. Almost 70 years ago, a Detroit psychiatrist, Lowell Selling, pioneered work in this area with a series of unfortunately forgotten journal articles. Beyond his seminal contributions, little has been published on this important area of crime.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Sep 13, 1936

Palladium-Item - Oct 21, 1936

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Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 19, 2017
Category: Motor Vehicles | Psychology | 1930s

Comments

Many if not most of today's drivers probably could not even name 17 different traffic violations, no matter where they might occur.

Posted by Fritz G on 01/19/17 at 11:39 AM

Vince and Larry would be proud. "Don't be a dummy: Buckle up!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_qON6hdj_Y

Posted by KDP on 01/19/17 at 02:17 PM

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