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Prior
to 1925, investigation of traffic accidents was virtually
unknown. Accidents were documented primarily with newspaper
clippings. As automobile accidents, injuries and deaths became
more common, safety measures such as traffic laws, enforcement
and engineering came into being. In 1929 the
Evanston
,
Illinois
, Police Department set up an Accident Prevention Bureau. The
Bureau sought the assistance of
Northwestern
University
in training their police officers. In 1936
Northwestern
University
formally established the Traffic Institute and began to offer a
40-hour summer police traffic safety training course. J.
Stannard Baker developed a mathematical and physics approach to
crash investigation that has been replicated world wide. The
National Sheriffs’ Association, as sponsor of the J. Stannard
Baker Award for Highway Safety, states: “The lives saved
through one man’s brilliant initiative is immeasurable.” The
Traffic Institute is now known as the
Northwestern
University
Center
for Public Safety.
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