This day in history: Newspaper readers said drunken drivers and glaring headlights were the biggest driving hazards

From 1974: A Pasco man was slated for release from the Spokane County Jail in the afternoon. He waited patiently for 45 minutes, but nothing happened. Finally, he asked why he hadn’t been released.

The answer was, more or less, whoops.

The jailers had unwittingly released the wrong man, a 37-year-old who was wanted in Boise on grand larceny and first-degree burglary charges.

Both men had been arrested the night before and put in the drunk tank together. When jailers discovered that one of them was wanted on felony charges, they intended to hold him for Boise authorities.

But that man had apparently learned the Pasco man’s name and birthdate while they were in the drunk tank, and he stepped forward when jailers called for the Pasco man. When he gave the correct birthdate, they released him.

Deputies were scouring the county in search of the Boise man.

From 1924: The Chronicle was running an Automobile Accident Prevention Contest, in which readers wrote in with suggestions about how to reduce accidents.

According to the judges, people identified two main problems: intoxicated drivers and glaring headlights. On the latter issue, people believed that everyone needed to dim their headlights when passing another vehicle.

As for intoxicated drivers, “people believe the drunken driver is the worst kind of criminal.” Many of the suggestions for an apt punishment were “much too violent,” the judges said.