MODERN MOTORING.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 134, 9 June 1925, Page 10

MODERN MOTORING.

MOTORISTS' OBLIGATIONS IN ACCIDENTS. The following is an interview with the chief attorney ut' (he Automobile Association of California, as to what to do in the case of accidents. As in many respects, the Californian law is similar t° iho portion of the Motor Vehicles Bill in regard to motor accidents, tne interview will bo of interest to Zealand readers. With'hundreds of automobile accidents of all kinds occurring daily, every motorist .should bo thoroughly familiar with the diilie.-j which the law places upon h2n in rase of an accident, for failure jLo , ' carry out these legal obligations may- subject the motorist to criminal prosecution, fine and imprisonment, {recording to George E. Sjindford. general attorney of the California State A'Stomobile Association.

Motorists will avoid a great deal of knowing and carrying out the requirements of the law in case of an accident, Mr. Sandford said and pointed*." out in detail what motorists should 'dor when they become involved in an accident.

Besides the legal duties which the motorisf ;must carry out to avoid criminal prosecution, Mr. Sandford said that there are certain other necessary things which licr- should do for the protection of his'own interests, as far as civil liability: is concerned, before lie leaves the sceu»_of. tho accident. From his experience in handling a vast number of civil-;:claims' which come through the, autom<ybuo> association's legal department iji connection with its services to its -members, Mr. Sand ford said ttiax -attention to these details would (eliminate a great deal of costly litigation result in a mote prompt settlement "of claims.

Section 141 of the California Vehicle Act requires that any motorist who collides with any person or another vehicle must ■ immediately stop, give his name and address, and also render and give all tho necessary assistance possible. He must, if able to do so, carry any persons injured in tho collision to a physician or surgeon for medical treatment, if such treatment is required or requested by any of the occupants of the other vehicle.

In nddition, the law requires him to furnish the names and addresses of all passengers, not exceeding five, in his automobile, and also tho registration or license plate number of his vehicle to the person struck or to the occupants of the vehicle collided with.

For iailuro to carry out those legal obligations, the law provides a severe penalty of a fine up to £1000, imprisonment in a country jail up to one year, imprisonment in a state prison up to five years, or both such fine and imprisonment.

In the second place a motorist involved in an accident, the automobile association attorney declared, should take immediate steps to protect himself in so far as his civil liability for damages' is concerned by securing certain necessary data and information before he leaves the scene of an accident. This information will be most valuable to his attorneys in case of litigation.

The motorist should make written notes of .the license number of the other vehicle, its driver's name, and address, both residential and busi- , ness, the-make and type of automobile, number of passengers and their names and addressee, if possible. Ask to see the driver's operator's license, and if it appears that he may be a minor, secure the name and address of his parents or guardian.

The next step should be to obtain tho names and addresses of all disinterested witnesses standing around, whether they aerially saw the impact or arrived on the scene after the happening. These the most important of all. will be given more weight in ; Court, for the reason that they are totally disinterested in the outcome of the case, either financially or by reason of friendship for either party, and, therefore, will have no reason to tell other than the true and actual facts concerning the accident. Following the acquisition of this information, the time, date and place of the collision should be noted; a clear and descriptive diagram should be drawn as near toscale as practical, snowing. relatime- width of streets, approximate de-

precs of curves, the grades and surface, and whether they arc smooth, rough, I wet or dry.

Memorandum should be mado of tho position of both vehicles when they first ramp within vision of each other; of their paths of travel up to the point of collision, their positions on the highway or street at time of impact, and where they both enmo to a stop. A note should be made of the position and length of akid marks, if any. It may subsequently prove of value to know what portions of the machines were damaged, as this sometimes throws a light upon questions of how the cars collided.

The speeds of both vehicles immediately before and at the time of the collision should be noted, and whether signals wore given and how and when. Any photographs that can be taken showing position of and damage to the cars, and curvature of width of the road or street will prove most valuable in determining liability.

Mr. Sandford said that It if" the law in California that the slightest negligence or violation of law on the part of the motorist, which proximately causes or contributes to the happening of an accident will prevent that motorist from recovering damages, notwithstanding how much more negligent the other motorists might have been. He said that the majority of accidents can be attributed to the combined negligence and lack of care of both parties involved, and that therefore should you fail to be as alert as the other motorist in making notes setting forth the mantjer in which - a collision takes place the case presented against you is likely to be more difficult, to attack or disprove. In rase you cany insurance indemnifying you against liability for injury to the person or property of others, or for repair of damage to your own vehicle, Mr. Sandford said that it ie your duty under your policy of insurance to immediately report any accident to your insurance company or its agent and not to wait until a claim is presented against you. HELPFUL HINTS. In the rush of modern traffic it is frequently as essential to be able to get out ot the way in a hurry as to stop quickly. If the car is left in a precarious position better use the parking lights even if the local ordinance doesn't require you to do so. If someone ran into your car they wouldn't look you up to tell you the sad news. And if you didn't happen to have collision insurance you would be out of luck. *

Because gasoline evaporates and loses its "pep" while standing, a car that is stored for any length of time is quite likely not to start unless encouraged with some fresh' fuel?

Check up on the butterfly choke valve in ' the carburettor to see if it works properly. If it does not close full the motor will start hard when cold, and if it does not open full the petrol mileage will be lowered.

Warm up the motor properly before attempting to adjust the carburettor.

A very useful method of transferring liquids from one veseel to another ie by utilising the principle of the siphon. Provided that the liquid has to be transferred from a high level to a low level, such as. from a petrol tank into a can on the ground, the system presents no difficulties. The average motorist sucks on the end of the tube 'to fill it with liquid, quickly dropping it into the vessel to be filled, when the liquid will continue to flow through. However, there is great danger of getting petrol or other unpleasant fluids into the mouth. There is no need to suck the end of the tube. It should be immersed in the liquid to be transferred as far as poeaible; a rubber tube can be coiled up. The ends should then be nipped in such a manner as to prevent any air from entering, and, holding the end closed, the tube should be pulled out sufficiently until it enters the lower vessel. Immediately pressure is released on the end of the tube the liquid will commence to flow.

Did you ever find your brakes do not hold well after travelling a long distance over dusty roads? Drive into the next garage where you buy gas and try wetting the brake lining.

When caught in a driving rain storm and forced to stop until the worst is over, welting of the coil and other electric equipment under the hood can bo prevented by turning the back of the car to the wind.

NOTES BY THE WAY. The total number o? proposals for construction work received by the Main Highways Board to date is 213. Gisborne Borough Council has decided to give a bitumen coat to all borough streets which it re-metals henceforth. A parking hole is a space between two cars, generally found on the opposite side of the street from the one you are on.

Inglewood County completed about three miles of bitumen road during the past season. Owing to the local stone being inferior, a total of 3260 cubic yards of stone had to be obtained from Eangitikei and Levin.

Waimate West County, in Taranaki, has now 80 miles of tar-sealed roads. At the annual meeting the. chairman, Councillor Long, stated it was not yet possible to reduce rates if the full programme of works was to be completed, but this would be possible two years hence.

An interesting piece of advice by Mr. M. H. Wynyard, motorists' representative on tlic Highways Board:—"I would suggest that your union, or any motor association, should advise the board of any instances where you consider that the roads are being neglected. In such case the board will obtain a report from its local representative, and if the circumstances justify the complaint, actibn would be taken in,the direction of requiring more adequate maintenance."

Palmerston North's numerous level crossings take a steady toll of life. It is stated that at the Terrace Street crossing," where a motor cyclist, Mr. Norman Grcer, was killed by the Main Trunk express on Tuesday, three fatal accidents had previously occurred, while two school children had been killed at the next crossing. "There is not a. day passes when there is not a thrill at the Terrace Street crossing," a local resident told a "Standard" reporter.