MODERN MOTORING.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 218, 15 September 1925, Page 12

MODERN MOTORING.

THE MAIN SOUTH ROAD. to the Otahyihu-Papakura.; section of the main south road have beett i tOmpleted, and this Beetlon is now in j better condition than ll has been for , many years pasts The Franklin County i section of the road Is, as usual, ih excellent- condition. There is a little toughness in the Mercer TOwfi Board/; section, the drift-wood from the recent j flood not having been cleared away yet. i FrOm Ohinewai to Ngaruawahia is still.; full of bad pot holes, but the Main i Highways Board has now taken over j this section of the road with the excep- ! turn of the small portion of road under 1 the Hufitly Town Board's jurisdiction, ! and repair work will be started within a few days. The twelve-mile stretch fifota Ngaruawahia to Hamilton is in splendid order. « •.

NOTES feY THE WAV.

Cook County has purchased an up-to-date New Zealand-made plant for the extensive bituftien Work it is putting in hand in the coming season on the main road south from Gisborne. An automobile operator can make friends by driving carefully. He can make friends of the traffic policeman; those he. passes every morning on his Way to work Or on his way home in the evening. He can' make a pedestrian says, "He's a good fellow, thoughtful of others." .He can make the owner of another car say, "There's a decent driver; I wish there were more like him." •A member recently wrote to the WanganUi Automobile Association sug- ' grating that legislation be requested empowering local bodies to cut off right angle corners in cities and boroughs. The association has now ascertained that the council iftis already power in this dirSc- j iion under the Public Works Act. Oft i most of the corners in Wanganui where ] new buildings are to be erected in the i near future, the civic authorities (etccord- , ing to 'the "Herald") have notified the property owners that the City' Council intends tfi exercise its powers under the Act, atid claim the necessary land in , <irder to cut the corners back! ' The COUhcil, of (fOUfse, is required to pay , (JOntpensation for land so taken. j According to figures recently compiled ! hy an American tyre manufacturing cdn- I (jem, traders may now expect each of, their carjowning; customers to purchase ' fIH average of 2.74 tyres per year. Ten years ago 4.5 tyreß we?e necessary per ' cat per year, to coyer the same mileage. ! It is Cohsideredj however, that, de"spite : possible further improvements in' tyre manufacture, there is little likelihood of i further increase in tyre life, so that 1 the 2.74 per ear per year fi'gufe' may be regarded a* the minimum, j : ,After fiia-ny" experiments a kerhside* petrol puihp>_ Which it i 8 Claimed is "i odl-pfoof *" has been evolved, "and an order fdf: 3200 of them has been giveii tO- Messfs'. Vick'efs, who Will employ 800 riien at their fipith factory oil the work. ! At the top of the pump are two sealed ' containers- fitted with glass panels', s*o ! that the motorist can see the container filled and-emptied. When a container is" lull the spirit spurts against the.glass ; panel of the overflow indicator, so that ' there can ''he no short measuf &'.■• The I secohd' container cannot be filled tffttll f i the other is empty. The pump is of all- f British design.' •"•'■■

It i_ " TOffietftiHg" <5f.; - a:; ejiaestibri I "Whether, originally, rubber non-skids ' were adopted for their anti-skidding properties or .on account Of their greater wearing qualities, This type of tyref is an effective preventer of skidding under ordinary road and street conditions, or at least ab long as the pro l jections on them remain fairly prominent. At this season it behoves.those who h*ve pinned their faith on raourded treads for skid prevention in fine wea- •! ther driving to leek fa their tptm, ~BS ' if the projections are badly worn the tyre becomes in effect a plain treadjone. ; I Recent trade returns reveal a very large,importation of motor cars from Canada. This is due chiefly to the growth of the British ford industry iri the sister Dominion. During the last ! six months of all motor cars imported I from Canada over 50 per cent were j Canadian*rhatte Fords. It is interesting ' to note that in the manufacture of this J Ford ear over SO per cent of the j materials' Are of British Origin After i following each article back to its raw- ! product sbhree. The capital bf the coftrpany » p*raetically all British, and its offices;, stiSffj And workmen are . British. Of the total value of a forcl car Sold in i?ew Zealand, less than. £10 goes' 1 into the pockets bf other than citizens of, the Empire. _ A new affldl elraetic J"drunken di-iver" law is ndW iff efYiect in Michigan. Based npbfl the theory that the only effective ■ * w*y of edrhing traffic Accidents And casualties Attributable to drunken drivihg is to keep intoxicated motoristsoff the highways, it provides for the mandatory suspension of the drivers' | licenses. A first offender, upon convic- § surrender,his driver's license I for afe leftst three months. In addition, | the Cottri mAy sentence him to pay a fine § of frohY Sf> to 100-dollars and to fiot i more than S5 days' imprisonment. For I a second Of subsecpient offence" the | driver's license is automatically sua' I pendedt lor at least a year, the addi* I tional penalties are a fine; of not nibte • 1 than 600 dollars or not more than one i year's imprisonment or both. I Five weeks Ago-the Malvern County f Council. wrote to the Main Highways | Board regarding the acquisition of a § stone crueher (says a Southern ex- ! change). Since then,'no doUbtj the, board haSbeert Weighihg. the ,e}toestioil from every angle. It has discussed I whether* Great Britain's diplomatic rela-1 . tions with j China would be affected by I the purchase, arid Whether the guano L industry would be imperilled. Still" the :<■ board was hot satisfied,-and at .the last )~ meeting.of the council the board asked < ibr what purpose the crusher is required. ! The council decided to take the board | into its confidence and admit that though 8 _V; c ," , _f llei - mi 8 1 - £ actually be used-lor § ffinf or ironin S hilars, § see it ltcould crush metal. I Mere speed i 8 hot dangerous if tow 1 know What to do and how to do it but S I fin • hat / hey d ° not k *™ the cor ' I rect thine,to do. •■ LOT t s alone in Wflfc*. 1 am inot°*iS the K4WmH m aiicl not foilowing thelf ]L„.V 1 that » to say, the hand is waved 5 ally oh the right, but the car does Zt . Sec&Tto o^ 6 «£3J expects it to do. -This vague right-hand i i wave merely seems to mean slowS '■ I down or putting the brakes Om Se \ J is no need for an elaborate code of ! - signafling, and there i s „ 0 excuse for ' 1 . any motorist jiot knowing the two .first ? principles, which are. practically all that I are required, as: left-hand trifflS, if bhe '• keeps over to flic left, take care of S themselves without the need for anvil signals. f. ~1