Hints for the motorist

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXV, Issue 14185, 9 October 1946, Page 5

Hints for the motorist

lß«qilS^g= —. Y- ALBERT L CLOUGH isaaraSrai

BUYING A CAR? THINGS TO REMEMBER • Cars are becoming more plentiful again and the joys of the open road are making a wider* and stronger appeal. Wages are higher, the standard of living has risen, and thousands of men and women are to-day seriously considering buying a car who, a few years ago, would have thought the idea preposterous. Learn To Drive If your mind is made up and you have decided on becoming a motorist, don't look around among your friends in the hope of getting one to take you in hand and teach you how to drive. It is far more satisfactory to go.to a stranger, and an expert, for your lessons. By all means take every opportunity of being a passenger next the driver and watch the modus operandi. Also buy a good handbook on the art 'of driving a car. No book, of course, can take ■the place of practical instruction in the handling of a car, but read intelligently, a handbook can give you a clear idea of the car as a mechanical unit. Acquiring Road Sense Most of us possess a certain amount cf road sense. It is mostly composed of that sense miscalled "common" and consideration for other road users. More accidents are caused by impatience than lack of skill in driving a car. Anticipation and thinking ahead are essential when at the wheel* It is no use waiting to see what the fellow ahead is going to do. Decide that he will probably do the wrong thing, and so be prepared. If you wait until he does it,, it may be too late. Don't Minimise Difficulties To begin with, don't be over-confident. Go" slowly and put in as much practice as you can on open, little frequented roads, and by'yourself. A talkative passenger may be a source of great danger when a novice is at the wheel. Conquer straightforward driving before you attempt reversing, driving at night and in traffic. Learn the proper use of the gear box. Nothing is more disconcerting than .crashing gears. Never omit to give the proper signals, even on a road where there is no ■traffic in sight. By doing it always it becomes second nature, which is what signalling should be. When on the road remember you are no longer an individual, acting alone: what'you do and the way you do it may cause or prevent an accident. . . When you become a motorist, want of knowledge is criminal. Ignorance may be coupled with impatience as the primary cause of accidents. Having decided to master the art of driving with the aid of an expert teacher and a good handbook, go ahead-with confidence, and you will soon find yourself one of the happy Knights of the Road.