GOOD DRIVING.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 18685, 7 May 1926, Page 4

GOOD DRIVING.

SOME IMPORTANT FACTORS. Between being able to drive ft ear, and to attain a stato of proficiency so as to deserve the titlo of "expert" there is a wide gulf, lfc is one thing to bo able to steer, to start and stop, and to change gear, but it is another matter to be able to steer at any speed, backwards or forwards, with perfect accuracy, and to change gear so silently that a passenger in the car "would not hear the action. Constant practice and much road experience can accomplish a good deal, but without a certain amount of natural aptitude nobody will- ever become a really good driver. Consideration for other road users forms a basis of good driving manners, just as consideration for the engine, gearbox, etc., is at the root of smooth and silent driving. Silent gear changing, for example, is dependent on a number of factors, which include the slow-running adjustment of the engine, the weight of the flywheel and clutch, the presence or absence of a clutch-stop, etc.

Driver's Judgment. The driver also enters into the question because much depends upon his judgment. When changing up on a car not provided with.a clutch-stop it i.s generally necessary to wait a moment in neutral before engaging a higher gear. This allows one of tho wheels (connected to the engine) to slow down to approximately the same speed as the wheel (connected to tho driving wheels) with which it is to mesh. _ Changing down the reverse process is followed, and the wheel connected to the engine has to be speeded up.. A procedure known -as double declutching is therefore followed. The clutch pedal is depressed, and the gear lever placed in neutral. Then the clutch is re-engaged, and the engine accelerated. This speeds up the layshaft. and the gear wheels on it. Tlien the clutch pedal is depressed once more, and a lower gear engaged.

Silent Changing. A certain amount of practice is, as a rule, required in order to speed up the engine by just the right amount, and thus make a silent change. On some cars which have no clutch-stops the clutch is so heavy that it continues to spin for a long while before slowing down sufficiently to enable a silent change up to be made. In such cases a quicker change can often be made by double declutching without touching the accelerator. The engine slows down more quickly than the clutch, and by engaging the latter it is slowed down nearer to the engine speed, and thus the gears engage more rapidly. At all times the controls should be operated smoothly—that is to sav. the clutch should be engaged gradually, while the same applies to the application of the brakes. It seems scarcely necessary to emohasise that the rule of the road is "Keep to the Left," yet there are many drivers who hue the middle of the road, thus making it difficult for faster cars to overtake them. As regards speed, the driver should never drive fo fast th.it he cannot null up, on one set of brakes alone, before reaching the farthest point in bis vision. Sicnals to following traffic should always be made when fr<p driver is turning to the right or left, stopping or slowing down.

Dr. Xather, a youug house surgeon in the Eiselberg clinic, Vienna, has saved the life of a woman of 25 by stitching two wound? in her heart, after she had been stabbed by a drunken man. Through the prompt action of the police, Dr. Nather was able to operate on her twenty minutes after the crime. He sawed through ribs, exposed the heart, located the injuries, and made t>.e necessary stitches. Blood was afterwards transfused, and during the following days there were several injections "of common salt into her veins. She is now quite healthy, and has been brought fc? Dr. Xa.th.cr before the Medical Association.