MOTORING

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18911, 28 January 1927, Page 6

MOTORING

ADVANCE OF BUS. TRAINS SUPERSEDED. POSITION IN NEW YORK. The bus is steadily invading the realm of the railroad in transport and the latest phase is the substitution of buses for elaborate passenger train terminal facilities by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company in New York. Formerly this railroad operated its trains to and from Manhattan, over the Pennsylvania right of way, and used the Pennsylvania station as a terminal. Under the present arrangement, however, the road is operating its trains only as far as Jersey City, and is bridging the gap between Jersey City and Manhattan with a fleet of high-elass 1. 9 is, which run through a considerable portion of the business section of New York, and ma/ v be hailed anywhere on the route I' persons on their way to the trains. Many railroads have been compelled to use buses on "feeder" lines, but this is the first attempt to make a "feeder" territory of such an important traffic centre as New York. This railroad in advertising this service speaks-of it as an extension of its regular train service, and makes the point that boarding one of its buses anywhere along the route is virtually the same as climbing aboard the train. In inter-urban service the bus is spreading so rapidly that the railroads are, in some cases, practically "out of action." At a recent inter-State commerce commission held at Ashcville, North Carolina, it was emphasised that the short line railroads of the nation are in "an awful fix," and none of the representatives of the interests affected could offer any solution of their problems, resulting from motor-bus competiTho crux of the matter is that the bus is so speedy and now so luxuriously sprung and upholstered, that the travelling public receives all the comforts and conveniences it gets in its private pastercsts in demanding Federal or State protection is that such would tend to protect both the railroads and the motor-truck and bus lines from.unto competition through parallelling of lines. This is a truly vulpine argument. HELPFUL HINTS. HOW TO REDUCE FUEL CONSUMPTION. First Reduce as much as possible the unnecessary load your vehicle has to carry. Brakes that drag (as shown by their being hot after the car has been allowed to coast to a standstill), when motor is stiff (will not rock freely when cranked by hand), or undue friction in the running gear (as shown by the ear being hard to push), all these consume power and have been known to raise petrol consumption almost 100 pe r c* 3ll *- . . i e u„„ n ! Second.—Keep engine in good fenapo. Leaks past the piston, or leaky valves, allow quite a large percentage or the usable power to escape. Also, keep 1 all cylinders firing. For this reason it is important that the electrodes oi the spark plugs are kept colan and the correct distance apart. Third.—lnstall the best carburettor and keep it- properly adjusted. Fourth.—lt is unfortunate, but unavoidable, that a rich mixture must be used after starting unti > the motor warms up. Instead of making the carburettor adjustment permanently rich to take care of this trouble,- an economical adjustment should be made with the motor warm, and the dash contioi used to get a rich mixture during the short whilo necessary. While the motor is cold the throttle should be opened no further than necessary, and the motor speed should bo kept up. In very cold weather it is a good practice to drive the first half milo on second gear in order to warm «p the motor quickly. , Fifth.—Utilise all possible means to kefip the motor warm when m use. A great part of present-day motor tuel cannot be vaporised into a firing mixture Unless the intake manifold is hot, and everything that contributes to this condition will help the fuel economy. Hot air supply to the carburettor when called for, exhaust heated .intake manifold radiator cover, or thermostatic control of the circulating water, and keeping the temperature of the engine above 140 dog. Fahr., all these are vitallv important. . Sixth —Avoid unnecessary variation in speed.. Strong acceleration is often obtained by the use of an unduly rich mixture setting, and any application of the brakes cuts down momentum which the petrol had to generate. DESPOILING SCENERY. ANOTHER COMPLAINT. A member of the Canterbury Automobile Association has forwarded the following letter to the president of that body.— On driving to the Hilltop to-day I was disgusted to find a large advertisement of a ■ car painted on the drinking trough. Going on further through Little Akaloa, Okain'a Bay, and Barry's Bay I found the same car's name on bridges, rocks, troughs, and tanks—perhaps twenty in all. If we must be invaded by cars from a certain country we should put a stop to their agents defacing our beautiful natural scenery for commercial purposes. It is only right to say that the Government began it by allowing an advertisement of a lorry on the railway line at Birdling's Flat, but bo far the - is the first car to disfigure the roads on the Peninsula. Your Association will earn the gratitude of residents on the Peninsula and of tourists if they will have the offensive signs removed. The matter will come up for consideration at the next meeting of the Council of the C.A.A. Apropos of this it is interesting to knew that it was reported at the last meeting of the executive of the South Island Motor Union that the replies received from various firms who had been written to asking their co-operation m nil endeavour to stop advertising signs that tended to disfigure scenic beauty hud been favourable. Wise owners of used cars will see Unit their property goes to the servleo utation for the particular make dlitiiU' the first thousand miles or so of service during the second lease on life, if for no other reason than to be sure that everything is receiving proper attention..

Br "ROADSTER."

TRAFFIC TOLL. LONDON'S FIGURES. THREE DEATHS A DAY. Three people were killed and 293 injured every day during July, August, and September last in London's streets (says the "Morning Post"). j In one year 853 people were killed and there were 40,173 accidents that J were not fatal. . . : These figures were quoted during the discussion at a London County Coun-: cil meeting of what was described as the "appalling'' loss of life and limb in the roads of London. . Tho Council decided to ask the Minister for Transport to call a conference of all concerned, an amendment that the Council itself should call the conference only receiving seven Sir John Gilbert presented the report of the General Purposes Committee, saying that the publication of the report had already effected a great deal of good by directing public attention to the important matters with which it dealt. The figures certainly warranted the use of the word "appalling in the Committee's recommendation. The "Thrusters." Mr J D. Gilbert, in moving the amendment that the proposed conferonce be called by the County Council, said he made no complaint about motorists in general, but there was a minority who made it dangerous tor pedestrians to use the roads. There was that type which continually wanted to pass every other motorist on the The figures given by the Committee justified pedestrians in asking that something should be done to make the streets safer for them. / But even much worse, said Mr Oil-, bert, were the figures which had not: yet been given—those for July, August, | and September. For those months the latest figures showed that there were ) nearly three deaths a day as a result' of street accidents, the total being no j fewer than 269 for. the three months a large increase over tho figures m the report. ~,.,. The figures of accidents that did not prove fatal were even worse, as those showed that during these three months 26,727 persons were injured in the streets, making 2065 a week, or 293 a day. Regulating Pedestrians. Mr. A. Baker said that the London County Council was not now a traffic authority, and the only duty left to it with direction was moving the wounded and dead under the Red Cross. Admiral Taylor, as the owner and driver of a motor-car, and as one who covered .10,000 miles a year in London streets, said there were several other points which might have been brought up in the Committee's report. Nothing was said as to how far pedestrians would consent to be dictated to with regard to the manner in which they should pass along the King's highway. The streets really existed primarily for motor traffic-^-(Oh! _ and laughter)—well, pedestrians simply used the streets in order only to cross them. . ' , Quite as necessary as regulations and legislation for motorists were regulations for pedestrian traffic in the streets. When visiting New York recently he found that pedestrians crossed the streets at main stopping places and nowhere else, and in congested London streets it was certainly advisable that some, system on similar lines should bo adopted so that pedestrians could cross at fixed points. By that means the pedestrian would cross in perfect safety to himself and others. He would make it an offence for a motorist to drive past a stationary tramcar letting down or taking up passengers. NOVICE DRIVERS. CORRECTING MISTAKES. Anyone who has taught people to drive a car must have noticed that there aro certain mistakes which are made by practically all novices (says an authority). Certain minor errors have, of course, almost become proverbial, such as forgetting to switch the engine on, being baffled by a, roadside stoppage which is simply due to lack | of petrol in the tank, endeavouring to start the engine with the throttle half open instead of practically closed, and so on. Another common mistake consists of forgetting the two ways in which the engine may be disconnected —declutching and shifting the gear lever into neutral—with the result that,, when his attention is fully occupied by heavy traffic 'the new motorist is very apt to bring his oar to a standstill with the clutch in and the gear engaged, so stalling the engine; a disconcerting experience. Then there is the type of driver who finds great difficulty' in memorising the gear lever positions, so that he is continually glancing downwards at the gate instead of keeping < his eyes upon the road. "Bevviiig" the engine unduly when smarting away is another common fault. As regards the use of the brakes, the new motorist is apt to apply the pedal too impulsively when the roads are greasy, with the result that the wheels tend to become locked and a skid may well follow. Another important point is the giving of signals, and while many more or less elaborate eddes in vogue, the new motorist can' safely concentrate upon the following .•—Extend the arm horizontally to left or right, as the case may be to signify a turn; extend the right arm vertically to signify intention of stopping; make circular motion with arm to signify a right-about-turn; move tho right arm rapidly upwards and downwards to signify intention of slowing down. It is, of course, particularly dangerous to give a signal to the right and then proceed to turn to the left. When branching off to the right down a turning off a busy thoroughfare, many drivers make the mistake of hugging the nearside kerb until the last moment instead of gradually drawing over towards the centre of the road. Obviously if a car be proceeding slowly along the nearside edge of the road there will be a great temptation for iastmoving traffic to hoot and pass it, disregarding the driver's extended arm. By pulling out into the centre of the road following traffic is enabled to get past behind the car while it is waiting for a lull in the oncoming traffic to enable it to turn to the right. . Impulsive actions, such as suddenly swerving to the right to overtake, are always dangerous, because they may place a following driver in a very awkward predicament. Many people also make the mistake of swerving to a far greater extent than necessary leaving as much as three or four **™ them and the vehicle which they are Pn Sd S judgment is also evidenced by the driver Iho proceeds to pass another arin'lhe face'of an oncoming vohick, which is fairy close, »"*.«£ n ™ motorist who .has W wed a little con lidence is particu ar y apt J to err in tnis respect through, lack of judgment.