NOTES.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 19201, 6 January 1928, Page 11

NOTES.

M B<XMLrt«r" Invites articles and

paragraphs of interest to motorists for

this page,

Two cars were proceeding along the Xorth road on Tuesday in the same direction between TVaikuku and oodend, and as one passed the other and swung over to the same side oi the road it caused! a stone to be thrown through the windscreen of the following car. The windscreen was smashed into splinters, some of which cut a child, which was in the front seat, rather badly about the face. Mr J. SHawkes, secretary of the Canterbury Automobile Association, who supplied these particulars, stated in doing &o that he hoped their publication would impress on motorists the danger that speeding past another car on a stony road was liable to cause.

Considerable improvements are being effected to the roatli over the Oniihi Saddle, the corners being widened and the road widened.

Regarding Cooper's Creek bridge, Geraldine County, the Main Highways Board has instructed its local representative (Mr T. ,T. Talbot) again to bring under the notice of the Council the need for improvement. Some time ago the ratepayers of the county rejected! a proposal to raise a loan for, the purpose of improving the structure.

No country offers the touring motorist such a wealth of wayside interest and romance as Great Britain, and provided adequate instructions are available, it is easy to enjoy unlimited miles of glorious travel with visits to endless points of interest that are linked with the life of early days. In rendering these tours more easily available to the motorist, signal work is being done by the Dunlop Touring Service Bureau at 43 Kings way, London, W.C. Motorists only have to make enquiry at this bureau (giving some indication of the time at their disposal and the part of the country they wish to visit) to receive, entirely free-of cost, a complete itinerary of the tour indicating mileages and all details of interest on the road. Accompanying the itinerary is a road map, on which the route is shown by a blue line, with sections of bad road, repairs, etc., marked in red. Information is also furnished on guide books and other relative matters that will heighten the interest and enjoyment of the tour. New Zealanders 011 returning from a visit to the Homeland speak highly of the splendid work being done by the Dunlop Bureau m revealing much of the beauty and interest of Britain that would! otherwise never have been viewed.

Between Rangiora-Kaiapoi and Oxford the various roads have all suffered by the recent heavy rainfall and the seasonal shingling. The main road from Rangiora to Oxford is settling down, but re-grading at the Cust Terrace Hill necessitates careful driving on wet days on account of clay. The old "tram" road is still perhaps the best route from White's bridge to Oxford (the first turn to the left from the bridlge and about two miles on a sharp turn to the right at the sign, then straight on for about 15 miles to Bennetts). Alternatively the north Eyre road is equally good. Visitors to Ashley Gorge by this route may now proceed by perhaps a better route from the Oxford road past Carleton by turning at the second "Ashley Gorge" sign instead of the first, and thus shorten the route by the good road through Oxford which, however, is the better trip.

\ correspondent, writes stating that the Mount Herbert county roads between Charteris Bay and Port Levy are in a shocking condition.

Should pedestrians carry front and rear lights for night walking? This moot question has recently been asked of the public safety department of the Automobile Club of Southern California by autoists who declare • that pedestrians are. generally hard to see when they step out from the. kerb at night. It is argued by one motorist, who is fearful of striking jay-walkers that the pedestrian should be made to carry a lighted lamp of some kind. Automobile headlights do not spot the person in the road quickly enough to avoid trouble, hj« declares._ He also suggests that the walker might carry, a light-coloured article of some kind, such as a newspaper, which would reflect the lights from the automobile. Auto drivers often come perilously near striking pedestrians at night because pedestrian traffic control is' not in force at night except in the congested districts, it is pointed out.

Another stage in the development of omnibus working in London is seen in the combination of the small owners (commonly referred to as "pirates" or independents as distinct from the London General Omnibus Co., Ltd.). According to "Motor Transport," these small owners have formed a company known as the London Public Omnibus Co., and'are plaoing six-wheeled pneu-matic-tyred covered-in top deck buses on the road.

Six-wheeled lorries and motor-buses are no uncommon sight in England. Now, says "Motor Transport." the six-wheeled construction is being applied to motor coaches, and it trould appear that the public will quickly realise their greater comfort and safety, particularly on long-distance tours. Their increased comfort is obvious, and as regards safety, not only has a six-wheeler two extra wheels t-o which brake-power can be applied, but it has been demonstrated that the sixwheeler is less liable to skid on slippery roads.

Five miles of concrete road have just been laid in. Colorado in which rock containing £4OOO of gold ore has been mixed. It is not with the idea of imitating the specification outlined in the "Book of Revelations" that this apparent extravagance was permitted, but was due to the fact that the crushed rock from the ore dump of local gold mines provided the best material with which the concrete could be made, and the amount of gold in the rock did not warrant the expensive operations necessary for extracting it.

In considering the performance of .1 commercial motor veuicle, it is not, generally speaking, sufficiently understood what an extremely important factor the weight of the chassis can be. Taking an average vehicle designed for a 3-ton load, the chassis weight is probably in the neighbourhood of three tons, and the body, if of the platform type, approximately 10 cwt, giving a, total weight when the vehicle is fully loaded of 6 ton 10 cwt. It will be clearly understood, of course, that the engine has to propel the whole of this weight, and has to lift the whole of this weight when climbing a hill, and, also, the brakes have to decelerate the whole 6i tons when the vehicle is slowing down. The petrol consumption of a vehicle, other things being equal, is proportional to the weigh 1 moved: in other words, the weight of the vehicle has a very direct bearing on the running costs.