SAFETY FIRST

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21707, 14 February 1936, Page 19

SAFETY FIRST

PROTECTION FQR CHILDREN

ROAD SIGNS NEAR SCHOOLS

AN APPEAL TO MOTORISTS

-Now that the children have returned to school after the summer vacation, the ‘School, Slow’ signs for motorists, both‘in the town and in the country, have an increased significance," says the latest safety message of the Automobile Association, Canterbury. “The children are back at their, lessons and games and are apt ■to forget the dangers of the«road. For that reason, the many school : mean more to-day than, they; did a few weeks ago, the ' schools and playgrounds were empty. “Many drivers are not: sufficiently,, impressed by the ‘School, Slow’ signs.’ This is a dangerous attitude, for the Brotection Of the school children on roads depends on the man or woman at the wheel, the cyclist, and the driver of the horse-drawn vehicle. It is too much to expect children always to do the correct thing, no matter how carefully they are taught or warned by teachers or parents. “In the schools of New Zealand today, much attention is given to teaching children about the risks of the roads. If the teachers and parents are doing their part in that way, drivers end riders of road-using vehicles have an important duty to see that their conduct is beyond reproach. . “Out on the long and often straight COWitry roods the motorist, driving along at fair speed, should not disregard the ‘School, Slow’ sign. The schools of the country districts are not so crowded as those of the cities, but the children are just as prone to dash on foot, or on bicycle, on to the roadway apd run the risk of injury,”

ROAD DANGER ELIMINATED

EFFECTIVE NEW NON-SKID MOTOR.TYHE

!-for several years, the manufacturers of motor-tyres have been concentrating most,of their research on . the production of a tyre which would give motorists protection against the treacherous surfaces ol bftumennied wads in .wet weather, Considerable advances were made, and the latest development/appears to have come close to ilhe "completes-’eUmlftatton of wSr B 'f /■'forward, or transversal- ,>• For hours during each-of tbe last •Sffeertday s,Mcmepstra4ions Of the almost,'total Impossibility of skidding, accidentally or intentionally, with Michelins new “Stop” tyre have been given .author intersection of Tua®i and •larißp^'wfpTO wd• th^.-.iuiva proved to « larfee ntimber of spectators that the claims which are made for these tyres are not unfounded in fact. Before each demonstration a section of whh i»f*/Jellied soap-and water. The effectiveness the experiment was added. to by a fall of rainA car r shod with a set of the new tyres, which are ' the Mlchelln Real wwPressuros withnew developments, wee - driven at-high speed oyer the treacherous surface and came to an abrupt step when the brakes •= were <uUy P applied. That in v itßeW was an excellent performance, but the demonstration was even more convincing When the brakes were applled . when the car was in the middle of a violent swerve on the greasy road. The car came to a standstill within a few feet* and although the front wheels were at an angle there Was neither - forward nor sideways sWdEven when the car was swerving wildly up and down Tuam street there was no sign of a swerve on braWng, and the dangerous state of the road was proved by the necessity for Ahe use <3 a Are hose to wash the surface and make It «afe for ears shod with the old types of tyres, • With the most violent sudden braking the impression of security is remarkable. : from .an inspection it is easily conceivable that this impression of security remains even after the tyre has done a big mileage.

The Tread The basic principle of the tyre is that its tread is a mass of fine laminations. the edges of these acting iikf the blades of a windscreen wiper, reaching the actual surface itself and not skidding over the last film as a sheet of smooth rubber would. With the weight of the oar above them the laminations scrape up the water which lies in the spaces between them and eject ft sideways, the drying being thus almost instantaneous. These blades of rubber are of an undulating design and are about half an inch deep. By their disposition they prevent all lateral skidding, their wavy design they oppose their edges to transverse skidding. Michelin's “Stop” tyres mark a definite period in the research into the Srobletns of the-motorists, and show a ig advance over previous non-skid tyres.

SOUTH AFRICAN GRAND PRIX

WIN FOR CAPE TOWN DQCTOR

Dr. Massacuratti, of Capetown, driving a Bugatti, came out on top of the held of 25. contestants at the second South African Grand Prlx.rw.dt East London last month, completing , the course in Bhrs 18min 17sec, at ah average of 87.33 miles an hour. Thrills and spills were the order of the day. Various mishaps resulted in only ! six competitors finishing the course. '-‘j *; ■jl O. Shuttleworth. a visiting ace from England, crashed and wa? removed to hospital. He described part Of the track, after a sharp rainfdll when the race was in full swing, as being "as slippery as ice/* - To 8 the dangers of this factor i», attributed the fact that the fastest speeda. this year did not beat that of Whft-i n«y Straight; who'won last year at am average of'over 96 miles an hour. A crowd ’ estimated at over 80,000people watched the exciting battle for a lead to the whining drone of ex- : haust noises, . „