SAFETY ON THE ROADS

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22400, 13 May 1938, Page 16

SAFETY ON THE ROADS

IMPORTANCE OF GOOD LIGHTS “PREPARE FOR WINTER DRIVING ” MESSAGE FROM AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION

"This Is the time of year when the shortcomings or defects of lighting equipment become increasingly apparent. and the many cars and trade vehicles seen on the roads with inefficient lights is ample evidence of it, says the latest safety message of the Automobile Association, Canterbury. “Many cars may be seen with headlights that are mere glimmers, which no doubt serve to warn approaching traffic of the presence of a vehicle, but they are quite useless. for their intended purpose of revealing the roadway and what is on it. Faulty equipment, dirty lamps or reflectors, and depleted batteries are the principal contributing causes to lights which are ineffective. Lights which will not reveal objects ahead do not comply witn the law or the ordinary rules of commonsense, and there .is small excuse for any motorist using poor lights habitually. Unfortunately quite a few drivers make a habit of driving on poor lights. It is an extremely dangerous habit. , "The regulations require that headlights must display beams sufficiently powerful to enable substantial objectand the road surface to be clearly visible in normal driving and atmospheric conditions to a driver of normal vision at a distance of at least 150 feet directly in front of the vehicle. “The regulations also demand that the centre of the main beam of light from each headlamp should be projected downwards to meet a horizontal road surface at a distance of not more than 200 feet ahead of the vehjcle: and that the centre of the main beam oi light from the off-side lamp should meet the centre of the mam beam from the near-side lamp at a distance of not more than 200 feet ahead of the vehicle. , “Obviously many lights are not capable of showing an object more than a few feet ahead of the vehicle.

No Tail-Lamps “There are other vehicles abroad at nights with lamp bulbs that out of commission, and not a few of these are in the tail-lamp. . “Lighting equipment which has not been called upon for much service in the summer months may soon be found wanting in winter because J ail J; general dampness, and the depletion of batteries through hard work with cold weather starting as well as thr greater use of headlights and traffic in “Properl effective lighting has an Important bearing on road safety, and any neglect of the electrical equipment is not the mark of thg good and careful driver. Neglect may easily lead tf a complete breakdown, of the system at the very time it is .most n6 “Do d not guess about the condition of your lamps. • Make sure, always.

LEVEL CROSSINGS IN ENGLAND delays to road traffic INVESTIGATED Observations recently conductedby the Automobile Association in England show that traffic on the most important roads in Great Britain is interrupted nearly 8000 times daily between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. by the closing of

railway level crossings. The investigation carried out by the Automobile Association concerned only 380 level crossings on selected roads carrying heavy through traffic, and when it is known that there are 4560 crossings in England, Wales, and Scotland of which 1082 are on classified roads, some idea is obtained of the enormous loss of efficiency they cause to the nation’s road transport. The Automobile Association s figures show that on an average each crossing is closed to road traffic 20 tune* during eight hours.' On this basis the 4560 crossings interrupt road transport 91,200 times between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily, a loss of 4560 working hours if an estimate of three minutes 13 accepted as the average time whicn elapses between the closing and opening of the gates. • ... .. - The observations showed that the delay at crossings varied considerably In some cases roads traffic was held up for as much as four out of the tight hours and in others the loss of lime amounted to only a few minutes.

TOP OVERHAULS When a car has had a “top overhaul," in other words, has been cleaned oi carbon, and had the valves ground-m. a good deal of trouble can be caused later on if the owner does not observe certain elementary precautions, which always have been associated with mis particular job. . .. .. Any service station worth its salt will always fit a new cylinder head gasket when assembling the engine again as the old one will be so compressed that it will no. longer be able to fill up the minute irregularities on the faces of the cylinder block and head. When a new one is fitted, a gas and water tight joint is assuredbutonly if the car is brought back after it has covered about 100 miled in order that the head can be tightened once mote. Under the influence of running temperature. the new gasket will squeeze a little thinner, and the second tightening is necessary to prevent gaps between it and the head appearing, and a section of the gasket blowing out. Similarly, within this first 100 miles, the freshly ground valves will settle a little deeper into their seats and so it is customary to set the tappets on the loose side, to allow lor this. There will then be small danger of a valve settling so far down that its stem will come in contact with the tappet head when closed, and so be held a little off its seat, . This loose setting will make the valves very noisy, which does not matter in the first 100 miles, but if the car is returned to the service station then- the' tappets can be set to the proper clearances, quietening the engine. increasing efficiency, and avoiding risk of the valves “riding” the ♦■meets.