Auto Gossip

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30471, 19 June 1964, Page 9

Auto Gossip

by

A.J.P.

in a city chronically short of cycle stands. The other day a cyclist hurled her machine Against a parking meter, from which it riccocheted on to the side of my car. The result was a considerable dent and the loss of quiet a lot of paint. But not even an apology was forthcoming. Despicable But as a local Magistrate pointed out not so long ago, one of the most despicable creatures is he who damages another’s car when parking or manoeuvring and then drives off without, even leaving a note. These accidents will happen; it is unfortunate, but we are all prone to errors of judgment. However, quite apart from the law, common courtesy dictates we should at least inform the owner of the other, vehicle.- It is easy to panic and make off, but even from a purely selfish viewpoint this is only likely to make it worse for us. Near or Off? The terms “nearside” and “offside” often confuse persons when applied to cars. They are a relic from the day of the -horse: the side you mount from is the “nearside.” Thus, the passenger’s side of the car is the nearside. Why retain these terms, you might ask, when there is such a possibility of confusion. Unfortunately, there is even

more chance of confusion if. you say “left” or “right” side. I once asked a city garage to repair a car’s right front suspension—and had a £2O job done on the left front suspension. The trouble was I had called . the driver’s side unit the right side, and so it is, if you are facing the same way as the car. Unfortunately when the mechanic came to do the job he faced the car and then sorted left from right. If I had said “offside” there would have been no confusion—or would there? Turning There have been several crashes caused recently by persons turning slowly across main road traffic. Remember that when turning on a main road you cannot exercise too much caution. You are most unwise to turn within 100 yards of a curve—a car rounding the curve at 60 m.p.h. will be on you in three seconds. When you turn, do so as swiftly as possible, always signal, and look all around you, carefully, before you start the manoeuvre. Similarly if you pull into a stream of main road traffic from a side road, choose a large gap in traffic, andaccelerate as quickly as possible up to the speed of the traffic stream. Jacks The other day a friend showed* me an example of

the shoddy jacks supplied by some car manufacturers with their product. The nut which moves up and down the threaded column, was made of « cheap metal, and when the car was up on the jack this nut had stripped and let the vehicle down with a rush. Fortunately nobody was under the car at the time. If nothing else, this certainly illustrates the great danger motorists place themselves in when they climb under a car supported only by a jack. Always chock the car up so that if the jack fails the vehicle will not fall and crush you. Shock Stopper A solution to the problem of static electricity shocks from cars comes from Britain. There it is possible to buy graphited tyre paint which is claimed to earth the car by allowing the static electricity to travel down the paint. Another cure is to fit seat covers made from natural fibres. The British magazine, “Motor,” says the best formula for getting a shock is to wear a nylon fur coat and rubber-soled shoes, then slide quickly across the seat, get out, and touch the car door. Quote of the Week “The Lord’s Day is no longer, except in a few remote places, a day of rest, but a day on wheels for travelling from one part of the country and—if God wills —back again.’’—The Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland quoted in the “Sydney Morning Herald.”