Auto Gossip

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31112, 15 July 1966, Page 11

Auto Gossip

by

A.J.P.

Left Or Right Changing from one car to another can have its hazards, and often provokes debate about whether, in an automatic transmission car, it is best to brake with the left foot or the right If you are driving an automatic all the time, braking with the left foot is quicker. But it needs practice, for the left foot is not used to the more delicate control needed for smooth braking. Dangers However, if you are driving both automatic and manual cars, left-foot braking has its dangers. You become conditioned to a certain movement, and in an emergency in the manual car, may automatically thump your left foot on the clutch, instead of breaking. In this case it probably is best to use the right foot in both cars. About a year ago, driving an automatic and approaching a comer, I wanted to change down. From habit I went to tread on the clutch, and nearly came to rest in a cloud of tyre smoke! After a little practice, however, it is surprising how quickly you can adapt from one car to the other.

Trained Reflexes There are some amusing stories of trained reflexes running amok at the end of a long day’s drive. I recall hearing of one driver who absentmindedly depressed the clutch when he closed the lid of the glovebox, and not long ago a friend told me how he trod on the dip-switch and changed gear. Thanks to synchromesh and a fortuitous matching of speeds, the gearchange was accomplished quite smoothly. You get used to operating indicators, too. I have dutifully indicated a turn when driving in the middle of an empty paddock. It is not a bad habit, however. Front Or Back Another hazard stemming from changing cars occurs during cornering. In some front-wheel-drive cars, you accelerate much earlier in the corner and ease to make the nose of the car “tuck

In" to the bend. In rear-wheel I drive ears, you generally start to accelerate later, and eas-| ing the accelerator promotes understeer. Switch On Make sure you switch on your headlights in good time as evening draws in: remember it is better to have them on too early than too late. Incidentally, it is not legal to drive on parking lights alone, and the car is not considered to be lit properly unless the dipped headlights are on. Concentration The recent paragraph on an inattentive driver in Fendalton road has been noticed by a colleague who has produced a paragraph' from the British police drivers’ manual, “Roadcraft.” “Concentration.” it says, “is the keystone of all good driving. It is a primary duty, but often a neglected one. Complete concentration will enable you to see and take notice of every detail. It is often the smallest detail that gives the clue to what will probably happen. If you miss such a detail, an accident—or at least an unpleasant experience —may result" Quote of the Week "Let me not forget—as If I could—to bare my teeth at large numbers of the twowheeled fraternity who, if their speed was proportional to the noise they generate, would be overtaking lunar probes. They, more than any other branch of the community, have turned my personal nerve tissue into something closely resembling filigree lace.”—Richard O’Hagan writing in the “Motorist’s Miscellany.”