Auto Gossip

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31658, 19 April 1968, Page 16

Auto Gossip

by

A.J.P.

Lights, Cooling Make sure all lights are working and that the headlights are correctly aimed, remembering that it is just as important to be seen as to see. Unless your car will be well garaged every night antifreeze is a wise precaution, for every winter the first hard frosts result in a sudden rush of motorists descending on their garages with various cooling problems which could have been prevented by a pint of anti-freeze. Exhaust Gases In winter you will drive for much of the time with the windows closed, or nearly so, and if there is a gas leak anywhere in your car’s exhaust system there will be much greater danger of carbon monoxide poisoning. If you or any passengers consistently complain of dizziness or headaches the chances are gas is leaking into the car in dangerous quantities. Quite a

small exhaust leak can have fatal results. Visibility Visibility is another vital point to watch in preparing for winter driving. Replace the rubber in your wiper blades, or the whole blade if necessary, if you have any doubt as to the wipers' efficiency. You would be wise to carry a spare wiper blade in the boot, for if a blade does fly off or fail, you can be sure it will happen on a dirty night miles from a garage! A heater is an important safety feature because of its demisters, but at the very least if you have not a heater then carry a demisting cloth. If your car has no windscreen washers, you would be wise to consider fitting them. After a few weeks you will wonder how you ever did without them. Quote Of The Week “In Britain, everyone creeps round in the dusk without lights lest they be thought chicken for turning them on first If I were asked to list the characteristics of the average British driver I would say: fear of putting on lights in the dusk, and near inability to understand lane discipline.”—R. Thoresby in the "Motor.”