SHE SAYS ...

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32708, 10 September 1971, Page 9

SHE SAYS ...

Quick-thinking drivers must save young children from their own impetuous actions and from the folly of their parents many times in the course of a year. A few days ago, a man and his wife were driving along Colombo Street about 8 p.m., when traffic was heavy, and all vehicles had their lights on. Luckily, the man is an alert driver he noticed the movement on the pavement out of the corner of his eye, and braked hard as the three-year-old started to run out across the road. Equally luckily, the man was also quick-thinking. When he braked, the child hesitated, and he went past. He realised the child would almost certainly start to run across the road behind his now-stopped car, straight into the path of traffic coming the other way. And cars coming the other way would have no chance of seeing the youngster in time as he emerged from behind the stopped car. So the man hurled himself from the driver's seat, leaving his wife to manage

the car, ran back, scooped up the bewildered three-year-old, and carried him to the pavement. This left the wife to control the car, an automatic transmission model, as it crept off along the road for the man had not even waited to put it into neutral. The poor woman had something of a problem, because a big central tunnel and console made it impossible for her to reach the footbrake or slide across the driver’s seat, the useless pull-out type handbrake was on the right-hand side of the steering wheel, and so was the ignition switch. Again luckily, she too was a quick thinker, and instead of getting in a panic, quietly moved the gear selector lever into neutral, and steered the car in to the side of the road where it stopped by itself. The couple later told me how the young child had been watching television with a slightly older youngster, and had run out the open front door of his house. They were amazed

at the unconcerned attitude of the child’s father when he learned what had happened. As well as showing once again how closely one has to watch children, I think the story shows how important it could be for a wife to know how to turn off the ignition, put the car out of gear, or put on the handbrake from the passenger’s seat if an emergency ever arises. The woman in this incident is a practiced driver, but some non-driv-ing women I know would not have had any idea what to do in such circumstances. They should find out Motor show The London Motor Show at Earls Court will be held this year from October 20 to 30. Fewer motor manufacturers now use the show as the place to announce their new models, but the show is again expected to attract record numbers of visitors and to include exhibits from all the world’s important manufacturers.