MOTORING AND MOTORISTS

Evening Star, Issue 22329, 4 May 1936, Page 6

MOTORING AND MOTORISTS

LIGHTING-UP TIDIES To-day 5.32 Tuesday 5.31 Wednesday 5.29 Thursday 5.28 Friday 5.27 Saturday 5.25 Sunday 5.21 PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED • Vauxhall Motorist ’ for March. GAR MANUFACTURING IN SOVIET Some rather interesting details have been received dealing with the motor industry in Soviet Russia. This country generally is not considered as a motor manufacturing country at all, hut actually it produces motor vehicles, mainly tractors and trucks in very considerable quantities. Last December, for instance, the output consisted of 9.500 tractors, main - being of the heaviest crawler type, 7,000 lorries, and 1,700 cars. One tractor plant has already turned out its 100,000 th vehicle, and has an annual capacity of 40.000 units. The U.S.S.R. now appears to be practically self-contained in the supply of motor vehicles for domestic needs. This is shown by the fact that, whereas in 1930, 6,071 motor vehicles were imported, in 1934 the total of imports had dropped to 428. BAD CORNERING One of the most serious driving faults of the day is bad cornering, says a safety-first message of the 'Automobile Association (Canterbury). There is a prevailing tendency, among drivers to drive up to a corner and then expect by violent use of the steering wheel to make cars, no matter what the wheel lock might be, perform an impossible, right-angle turn. Not only is this a dangerous habit from the point of view of life and property, but it is destructive to tyres ami damaging to the steering gear through wenching, while the strain is no good ) chassis and bodywork generally. This practice of attempting vight-!-lc turns forces the car on to its .correct side of the road as welt, and I ■ whole procedure is characteristic the careless driver.

Do not take corners 100 fast, and before you reach them veer out slightly to the middle of the road for a left-hand turn, and graceful and safe negotiation of the corner will bo possible.

USE OF BRAKES EMERGENCY STGPS IN STREETS Few motorists are aware bow frequently they apply their brakes in an ordinary day's driving in city streets. In order to determine how often the average driver uses the brakes in traffic, a lest was recently conducted by an automobile club in SHchigan, United States. A woman was selected as an average driver, and her car was fitted with a meter to register the number of stops made. She drove for eight hours through all kinds of traffic. During that time 144 miles were travelled, and the brakes were used on 547 occasions, or more than one a minute. _ The speed average for the day’s driving was slightly above 18 miles an hour, while JSO miles an hour was never exceeded. Traffic stops averaged three a mile. Even under the moderate speed conditions that prevailed during the run, the test disclosed the tremendous amount of work the brakes have to do’ during a normal day’s driving, and the great stresses imposed on the tyres, for every application of the brakes throws} increased work on the treads and walls of the covers. The fact that brakes may have to be applied, and depended upon. 500 times a day, when driving in busy areas. Indicates how necessary it is to keep brakes in good condition.

The act of a,inlying flic brakes may appear quite simple to the novice, but there is a lot to be learned about braking. After one has mastered the first principles of stopping a car, sudden application of the brakes should be avoided, except in emergencies. Sensitive foot action should be studied, so ns to feel the extent to which one is using the pedals. By braking smoothly one can greatly minimise tyre wear. When the brake shoes have been brought gently into contact with the drums, the car commences to decelerate. It is then possible to increase the pressure of brakes without producing the sudden change of velocity which caused shock. Sudden braking is a very common prelude to a skid. The question sometimes arises as to whether or not the clutch pedal should be depressed simultaneously with the brake pedal. The answer depends on the' circumstances. Under all normal conditions, where only a slight amount of braking is needed, there is no objection to declutching; many experienced drivers believe that on a greasy road it is actually safer not to declutch. However, for all modern degrees of braking it is probably immaterial whether or not the clutch is disengagtd. In an emergency stop the power of the modern four-wheel brakes is such as to slow a car more quickly than if the compression of the engine were solely relied on. 'Consequently, the brakes, in addition to stopping the ear. must work to stop the engine if the clutch is left engaged. It follows that for a minimum stopping distance on a dry road, whore the brakes can be used to the full extent, the clutch pedal should also be depressed. OVERTAKING OTHER VEHICLES During the course of a country journey by road covering some 500 miles, which was carried out recently, it was noticed that far too many drivers show a lamentable lack of judgment in passing other vehicles, while drivers of vehicles being passed, in many cases, judging by the manner in which they hug the crown of the road, although due warning has been given by the overtaking motorist, are extremely vague in their minds as to the position of their nearside mudguards in relation to the left-hand edge of the roadway. Motorists of this sort are well advised to fit an indicator to their nearside front mudguard so that it can bo seen from the driving seat, and to remember also that,owing to the angle at which the other driver views it, it may well appear to be at least a foot over the edge of the roadway without the wheel on that side actually being dangerously close to it. In overtaking a car alien another vehicle is coming in the opposite dircc-

by "Radiator”

tion unless the driver is absolutely sure that he has plenty of time to pass and move across to the left-hand side without “ cutting in,” ho should possess his soul in patience until the oncoming car has been left behind. _ Some judgment should be used regarding the spaed of the three vehicles, and no attempt should be made to pass if the speed ol the car being overtaken is only five or len miles per hour less than Hint of Urn overtaking car. until the road is absolutely clear and straight for a considerable distance ahead. It should be remembered, too, that when another car is approaching from the opposite direction it is very difficult to judge its speed, and if it is travelling at 50 miles per hour and the motorist who is overtaking is travelling at approximately the same pace, the cars will be approaching each other at 100 miles per hour, and space disappears very quickly at that speed. During the journey in question a great many examples of bad judgment under conditions of this sort were noticed, and several times very serious accidents were only avoided by the quick thinking and foresight of one or other of the motorists concerned, and it may be said that this was rarely displayed by the driver overtaking. Above all, one should never ov< take on corners or when approaching the crest of a hill. “ Flashncss ” and impaUcncc in driving aro inexcusable, and the driver who forces his way through other traffic is a menace to himself and everybody else on the road. KEEPING DRIVER AWAKE \ Owners of largo fleets of motor trucks in America have found that the use of auto-radios by their drivers tends to decrease accidents both to their cars and to others, as the radio keeps drivers awake and alert tha-iangers of night driving. ’ *” —*■ Often the monotony of driving results, it is stated, in a tendency to hypnotise the driver into seini-wakctill-ness or sleep. Through the interest aroused by the music or entertainment coining in'over the air, he finds himself fully awake and alert, ready for any emergency. The increased demand for automobile radios duo to a recognition of their important safety factor has brought about an increase recently of 2,000 men added to the number of workers in one of the leading anto-radio factories in the United States. VENTILATED CAR SEATS A patent lias been taken out in America for a method of keeping car seats cool in summer. The cover is of impervious materials, but is punctured with small holes. Internal air streams are set up through the cushion.

WEAR ELIMINATED HARDER STEEL A motor car engine that never wears our is promised by experiments being carried out by a big Gloucestershire engineering firm. The experiments arc the outcome oi a new process of steel hardening invented by a Dutchman named Van der Horst. His new chrome-hardened steels arc declared to be the hardest metals yet used in motor engineering under commercial condition. So hard is the new metal surface that it is claimed that carbon deposits cannot remain on it—and so the motorist's fear of the coked-np engine are, it is believed, killed. A secret method of electrolysis is used. The cylinder wails are more highly polished than glass, and are so hard that it is impossible to scratch them. Apart from cylinders, bearings can also be treated. .So far tests have been confined almost exclusively to Diesel engines. The exceptionally smooth surface can be used for coating the leading edges of aircraft wings to prevent the formation of ice. THE MACADAM CENTENARY This is the year of the Macadam Centenary, and from the road point of view it is interesting to motorists to know that the process of road making devised by John Loudon Macadam was the forerunner of the tarmacadam of to-day. Earlv macadam roads were what was known as waterbound, and had nothing like the freedom from dust and durability of the modern road. But Maendam undoubtedly laid the foundation of a type of road that, inefficient though it was for modern motor traffic, lent itself to developments which, with the aid of tar and other binding materials, have given us the dnstproof highways of to-day. EXHAUST FUMES IN TRAFFIC Periodically a scare is raised about the possible dangers to public health through pollution of the air in traffic congested areas by exhaust fumes from motor vehicles. Carbon monoxide is the most pernicious element of exhaust gases, and motorists are constantly warned of its dangers in confined [daces. In a report on the ‘ Investigation of Atmospheric Pollution.'' issued by the Department of Scientific; and Industrial Research, it is stated that the Medical Uesean-h Council expresses the view that the information already available shows that the health of users of even busy streets is not likely to be affected in any determinable way by such concentrations of carbon monoxide as are generally found. MUSIC WHEREVER THEY GO In London, the electric chime has not replaced I he motor horn to anv extent. but in America the latter may soon he a thine: of (he past. The electric chime is replacing it, and is being fitted to thousands of cars: it emits a very pleasing Iwo-tonc signal.

AID TO GAR WASHING Cleanin'; ilie ear. a task slimmed by Ihe majority of owners, eim be greatly simplified it a sponge is used, instead of a eloth, for washing down. Although it costs several shillings, a fairsized sponge of good quality is a worthwhile investment for the owner who wants to keep his ear's linish in .showroom condition. When about to wash the ear. the owner should soak the sponge thoroughly in cold, clear water, and make sure, * before applying it to any part of the ear, that there is no grease or oil on the vehicle, or this will rapidly spoil the sponge. A gentle stream of water should be used in conjunction with the sponge, which requires to he kept thoroughly wet. Jt will ho found that the whole ear can bo washed much more rapidly by this means, and that there is no dirt or grit loft on the paint work to cause scratches when the leather is being used. After being used the sponge should he washed, squeezed fairly dry, and (hen loft on a shelf out of (he sun. CAR PARKING RECORD ‘ .Since 19-I1 a total of 257,"d0 motor vehicles have been parked by Ihc Koval Automobile Club at Die Aldershot Tattoo. the number dealt with having risen from '15.782 in 1931. to 59,832 in 1935. This is a parking achievement unequalled by any other organisation in the world! It is interesting to record also that the total attendance at the tattoo in the last five years amounted to 2,043,000. MOTOR CYCLING FIXTURES May 0. —Camber'ly scramble. May 19. —Monthly meeting. May 23. —Mystery run. duiio 6.—Petrol consumption test. June 16. —Annual meeting. CLUB NOTES The weather was fine when about 20 motor cycling members left the club rooms at 2.15 on the afternoon of April 26 for the social run. The riders made an uneventful run via Mosgiel to Ontham Glen, whore a short time was spent. The muster then proceeded to Henley, ami after afternoon tea returned to Dunedin.

Six mouths ago the cycle section of the A.A.O. held a Camherly scramble at Mr H Ryder’s property, situated on the side of Saddle Hill, overlooking the Brighton road. Although very wet, this course will probably again he used for the club’s next scramble, which is dated for next Saturday. The contestants in this previous event enjoyed a thrilling afternoon’s sport, and the spectacle of the riders skidding and bumping around the tricky course will he remembered by those who witnessed this fixture. All"motor cyclists are invited to ho present, leaving the club rooms at 2 p.m. TOLD AT THE WHEEL “Do yon ever get a knock in your carp” “ Often; especially when my wile sits in the back scat.”