MOTORDOM

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 August 1935, Page 10

MOTORDOM

NEWS OF THE ROAD

(By

“Gearbox" )

market demands. NEW ZEALAND CONDITIONS. In a paper delivered before the Birmingham -Graduates Branch of the Automobile Engineers, Mr. T. T. . Coleridge deals exhaustively with motoring conditions in Now Zealand, making comparison with Britain 111 the matter of roads, taxation, licensing, etc picturing to his hearers similarities and differences and generally endeavouring to give an idea of just what NeW' Zealand’s requirements are ana the influences that affect the market he with regard-to town and suburban use of cars, Ire says: “Practically any car is suitable except perhaps supersports cars. Light cars are doing very well on account of their low petrol consumption and running costs. Requirements are not much different from those in the corresponding class in Britain except that the horse power does •not matter unless it increases the pet rol consumption. Ease of driving and a good top-gear performance are also popular.” .. Going on to cars for country use, he says- “These are really the class that are the cause of the periodic complaints from overseas owners. They are used on farms or homesteads for general purposes such, as: (a) Frequent journeys to nearest town, often up to 30 or 40 miles away; (b) carrying people, goods, and often animals about the farm, and hence traversing fields and tracks; (c) fairly long trips to large neighbouring towns. . What an owner requires for a car is: (a) Ease of driving, as neither he nor his family will have the time or inclination to learn to drive well, (b) Good cruising' speed. (c) Good suspension, for driving fast over moderate secondary, roads, rough fields, and tracks, or for accommodating extremes of loads, (d) Standard track of 4ft. _6.in. or 4ft. Sin. "(e) Good ground clearance. An excessive ground clearance is not so essential as. that the lowest parts of the car should be strong enough to. stand scrapping or digging into the ■ground. (f) Good engine cooling, as long hills are frequently encountered, and, of course, long distances of even level thick mud is very hot work, (g) An engine ■with plentytof power at low speed. This is partly for ease of driving, but is absolutely necessary because many steep Hills have surfaces so rough, and such sharp corners that engine revs.; cannot be kept up. (h) Good top-gear acceleration between about 15-40 m.p.h. This is usually concurrent with the previous requirements, but is necessary, as on 50 per cent, of all roads the greater frequency of corners makes such changes of speed a big factor for a good average. Very few drivers the'se days, and espe : cialiy of this class, want to Haye to keep changing gear every half mile or so. (i) A good ground between tvre and mudguard as room must be allowed for heavy loads, excessive axle movements, and tyre chains as well. (j) Reliability ana care of maintenance, as the car seldorii has skilled or even regular attention, while it is depended on and used for so many purposes that delays must be reduced to a minimum, (k) For the sama reasons as above a good spares service is absolutely essential* so .that repairs can be .completed with the least possible delay.”

Similarly he says of service cars: “This is a type of motor coach unique to partially-developed countries like New Zealand. They are really midway between cars and buses, accommodate 8-12 persons, and have high scheduled speeds—in view of the difficult roads traversed. They are usually large high-powered cars, with special bodies, and often have the chassis extended and slightly lower gear ratio fitted. The normal type of ’bus made cannot be used, as no bus produced has high enough power-weight ratio. This high ratio is necessary, as the steep hills are of sufficient length and frequency to make high speeds on hills essential for a good average speed. Good acceleration at low speeds is required, as explained before. “While all high-powered British cars are expensive this makes them quite unsuitable, as most of the extra price goes in smoothness and general refinement that is quite unnecessary in a service car. Thus we find that Arne rican cars arq almost alone in this work. They have skilled attention between runs, so extra high quality is not required. They run not only on the main highways, but also work on some of the worst backblock roads. Often the service car is almost the sole link with the outside world that many remote h.omsteads have, and there the service car drivers have earned the reputation for reliability that lI.M. mails have over the whole world. For the 1933-34 year there were 629 service cars licensed, and of these the first eight makes were American, comprising 69 per cent. The remainder were unclassified and divided between 45 makes.”

Mr. Coleridge also refers to cars used by commercial drivers and business men, giving requirements much the same as those set out as for farmers’ use. "Small cars are not popular for this class.’ he concludes, “as they are uncomfortable for long journews at good speeds over different roads.”

Of luxury cars, ho remarks that they belong to a very small class of usfir, Sports cars come under the same category. "The number of luxury cars is kept down by the import duties accentuating any price difference already there. Spares and service are extremely difficult to obtain owing to such cars being in such small numbers. There are very few roads which are sufficiently good for a super.-sports car to have a better performance than a normal car with good acceleration aud a good cruising speed.”

Ho finds less difference between Britain and New Zealand in regard to the operation of heavy vehicles . Except for weight limitations they operate under conditions more like English conditions than in the case of cars. "They are affected by road conditions as much through the regulations as they are directly.” He mentions that very light vans arc little used, in the country the motor car takes its place, and in towns the half-ton van would be prefcrerd as the tax would be the same.

BRAKES AND LIGHTS. NATIONAL TEST IN PROGRESS. West Coast motorists, who wish to save themselves inconvenience, will be wise to visit a garage, have the brakes and lights of their vehicles checked, and obtain a certificate of test, at the earliest opportunity. Otherwise, they are likely to be stopped on the road, by the Traffic Inspectors, for testing purposes. The second national drive by the Transport Department, working with local bodies, against motorvehicle owners who are careless in obeying the requirements relating to tho standard of brakes and lights, is now in progress. In concentrating on the brakes and lights of prievate motor vehicles the Transport Department is placing its finger on a very fruitful cause of road accidents. Obviously, it does not matter how careful a driver may be if the equipment of the vehicle in his charge is defective in any way. To secure the maximum of road safety the human and mechanical elenjonfo ; )e co-ordinated at the fullest efficiency. It is not in the power of any government department to overhaul and re-adjust a motor-vehicle, test its ability, check its efficiency and carry out the adjustments necessary to make it conform to a determined standard.

Every motor-vehicle user on the roads of New Zealand has a duty in knowing the national and local regulations, and the standards set down as a measure of mechanical safety. It is no valid reason that one does not know this-or that. The law is there, and it should be known. Loss of life, serious injury to person, or damage to property may result from ignorance of the simple requirements set out in the code •of proper road usage. Two of the most vital factors in motor-vehicle equipment are brakes ahd lights, and there are very many vehicles to-day which have defective brakes and badly-focused lights. That was shown when the Transport Department,'in co-operation with local bodies from one end of New Zealand to the other, carried out a national check from August 1 to October 31, last year. The figures then obtained revealed a disturbing position, and proved that a very large number of motorists were unaware of the requirements of the national regulations. Many motorists thought that the request for a check was something new. Actually the request was new, but the standard of brakes and light efficiency was as old as the regulations themselves.

WHAT IS REQUIRED. Here are the requirements in respect of brakes and lights: — When a motor-vehicle is travelling at 20 miles ail hour on a hard, drv. level road of bitumen, concrete, or similar surface, and free from loose material, without assistance from engine compression, it should be able to stop within 40 feet by the use of the foot brake, and within 75 feet by the use of the hand brake.

The headlights of a motor-vehicle must be of sufficient brilliance to enable the driver with normal vision under normal atmospheric conditions, to see clearly substantial objects on the road surface at a distance of 150 feet ahead. The main beam from the headlights must not rise above the horizontal surface-at a distance of 75 feet from the lamp. All lights must be of sufficient power to be visible at 300 feet under normal atmospheric conditions.

The testing work carried out last year showed that 20,374 cars were tested for brakes, and of that number 14,546 were inefficient and required attention. On many cars on which brakes were faulty, re-lining was necessary. Some were in a bad state. Of the returns received 107 were from the North Island and 89 from the South Island. Of those in the North Island 75 per cent, required attention, and 66 per cent, in the South Island. On those returns it is clear that North Islanders take more chances than the motorists of the South. Hilly roads may have some bearing on the position, of course, but that is a reason why more care should be taken in the North Island.

There were 2399 commercial vehicles tested for brakes, and 1743 required attention. The percentage was 74 in the North Island and 7.2 in the South Island.

There were 17,416 cars tested for headlights, many being done by officers of the Automobile Associations. A total of 12.259 cars had faulty headlights, or 70 per cent, of the total. Again the North Island was at a disadvantage: the percentage was 72 as against 69 in the South Island. Only about one-sixth of the actual cars on the road came under the notice of the testing officials, and. after making allowances for vehicles which were tested and about which no returns were sent in. it is clear that there are many thousands of vehicles on tlnroads of the Dominion by day gml night which are a menace to traffic. The Transport De-epartment is thoroughly justified in getting busy once more in an organised reminder of roadiiseix that they liav-e u duty to thenisolves and others on the roads .

TESTS LN TORONTO. In Toronto in 1928 (says Mr. A Roberts, British M.P.) 8,000 vehicles wore subjected to brake tests, ami 81 per cent, of the vehicles so tested were found to have defective brakes. In 1929 a voluntary testing service was set up by motorists in Toronto for the testing of brakes. From that year until last year the number of vehicles tested has varied from 100.000 to 166,000 each year, and in no year were more than lo per cent, of the brakes found to bo defective. There has been no commercialisation of this testing; the motorists themselves have forced their own garages into providing a service of this kind, which would enable them to have their brakes tested so that they could pass the. official police test .u atty time. For a test of this character to be <>f any use- it must not bo sporadic; it must be continuous, and it must be persisted in. Whether the two things can be taken together or not I do not. know, but it is strange that, of all the cities on the, North American Continent with a population of 500,001) and upwards, Toronto. during the last five years, has lin'd the lowest number of fatalities and injuries on a pro rata basis of any citv in North America.