CARELESS METHODS.

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 February 1937, Page 9

CARELESS METHODS.

SOME FAILINGS TO AVOID. We have all heard of the “downward path.” Most of us (states a writer in the Autocar) consider it a. good joke and regard the possibility of our treading it with incredulity; but motoring, unless we are particularly careful, offers one of the easiest means of transport down the decline! Impatience is the primary cause ot probably 75 per cent, of the total accidents on the road. It is a fault of all users of the road. A pedestrian, too impatient to wait until the way is clear before attempting to cross a street, or a motorist travelling a milei or so an hour faster than is really) necessary, may be involved in an ac-i cident which need net occur. ■ “Playing tag with death” is bad, enough when it is indulged in by the j young, agile, and ignorant, but for I

middle-aged and elderly people to practise it is suicidal. If they were not impatient they would not do it. An extra half-minute waiting for a .plear road, a few more minutes on a motorist’s journey and many a life might be saved. We are no longer single units actingalone: what we do and the way we do it may rob people of life or save them from injury. There is little to be gained afterwards by argument as to who was to blame; everyone should make it a moral duty not to be to blame, and the exercise of a little more patience would be a big step in the right direction.

Many of the road accidents are caused by someone, again any user of the road, failing in a quality we all like to think we possess—consideration. If every road user—motorist, cyclist and pedestrian—lived up to his own estimation of himself the number of accidents would automatically be reduced, for the lack of consideration on some-one’s part is often the primary cause of a collision. If every accident could be psychologically analysed it would undoubtedly be found that many of them are indirectly due to someone thinkingonly of himself. The parties involved in the accident may be quite innocent in this respect; in fact, the responsible party may not even be near the scene. For instance, people who erect illuminated signs where they may be mistaken for traffic signals are an example, and dog owners who allow their pets to stray arc another. Where motorists are concerned, drivers who rnavc their cars standing in awkward places—on or near blind bends and corners, for example—are a third. The driver who overtakes a slowei vehicle and cuts in to avoid another approaching from the opposite direction shows lack of consideration towards a fellow-motorist. It may be quite safe for the man who cuts in, and if the occupant of the overtaken ear is at all nervous he may brake violently, and so bring about an accident of which the inconsiderate driver, who is by this time well away in front, may know nothing. When we see a pedestrian leisurely crossing the road it is our duty to presume that he or she cannot walk faster and act accordingly. There is such a thing as heart disease, and the older a person the more likelihood there is that violent movement would be harmful. Further examples would be superfluous. Everyone knows what is meant by consideration for others; unfortunately, it is not everyone who practises it.

REPLACING TYRE TUBES. Because the tubes of the tyre cannot be expected to last for ever, it is us well to consider at what stage it becomes economical or advisable to dispense with their services, states a writer in the English motor journal. Signs of old age are changes in the rubber and in the shape. These changes are related and may be dealt with under the heading of “stretch.” A new inner tube at fitting pressure is sectionally smaller than the interior of the cover, and its circumferential size is such that it tends to lie up in the cover towards "the tread rather than in contact with the rim. Repeated ’deflection causes the cover to stretch. The interior air space increases slightly and so does the size if the tube. The radial stretching of the tube is not uniform. < In course of time oxidation of the tube rubber lakes place, and the resilience thereof is impaired. In other words, deterioration occurs, although at a very slow rate. The stretched lube will not return to less than its expanded shape. It is for these reasons that an attempt to lit a stretched and thinned tube into a new cover may result in the tube becoming creased or trapped. If the tube is trapped the movement of the bead will eventually chafe through the rubber, and. as this affects an appreciable area, when deflation does take place tiie escaping air will tear the tube and will thereby be released suddenly and noisily. Again, if the tube be trapped under the cover edge, the cover itself cannot bed down into its proper position and ; distortion will take place. Because! the cover is out of truth, the tread will begin to wear unevenly and rapidly. i

Even if the old tube is fitted in a new cover without creasing or nipping it is quite easy (because the tube is hidden within the cover) to forget the tube is an old one. Unperceived decay will be taking place and tube failure on the road is probable before the second cover is worn out. This may well occur at an awkward moment. In fact, any extra stress in an eniergenej- may prove a sufficient cause.

The use of patched tubes for lout; periods lias also definite disadvantages. Excessive local stretching occurs in the material lying' around ami outside each patch. Again, the unevenness produced by a patch may. in time, make a depression damaging to the interior of the cover, particularly if the patch is near i.lie wall where the cover bends to the greatest extent. There is also a possibility (hat the pre-.cnee of patches may generate excess ive heal. The price of a. tube is now so little compared with that of the cover that it is a false econom.v to postpone rcn<v,al>. L'< lay increases the risk ~f

serious damage to the cover should the tube fail unexpectedly, apart from the uneven and rapid wear which may occur through improper support. A new tube is an insurance against wheel changing at unpropitious moments, and against failure to keep appointments as a result of involuntary d> ■ la; above all. against the danger •>! ■ I’dd.-n tyre deflation at speed.