MOTORDOM

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 July 1939, Page 9

MOTORDOM

NEWS OF THE ROAD

(By

“Gearbox”)

MAGISTERIAL DECISIONS.

SOME RECENT CASES.

A number of court cases of interest to motorists generally have been heard, in various, parts of New Zealand during the past week o’ two. For example, in the Thames Magistrate’s Court, a person who was ■earning to drive a car, and; the holder o! a, driver's, license who wa«s' sitting alongside, were both charged with negligent driving and; convicted, as a sequel to a collision. That inlconsiderate driving is a very wide term, embracing a multitude of road 1 sins, is shown by a recent case in Wellington. The defendant in this cas'e drove along a portion of the Hutt Road, that was under reconstruction at a speed! of 30 to 40 miles, an hour. He overtook and. .passed; two small cars, and in doing so splashed them all over with mud. He was charged with driving without reasonable consideration! for others, and was convicted and fined 20/-.

Here is another case of considerable interest. A motor cyclist brought an action against the owner of a cow, with which he had' collided at night on a public highway. The cow was wandering on the road, having got out of a paddock through a defective gate., The owner of the cow was prosecuted for allowing it to wander, and was fined. The motor cyclist brought his action for damages on the ground that defendant was negligent in allowing the coav to wander at night, but he was non suited! by Mr. A. M. i Goulding, S.M. In the course of a reserved judgment, Mr. Goulding said j that considering the penalties for breaches of the Act he did not think it was the intention of the legislature to give rights of action to the public at large for breaches of the statutory provisions. In considering cases allegedly arising out of breach of statutory duties, it was. mateTial to consider whether the act was' prohibited for the benefit of a particular class of persons or for the public at large. If it were prohibited for the benefit of a particular class of persons, then a person within that class who suffered' by the breach might have an action for damages, but in l his 1 opinion the' statutory provisions against permitting stock to wander on road's’ were for the benefit of the public at large, not for the benefit of the motoring class. In the case before him there was no evidence that the cow was on the road by any wilful act of defendant, and' it had been, established that there was’ no obligation on defendant to fence or prevent the cow straying, so there was no negligence in not doing so. According to x a decision given by Mr. H. Morgan, S.M., in the Timaru Magistrate's Court, on a charge of negligent driving, a motorist turning to the right in the face of traffic from the opposite direction has no right to cut in front of that traffic unless he is certain that the oncoming traffic has given! way to him. An intimation that, unless people took more care when negotiating railway crossings when trains were approaching he would have to make fines' heavier, was given by Mr. H. P. Lawry, S.M., in the Magistrates Court at Palmerston North. He added that he had been in Palmerston North less than 12 months' and during that time there had been over half a dozen people killed and a number of others' injured in accidents’ at crossings within a few; miles' of Palmerston North. Reserved judgment was given by Mr. Lawry in a case, in which a lorry d'river was’ charged with driving over a crossing in front of the Napier-Wellington express on April 26, when the back of the lorry was struck by the engine. For the defendant, Mr. L. Laurenson raised the defence that he had not crossed in front of the train with a guilty mind. Defendant had looked for a train, and had failed to see one approaching. The magistrate, however, considered that defendant should have' seen the train He was fined £5, with 13/- costs. A more lenient view of a similar offence was taken by Mr. G. N. Morris, S.M., in the Whangarei Police Court, when a motorist was charged with attempting to negotiate a railway crossing when it was not clear. The. car was' struck by the railway engine. Defendant’s plea was that he did not hear the whistle of the train—he was partly deaf—and that his vision was obscured by another vehicle. It was also stated that he had been driving for 20 years, in England and New Zealand, without a mishap, and that he had not previously been before the Court. In imposing a fine cf £2, with costs, the S.M. said he was- prepared to treat leniently drivers with long records without trouble. Criticism of the delay between the time of the accident and. the time of the doctor’s examination of a motorist suspected by the police of being intoxicated, was expressed by Mr. S. L. Paterson, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court, Hamilton. A case was before the Court in which a motorist was brought to the police station about 11 hours after an accident. He was examined by a doctor, who concluded that the man was sober. A police witness, who went to the scene of the accident, considered the accused person was intoxicated just after the collision. “What is the’ use of bringing a doctor to examine a man one and a half hours after an accident?” asked the S.M. “The critical time was 11 o’clock, when the accident occurecl, and I want to know what his condition was then.”

AB JENKINS’S HIGHWAY CODE.

The famous American record-break-ing driver, Ab Jenkins, impressed by the accident roll in> the States, has' drawn up 10 commandments' for motorists: —

Be master of your car at all times. Be alert. Keep on your own side of the road. Don’t cut in. Don’t try to pa'ss when your vision is obscured. Keep your head in an emergency. If you’ve been drinking, keep out of an automobile. Don’t speed in heavy traffic. Be courteous to other drivers 1 and give them a break. Keep your car mechanically perfect. It is said that Jenkins himself has driven over two million miles' without an accident.

RUNNING IN.

WHAT IT ACHIEVES.

Ask the average motorist what he thinks running-in is, and he will answer, “It’s- just a period! in the early life of an engine when the microscopic roughnesses on the rubbing, faces are worn off.” Warming to his; subject, he might say, “The tiny little high spots on one fuco, say of the piston rings, rub off those on the opposite face, the cylinder walls, and so you get smooth and highly polished surfaces which give practically no friction and ensure durability as well as extra efficiency.” This is correct—within HmitS“-and it is here the scientist steps in. With wonderful instruments such as the ul-tra-microscope and the electron diffraction camera to aid him, he. can tell us more about this' important period in the life of a new engine, states the writer of an article in the May issue of the “Austin. Magazine.” He finds that when the high spots are not allowed to rub each other away just as they like, and are protected from each other, a curious thing happens. They become soft and gradually level each other out. A microscopic amount of metal leaves the top of tlffi high spots and' is; pushed down into the little hollows between the latter. What is- yet more remarkable, however, is the fact that while this happens the metal of the rubbing face being moved into the tiny hollows changes its character entirely. Metal in its normal state isi crystalline. If looked at through a micros''ope, it is seen to be made up of myriads of little crystals all interlocked. The material in question is then said to be crystalline, and consequently has properties such as resistance to wear or corrosion depending on the type of crystals with which it is made up. There is, nevertheless, another state ,in which a material can exist, and which is less common. In this, there are no discernible crystals and when examined in the microscope it gives the appearance' of being glass like. Glass, incidentally, has no crystals in it although one often thinks of it aS something crystalline perhaps because of its brittle, transparent nature.

This other state is called amorphous. The atoms in. it are' arranged higgledy-piggledy, whereas in crystals they are arranged neatly im rows. The curious, thing about an amorphous substance is that while it is made up of the same atoms- as the crystalline substance from which it is derived, it has different properties. When it comes to the amorphous skin structure resulting from running-in this interesting fact has special significance.

It means that when the high spots on the rubbing faces of the engine are being flattened out, a very thin film of glass-like and very hard metal is being formed over the surface of the crystalline metal. This skin is wear-resisting, and what is more important, the working faces of the engine can be smoothed perfectly without removing undue metal in the form of dust which would normally be passed into the sump and be lost. The new car owner will ask how he can achieve this new effect of run-ning-in. The scientists have found that this wear-resisting skin is encouraged! to form if the rubbing faces are protected from abrasive wear. It was in the course of their investigations to explain why colloidal graphite in an oil reduced engine wear, that some of these important discoveries were made. The tiny, flat particles of graphite lie 1 on the rubbing faces of the new engine, and: being slippery, prevent opposite faces' coming together to cause wear. Experiments with “dag” colloidal graphite, in which the particles are s'o fine as. to be almost invisible in a high-powered microscope have shown that the little lubricating plate-glass particles are actually rolled into the glas's-like skin of metal described above to give it definite antifriction as well as wear-resisting qualities.

To give the engine a little added care during its early life means that it is building up wear-resistance into the working faces' to give longer engine life and better performance over a long period. To this end, a recommended' oil, supplemented with run-ning-in! compound containing colloidal graphite, should be used, and the engine then! allowed to settle its internal differences, minute as they are, gradually and progressively, by moderating its speeds and loads and generally “nursing” it until 500 or even 1000 miles have been covered.

THE CAR DESIGNER. i DESERVES OUR SYMPATHY. I I The fact that a car must be design-J ecl to carry at least one human being; has ruined many an otherwise- perfect! vehicle, remarks The' Motor, in an editorial appeal for sympathy for; “those much-maligned individuals' who • design our cars.” I The worst of it is that, not being satisfied with occupying a large, amount of seating space, the occu-' pants require special consideration on a, matter which is quite unimportant technically, for the wretched people actually demand comfort. Thus, they must be able- to have a good view of where they are going; they must, be seated as if reclining on a feather bed, insulated from the I slightest shock; they must not be too I hot and they must not be too cold; they must have ventilation when it is warm and no draughts when it is cold; I there must lie facilities for entering and leaving the car without involving the slightest trouble; and, unlike anything else with which the engineer is called upon to deal, the genus homo is ■wholly uns-tandardised. Examples may weigh anything from 71b to 3001 b each; vary in length from 18ins to 7ft; and in width may bo the thickness of a large bottle or equal the diameter of a boiler in a locomotive. Therefore the designer deserves our sympathy. When it comes' to design- | in-g speed vehicles, the designer's pro- | blems are increased tenfold. In cars I intended to break the world’s speed | record the position of the driver is' | naturally the very last consideration, | usually resulting in stowing him whorI ever there appears to be quite insufliI cient space. The aperture through a which he enters can then be- plated | over and, if necessary, hermetically I sealed so that his presence can be | entirely forgotten. Thus, it is not | easy for designers to see why Eyston |'should! mention being parboiled in I “Thunderbolt.” Had it been the fuel, | for example, that had, boiled, the pro- | fession, or craft, would have been sori | ously concerned. | So next time you feel inclined tc I complain of the difficulty of reaching

i ithe pedals, or the gear lever, or the | steering wheel, Just bear in mind that 'it is yen, and only you, that present J these problems. Without you the task lot' plotting a car on paper would be as | simple as drawing a festive cork. I ARE THE HEADLIGHTS ON? .. ,| AUTOMATIC WARNING DEVICE. I It may seem extraordinary. To suggest that a driver is not always sure whether his headlights! are on full or idipped, but in practice it is quite ob-1 , vious that many drivers innocently ! dazzle other road users for this reapson. It arises from the fact that when ! meeting other traffic frequent dipping' 'and switching oni the light is apt to' become confusing, whilst when motorpng on dark, wet roadsi one does not 'get the reflected effect from the surface. In twilight, too, and lighted'.' '■road's, one is apt to forget to dip. J It is for this reason that a number, '{of American manufacturers have standardised a tiny red light fitted in the’dashboard, which glows' when the ' headlamps are on full. Whilst such „ equipment is not standardised- on Bri- ’ fish cars, it is now possible to buy in ! Britain a more elaborate device giving ’ even clearer warning. This is quite small, having a front about the size 1 of a penny, which pretrudes- through the dashboard. It carries three min--3 ute bulbs of fractional current con- ' sumption (.008 amp. each). It is simple enough to wire up; any ownerdriver could fit and connect up the de- ’ vice. Then, according to the lights m use, : so a light glows in the dial. When 3 the side lamps only are on, there is a ’ tiny red spot at -the bottom cf the- dial. When the headlamps are dipped, a green semi-circle of light appears, and when they are on fail the whole circle l ' is illuminated with a, blue glow. 'lhere ’’ is insufficient strength to disturb the 3 'driver and distract his attention. It 1 lis just an indication of the setting of 3 ithe lights. I