ALL-DAY DRIVING

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 12751, 6 January 1936, Page 6

ALL-DAY DRIVING

TIPS TO TOURISTS

TRAVELLING IN COMFORT

The comfort of the driver and his passengers on a holiday tour -depends largely on their utilising the special features built into their ear and partly on their own initiative. The experienced long-distance tourist thmks nothing of a- run of four or five hundred miles a day, because lie has learned how to relax and rest during the- run; whereas, m'any whose average driving is but a few miles daily in the city, -or 100 miles on Sundays, become fatigued on an all-day trip, simply through failure to avail themselves of the refinements which the manufacturer has provided. Fatigue is the chief cause of discomfort on a long tour, summer or winter; in the summer, heat- and glare are added burdens. The manufacturer has come to the aid of the driver with improvements that enable the driver to combat these sources of cji'scomfjort, and the experienced driver lias tricks of his own to bring further relief.

HOW TO AVOID STRAIN

The actual muscular effort required to drive a car all day is not great; the fatigue of a long drive results more from being forced to remain in a fixed position than from actual expenditure of energy. A'on would get-

just ns tired, of course, if you remained in an easy chair at home all day. The experienced driver will vary liis position as frequently arid as w idely ns possible by moving the easily adjustable front set back and iiorth, and by shifting his posture on the seat.

Muscular effort in driving is chiefly in the operation.of the pedalo The experienced driver will save a lot of energy iri their use. Jt does not take much effort-, to depress- the clutch and brake pedals, but to hold them down for extended periods is extremely fatiguing. Therefore,, you won’t find a driver waiting in gear at a signal, with the clutch pedal held down ; he’ll be in neutral, resting his foot and leg. Similarly, at a halt on a grade lie will hold the car with the handbrake, not with his foot. On long stretches of dear road or on long climbs requiring full throttle, the driver may .set- the band throttle and rest his accelerator foot by a change of position. On a a tepp down-grade' he will save his braking muscles by changing into second gear. HOT WEATHER- COAIFOP.T Combating hot weather also has its tricks. No-draught ventilating systems -offer a wide variety- of effects, but many drivers fail to reap full advantages. The rear windows of a sedan should be. open, for instance, even if only the front seat is occupied because it induces circulation of air throughout the car, from front to rear. A point to watch in hot weather is tyre pressure. Tyres inflated in ihe cool of the morning with cold air from a compressor tank will increase in pressure from the heat of the rood and of running, and may become to-o hard for comfort-.

On long drives it is a good practice to halt by the roadside at regular intervals —say .] or 5 minutes every two. hours—for.a “stretch.” It helps too, to get out of the, ear for a few

minutes at stops for petrol. Eye strain has much to do with the fatigue of driving. Use t.he adjustable visors of your ear wherever possible, and wear tinted glasses to kill the glare of the road.