MOTORING NOTES

Grey River Argus, 20 May 1938, Page 4

MOTORING NOTES

Hints for Drivers ACCIDENT SURVEY. One of the most comprehensive surveys made of motor traffic accidents is that conducted annually by the Travellers’ Insurance Company of U.S.A. Covering a research into the 1937 toll of accidents in that country, the company’s statisicians analysed reports of 40,300 fatalities and 1,221,090 injuries in last year’s traffic accidents. The survey showed that 37 per cent of the deaths and 25 per cent, of the injuries were caused by vehicles exceeding the speed limit. The heaviest death toll was on Sundays and the heaviest injury toll came on Saturdays. More people were killed in U.S.A, traffic accidents between 7 and 8 p.m. than in any other hour. The report features what can happen in the higher brackets of speed. For instance, it is pointed out that a car is 'four times harder to stop at 50 m.p.h. than it is at 25 m.p.h and nine times harder to stop at 75 m.p.h. than at 25. Also, tnat a driver can only make one-fourth as sharp a turn at 50 m.p.h. as he could at 25 m.p.h. Other figures show that if -one has an accident in U.S.A, while driving at 40 m.p.h. there is only one chance in 1 44 that somebody will be killed, but if the accident occurs when travelling at'faster than 40 m.p.h., there is onei chance in 19 that somebodv will be killed. : An outstanding feature of the sur-i vey was that accidents to the age groups between 5 and 14 years showed a decline in 1937, pointing to the' fact that educating the young in the perils of traflic has borne good fruit in U.S.A. SECOND-HAND CAR MARKET. In a concerted effort to stimulate the buying of used motor cars in U.S.A. 20 of the leading automobile manufacturers and 46,000 authorised dealers have, for the first time, combined in a national effort to break the jam that has befallen the used car market in that country. In one week, £250,000 was expended on a press advertising campaign throughout the States, in addition to widespread radio publicity with the' object of making prospective owners' aware of the used car values that are being offered. All told. 9850 news- 1 papers, 400 radio stations and 25.000 1 poster boardings' were used in the' campaign. I

The position in the U.S.A, motor industry to-day is that it is impossible for the automobile plants to work full time on normal production schedules of new cars, until the used car jam has been broken. The accumulation of used vehicles is accounted for by; the business depression that has befallen that country, and the hesitancy, on the part of buyers because of a feeling of uncertainty regarding the tuture.

The automotive position in the States is reflected in the production of new cars. In January, the output was 34 per cent, under the December figures and 47.9 per cent, below the output in January, 1937. The weekly production at the beginning of March this year was 53,000 new cars and trucks as compared with 128,198 for, the corresponding week last year. Exports of U.S.A, automobiles to other parts of the world, during 1937, however, showed an increase in value 43 per cent over 1936 figures. The 1 two largest buyers of cars were Aus-1 eTali a and the Union of South Africa.'

Despite the temporary setback the U.S.A, automotive industry is now contending with, the.nation al large

expects the industry to play the same leading role in helping to Jiff the

business depression in that country, as the part it played in pulling America out of its big depression of 1 a few years back WORLD SPEED RECORD. The Rialton car, in which John Cobb, holder of the Brooklands lap record, hopes to beat the world’s land speed record af Utah this summer, was shown to a few privileged visitors recently for the first, time. This is unquestionably the most unorthodox car ever designed for the purpose of raising this record. The chassis consists of one "kinked" boxgirder with a supercharged 12-cylin-der Napier Lion aero engine slung at an angle on either side of it, while the driver’s cockpit is set right out in front of the front axle. Whereas the front wheels are sft 6in apart, the rear ones are set 2ft closer together The body is flat and tapering, witn a slight bulge over each of the four wheels, and a streamlined conning tower in front througn the glass panels which the driver obtains an interrupted view. Unlike most land sjoeed record cars of recent years, the Rialton has no rear fin, Reid Rialton, its designer, holding the view that a fin is useless unless the car skids badly, and that its value even then is conjectural. The Rialton has no radiator. Cooling is effected from a tank holding 75 gallons of water and thousands of 1 small squares of ice. Braking is by means of powerful transmission brakes actuating on the gear boxes, friction-type brakes, and a hydraulically operated air brake in the form of a rising panel about, amidships behind the conning tower; Four-wheel drive is incorporated with front steering. The front wheels are independently sprung, but the rear wheels are sprung with Hie axle.j The front axle has a differential, but not the rear one. The unladen weight of the complete car .is 621 cwt, the driver, petrol and oil accounting for another half ton.

With the exception of the driver’s conning tower, the top of which is 4ft 3in from the ground, the remainder] oi the car is all kept below the level] o'f the fairings over the four road wheels, whose diameter is 44in. | Each of the two engines has its own 1 ' gear box, but these are operated sim-j ultaneously by one gear lever in the cockpit. The capacity ot the petrol tank is 18 gallons, and it is computed that this fuel s'upply will suffice for about 13 miles.

■ A striking testimony to the advanc-i ed design incorporated in this car and the lengths of ingenuity to which those responsible for it have gone in cutting down superfluous weight is the fact that it weighs only 2.81 b lor each horsepower developed. This will be Cobb’s first effort to gain the motoring Blue Riband record, and the venue will be the Bonneville Salt Lake bed (Utah), the scene of Eyston’s and Campbell’s successful attacks on the world’s land speed record. However, John Cobb, whose hobby is motor racing, is no stranger to the natural hard salt surfaced speedway at Bonneville; for ne has already established seevral long distance world’s records on the salt bed, records which were subsequently challenged and bettered by Ab Jenkins, the U.S.A, speed ace, and Eyston. Cobb will probablv leave England for Utah (U.S.A.) this' month, and his attempt on the re-' cord is scheduled for August. His' objective is 350 m.p.h.

SCHOOL CHILDREN AND SAFETY A good idea has been adopted by the “Safety First” Council of an English county. The school authorities enforce a statutory five minutes runabout by the children in the school] grounds before they are let out into the .streets. The idea is Io give the' children time in the school yards to let off surplus energy before being)

exposed to the traflic perils of the streets and roads.

Many accidents to children on roads are really due to nothing but reckless enthusiasm after being released from school control. Almost every motorist who has passed a school discharging its pupils knows that fact. DOOR-SLAMMING. A mystery associated with motor cars is that a silent shutting door appears to be beyond the genius or inventors. Anyone who lives near where cars are parked at night- knows how disturbing can be the slamming of doors of cars in the quietness .of the night. In one's house, any occupant would be frowned upon if he or she banked a door, out aboard a car doors appear to be slammed just as a matter of course. The seat oi the trouble appears to be that few car doors can be shut properly without slamming. Hence the habit, now almost general with everyone getting out of a car, of banging a door ;to close it. Apart from the noise which this treatment produces, such a practice in time cannot but cause bodvj trouble. A silent door should not be an impossibility to evolve. TRANSPORT IN PARIS. During recent strike troubles '.in Paris it was revealed how dependent that city is on motor trucks for its food supplies. There are 4812 motor lorries employed regularly on thi work. Of that number, 1312 trans port vegetables, fruit, meal, aiid dairy produce from a radius of 50 miles or more around Paris, while 3500 motcr vehicles are engaged on distribution in the city and suburbs. It was also revealed that the automobile and allied industries in France give employment to 1,000,000 people as compared with 500,000 by the French railways.

THEN AND NOW. Twenty years ago there were mor/’ makes of cars in use throughout the . world than there are to-day, and three ! types of lubricants sufficed for their i servicing, namely, medium motor oil, ) gear oil. and “cup” grease. To-d:r-there arc only about, half the number I of makes of cars being marketed, and ' their specifications call for 25 differ- ■ ent lubricants, which are recommended by car manufacturers. From thh it will be realised that the up-to-date sei vice house has a far more complex iob with modern specialised lubrica I tion of automobiles than did the gai I age man tf 1918. METAL IN MOTOR CARS. The dis "very of new metals and new alloys in the last quarter of a century nas enabled motor car manufacturers to build cars which - would have weighed twice as much if constructed of materials available in 1910. Alloyed steel began to be used by car makers about 1907 and quickly gained recognition as a material for production of better, lighter-in-weight automobiles. To-day one manufacturer uses 50 kinds of steel, each treated so that it. may perform a certain function in the finished car. Typical

of the modern motor cars is an American car which contains about 19001 b of steel, 3501 b of cast grey iron and 351 b of cast malleable iron. This same car has 701 b of rubber, 501 b o f glass, slightly more than 301 b each of copper and lead, about 151 b of zinc and the same of manganese. Aluminium, tin, chromium, antimony, nickel, and cadmium are used in smaller amounts. TYRE WEAR.

The wheels of u motor vehicle'are taken so very much for granted that many motorists never give a thought as to their condition, particularly as to whether limy are running true. As a mailer of fact, quite a lair percentage of cars and trucks seen running

on the highways, particularly those of old vintage, are conspicuous by reason of one or more wobbling wheels. This is generally due to a knock —possibly a glancing blow against a kerbstone. Whatever the cause, there is no doubt that any lateral movement of a wheel rubs away the wearing tread of a tyre, and robs its owner of considerable mileage for which he has paid. It is a good practice to occasionally jack up the wheels of a car or truck and, by spinning check the wheels for trueness. Possibly the tyre is not on quite straight or the wheel nuts may need, tightening. If a wheel itself shows any signs of wobble, then the best thing is to take it along to a servicehouse and have it trued. The small outlay will soon be recovered by' reason of longer life of the tyre on the wheel says the Dunlop Bulletin. SPARKS. More than 50,000,000 rubber tree'-' are required to produce the 75,000 to 80,000 tons of crude rubber used annually by one of the leading American tyre manufacturers. * Tjt ▼ * ♦ An Oregon magistrate is going to condemn motorists convicted of being drunk in charge of a car to a spell of wood chopping.

That every' driver should take at least naif an hour’s rest after a fourhour spell at the wheel is the subject of a decree planned by' the Dutch Government. It is hoped that this will reduce accidents caused by fatigue Objection is being raised on the score that fatigue reacts differently with various individuals.

The East Kent Federation of Women’s Institutes has sent a resolution to the county council demandin’; a by-law to restrain bulls from wandering near' public footpaths.

The long-discussed trans-European highway from London to Istanbul moves a stage nearer completion A big conference between all the countries concerned was opened recently in Budapest. The extension of this road through Africa to Capetown is also envisaged, and a conference is to take place next year in the Bel ■ gian Congo. ****** Addressing those present at the celebration of the completion of 20091 kilometres of motor road, Herr Hitlerl promised that in a few months the) long-awaited car for the German! working people would be in produc-| tion. The foundation stone of the! greatest factory in Germany would soon be laid, he said, after which hun- ( dreds of thousands of cars would be: produced annually at the price of a, motor cycle. i ******* | A cyclist, told the polico that he would plead guilty to a charge of ignoring a “Halt” sign, but when it came into court he pleaded “not guilty.” Asked why he had changed his plea, he said that in the interval he had discovered the sign said “Drive Slowly” and not “Halt”. The case was adjourned for ni month to allow the police to find out on their own what the sign does say.

The principle of using reservoir bottles automatically Keeping the water level correct in batteries has I been introduced for cars in America. The six-volt battery ...requires three bottles, one for each cell, functioning! independently of one another. The! water is carried from the bottle to the cell through a rubber tube, which] automatically feeds water when the, level falls below the end of the tube ******* Defendant in speding case; "I was hurrying because I was badly in need of a shave.” I “Bel the court fjimmed him.” adds Hie motor. I ****** I The new 42 horse-power 12-cylinder

. ,-l'J e Lagonda Saloon has been timed at 103 y miles an hour. It costs a mere £1550 ? in England. a ******* / v Solicitor: "Which driver sounded ? his horn first?” | Woman: "Well, I heard the first ■' one first, and the second last.” r Travelling at 28 miles an hour, the ' Southern Railway’s new weed-killer 3 train can destroy 1000 miles of weeds I in two weeks. • « • • • ? Costermonger in court: "When the i constable cautioned me, I was no- ’ where to be seen.” r. ******* ? In order to demonstrate the com--1 fort of air-conditioned cars in America the salesman, even in the depths of ; winter, have been wearing summei clothing, silk shirts, and straw hats. Driver: "I wasn't going forty miles an hour, nor thirty, nor even twenty.’’ , Judge: "Here now, steady up, , young fellow, or you’ll be backing . into something.” ******* A new traflic law is now in force in Germany. It states that pedestrians. > who “endanger traflic” by crossing ; the road against a red or amber light, ■ will be prosecuted. ******* Solicitor: “Did you sec the red before you got t o the slop line?” Defendant: “I never see red. I always keep my temper.”