THE MOTOR WORLD

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 6 September 1924, Page 15

THE MOTOR WORLD

NOTES AND COMMENTS,

Can a norough council compel motorists coming in to its area but resident outside it to take out certificates of comeptenc.y to drive from its motor inspector? New Plymouth has been proposing to do this cp the ground that danger to life and limb is caused by incompetent motorists coming from the country. Taranaki County Uc-uncil, as an interested party, has obtained an opinion from its solicitor on the point, which is to the effect that the proposed action by the borough would be ultra vires. J. A. 'loop, an enthusiastic amateur racing motorist, was killed at Brooklands motor racing track, Weybridge, Surrey, on Whit Monday. Th,e car he was driving, a large Peugot, owned by C. G.- Brocklebank, left the banking ol the track at 194 miles an how and ploughed its way through- 100 yards or. aense fir- plantation on the outer slopes of the embankment. ' Although rhany thousands watched the race, few kriew of the mishap until" it was announced that the three remaining races were abandoned. Only a handful of spectators saw what happened, ;ind none can explain the cause of it. The ear simply disappeared. There was no evidence of a burst tyre or a. skid. The track of the wheels

led in a straight line for the embankment. . Eye-witnesses state that when Nit reached the top .of the banking the 'tu?af seemed to leap into the air. A clump of tit's in its path was ' untouched, .suggesting that the car jumped right, oyer it. .Farther on the caps path through the plantation was marked by destroyed trees. Toop was thrown clear of the ear. His body was found under a wild rose bush about 30 yards from the wreckage. The car was upside down, with its nose- buried in the undergrowth. Brocklebank had driven the car to . victory in the . fifth racte at a speed of 103 miles an hour. H* had arranged to go. as a passenger with Toop in the seventh face, and had already taken his seat in the' car when Toop suggested that he would prefer to travel “light” so as not to reduce the speed. Brocklebank agreed, and left the car. The race was won by Count Zborowski’s Ballot, and the driver did hot know there had been ah accident until he reached the paddock; Bad roads; undoubtedly lead to many fatalities: good roads, as America lias fohrid, reduce at once the number of accidents, provided always that traffic control progresses proportionately. In ; h'-.th the directions indicated there is evidence that New Zealand is aware of her shortcomings. We aire embarking upon" an extensive reading problem arid’ .provision is made for the betterment of' the traffic supervision in the ne-w Motor Vehicles Bill. And, lastly, an improvement would be noticeable if it were compulsory for all drivers to undergo an' approved course of in.Voruction in the driving and 1 handling of tlieir cars.

VIA GLASSY ROADS TO PARADISE.

Mr Harper, F.R.G.S., A.C., the notable New Zealand mountaineer and explorer, in his book on “Mountaineering in New Zealand Alps,” published several years ago, predicted that ere long many fashionable hotels would be erected at Welcome Flats.-on - the. Graham’s’ Saddle (route from the West Coast to the;Hermitage. New Zealand, however, has been rather slow and itnimaginative in- this respect, and the isolated, beauties of : our A-nim .iruylan'd still remain accessible to only skilled mountaineers. To. boost our beauty spots we should note the- way the U.S.A. authorities have of opening up their great national parks'. Last year more than 40,000 people were taken through the famous Yellowsrone Park on motor buses, says the American trade paper “The Goodyear News,” the average tyre mileage for a park season reaching 2,750,000 miles. Unlike the roads in our volcanic areas,, the American park roads are composed of tough, sharp, glass-like substances, which are specially severe on tyres, but otherwise the trip is one to be remembered. Incidentally, the tyre needs cif

all the Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Grand Canyon motor fleets are supplied exclusively by Goodyear people.

TOURING IN ENGLAND.

MR,GGODWIN'S IMPRESSIONS

In the course of a letter to Mr Hooker, Mr" D. J. Goodwin, who is touring with Mr J. Hardley, says: “I iiave bought a Sunbeam three-seater car. We are going toi tour England in her, starting on 3 uly 15. We think to take about four weeks. I hear the roads are very good. We acre taking a map, and have joined the A.A. They have men stationed all along the route, to help you in every way.” On a postcard from Warwick, he says: “It is our first stop, ninety miles from London, the building on the card is part of the West Gate of the town, the date on it showing it wa.s built in 1571. Another card shows Anne Hathaway’s •:re, Stratford-on-Avon, and Mr Goodwin describes it as the house where Shakespeare, found his wife. The building is-two storeys, and about 500 year sold. The beams inside are of

■ ; ed oak, the bottom floor of stone slabs; the original bedsteads are still in the cottage. In the kitchen is an oven, the same as a baker’s. The fire is lit and when hot enough the fire taken out and the things to be cooked are put in. (One may as well ask where the Maoris got the same idea of cooking.) A third card shows St. Sepulchre's Gate, Doncaster (South Yorkshire).

DESERT MOTOR SERVICE

NEW ZEALANDER’S ENTERPRISE

Mr Norman Nairn, of Wellington, has just passed through London on his way to the United States. It will be remembered that Mr Nairn’s name has' came into prominence since the close of the war in connection with the estabishment of the desert motor service between Haifa and Bagdad. The Nairn Transport Company lias continued to prosper, and its chief proprietor is visiting America again to obtain further Cadillac cars.

In the last eight months the company has carried 800 passengers and 70001 b weight of mails. The cars have run 200,000 miles, and the-mails have never once been late. Only on one occasion were the- cars held' up for 12 hours owing to bad weather. A record has recently been made in covering 544 miles of the desert in 14£ hours. Both the Army and officials of the AngloPersian Oil Company make use of the service, and <IO,OOO letters are. carried each week. In the early days of the service there was always the risk of interference by the Bedouins, and on one occasion shots were, fired. Now, however, the tribes are subsidised, or, in other words, a regular blackmail tariff is paid, and the cars pass over the desert in perfect safety.

BENEFITS FOR MOTORISTS.

A WELLINGTON MOVEMENT.

The move made by the Wellington Automobile. Club to place the mbtoring movement in the N orth Island on a footing commensurate with the great increase in the number cf motor vehicles is one which deserves the hearty support of all motorists. Briefly, the plan is that the various associations and the Automobile XTnion, the North Island governing body, should - draw on their accumulated funds to create a special fund of, say, £IOOO to defray the salary and tiravel.Ung expenses of an organise-!* for the union for a year.

In a note of elucidation of the proposal it is stated that it is considered

•‘the most urgent present need of the movement is to make it more" representative of motorists, and it considers that in no direction, can the accumulated funds of the union and the associations be moire usefully expended. ■‘The 30,000 motor vehicle owners of the North Island should have a thoroughly competent executive officer devoting his whole time tot their interests. There is a big field of work foir such an officer, both in securing benefits to members of the affiliated associations as such and benefits to motorists generally. Once the movement was under way a capable officer should have no difficulty m. so stimulating membership that the union on a capitation fee from the associations of, soy, 2s 6d or 3s per member, could pay him a salary of at least £IOOO per annum. A really good man should be secured, and should have his headquarters in Wellington or Auckland, acting as secretary and executive officer for the local association as well as the union.

“The accumulated funds in hand at the present time appear to be roughly as follows: —Auckland A.A., £1500; Wellington A.C., £900; Waiirarapa, £200; N.Z.A.U., £200; total, £2BOO. “In addition to the above ,; here are the Hawke’s Bay. Poverty Bay, Wanganui, and Waikato Associations in existence, which would also contribute to some extent.

“A great weakness of the present organisation in the North Island is the absence, cf direct benefit to- members. This should be overcome by organising a total concession scheme similar to that in the South Island. Under the South Island concession a member has only to spend 10 days in hotels per annum to save an amount equal to his subscription. The question of securing a special discount from garages and dealers for members should also be explored. Insurance is a. matter- in which something might also be done to the alvantage -of members. “Motor camping tours are now extraordinarily popular both m Britain and the United States and are likely to become so here, and the union’s travelling officer coaid scon work up a chain of good camp sites along the main routes available to members, either free or op payment of a small fee. In Britain and America, booklets with lists of such grounds are now available to members of associations. ‘‘Tf ;+. ip desired to reunite the Sou- 1 " 1 ' Island Associations with the North Island it will' most likely be effected by making our "organisation so live that the South will wish to come back to share its benefits.”

SEVERE DEPRESSION

UNITED STATES MOTOR-CAR

INDUSTRY

Messrs. M. C. Lloyd and J. F. Warren, both of Melbourne, who arrived at Wellington by the Maunganui from San Francisco 1 , on their way back to their homes, told a- Dominion reporter that the motor-car industy was suffering a severe depression in the United States. This they attributed to. overproduction last winter, combined with a. very late spring, and also in some measure to the . European situation. Mr. Lloyd stated that he saw thousands of new cars stored which had been built in anticipation of a good demand in the spring. Even Mr. Henry ; Ford’s huge Detroit factories were affected by the slump, and were working only four days in the week. Incidentally, the visitor mentioned that a slump in the American timber trade was conspicuous, and on account of a. theatrical strike, many of the New York show houses were closed down this summer.