THE SKIDDING DANGER.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 2 January 1926, Page 13

THE SKIDDING DANGER.

A QUESTION OF SURFACE. The average car driver normally- on a drv road skids very- seldom, but conditions arise when great caution is needed to control the car. There is at present a controversy- in Britain concerning the custom, of surfacing concrete roads with bitumen carpets. American engineers seem, to favour the bare concrete, although, when wear or cracks develop, it is usual, to resort to a bitumen coating to restore the surface and stability, of the road before disintegration commences. It seems only reasonable to give a concrete road a chance to show its wearresisting properties before detracting* from its desirability- by- giving if a bitumen surface.

i The primary cause of skidding lies ! in the nature 'of the road, and given a j treacherous surface it may not matter much whether the tyres are worn or complete with new non-skid treads. Skidding is not a question of pure j bad! luck. Its frequency varies with j the skill of individual drivers. The | best lesson any novice driver can have I is to experience some minor skids, j The driver who has never, felt his car i.skid may only aggravate the first 1 serious slip lie suffers, and involve his i car in a serious accident, i Moisture on a concrete or bitumen j road does not alone render it condu- | cive to skids. It is when the dust beI comes mixed into a slippery compound and spreads widely that the most treacherous surface conditions ’ prevail. | On wet bitumen and tar-sealed roads, oils exuded from the material may constitute a. skid mixture. Provided no change takes place in the car speed, very treacherous surfaces can be negotiated. Violent acceleration or a sudden application of !

the brakes will l be .alike in their effect of causing the car to .pivot. • - Eoad adhesion varies greatly, and the eo-efiicient for different- ■cnoditions on the same road may-"range in-the proportion of frotn_.l v to .10. Thus if it is possible to lock the back wheels of the car, with a pedal pressure of 501 b when the road is dry, the same result may be obtained when the road is greasy with a pressure "of 51b only. The only rule for safety is for the driver to make a study of the road surface on which he is travelling. With a sensitive brake control a competent driver can apply the pressure just within the bounds of safety.

When wiping headlamp reflectors rse a soft cloth, and wipe from the centre outward to the rim, and not round arid round. A little lamp-black on the doth will produce good results on even the finest silvered surface.

A cloth damped with ammonia will keep the top of a storage battery clean.