OPINIONS DIFFER.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 8 September 1928, Page 14

OPINIONS DIFFER.

SAFE AVERAGE SPEED.

There is considerable difference of opinion a® to what constitutes a safe average speed. It is, of course, impossible to state what speed may be allowed as safe without knowing many details-, such -as- the straightness or otherwise of the roads; the gradients; the quality of the surface and the width; also something about the maximum- speed of the ear; its powers of acceleration; the efficiency of the brakes; the skill of the driver; (the length of the route; the amount of traffic, etc. Two contradictory opinions by motorists of considerable experience were recently expressed on the subject. One of them does not object to a speed at 50 m.p.h. on a suitable stretch of road, j but maintains that a high average | speed—-say 30 m.p.h.—over a long dis- j taneo must always entail dangerous: driving in certain places. The other I maintains that a high average may be | kept up over long distances provided j that the car is well fitted for the job. That is to say, it must have an engine capable o.f rapid .acceleration, and consequently high-powered; or else it must be a sports car with afour-speed gearbox and driven by a man -who knows how to use his gears to the best advantage and to get the utmost out of his engine.

That these two opinions are somewhat at variance can hardly bo denied, but perhaps they are nc>t so far apart as appears at first sight. Much depends upon what the second motorist regards as a -high average speed. He- does not commit himself to figures, but he points out .that a much higher speed than is available up-hill on a moder-ately-powered car is often perfectly safe and may be reached on the type of car he mentions. Against this, however, it must be remembered that when ascending a hill there is 1 always- the chance of meeting a car coming down at a considerable speed, and that although a car running at about 40 mil js per hour may be stopped on the level in less than- 100 feet, this- cannot be done on a steep descent. When reckoning what is or is not a safe average speed the vagaries- of other drivers must always be taken into account. This is important, but it is sometimes forgotten—and regretted.