OVERTAKING ERRORS

Horowhenua Chronicle, 26 September 1928, Page 2

OVERTAKING ERRORS

LACK OF JUDGMENT A BESETTING SIN OF MANY MOTORISTS. A besetting sin of many of the new motorists is lack of judgment in the matter, of time, speed, and pace, when overtaking and passing other vehicles on the road. Generally,' the error of judgment is two-fold. Possibly the driver of the vehicle being passed will himself accelerate, which makes the situation of the overtaking vehicle more serious. More often than not, however, the driver- of. the vehicle /passing fails -altogether to- judge the speed of-the vehicle com'ng in the -opposite direction— •' which, car ;has undoubtedly the right of road.. The tendency of .the.-, impatient driver, too often, *i» to persist in passing, .iniil he finds that the speed -oi the oncoming, car is much greater than he thought.- • Th.e xlrivcr of that car." having right of way, docs not always slow down.' The result then is that ho has to follow up his error of-judgment by doing ’the worst thing any driver can do —namely, to cut in in front of the car he is passing and, between that vehicle and the car .which is approaching. . Sometimes it means disaster. Always there is. a risk of it. It heeds training on the road and vigilance to judge accurately the speed oi oncoming traffic, and the larger-the vehicle the more difficult it is. Before deciding to overtake, the driver of a car should bo dead su ( re that be can get through without endangering or inconveniencing the car he. is passing and an oncoming car which has the fight of way. If he has once found his judgment seriously at fault in this respect, his .mily coarse is to exorcise patience until his way’ is absolutely dear, and his acceleration rinist then be fully equal to the occasion.