ON DRIVING

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6910, 16 May 1929, Page 10

ON DRIVING

RULE AND INSTINCT.

LESSONS FOR BEGINNERS. BEWARE OF OYER-CONFIDENCE. They say that one of the principal reasons why the game of chess is so fascinating is that an infinite variety in the combination of the different pieces makes it almost impossible that any two games should ever be quite alike. Isn’t that equally true of motoring? There can be no set rule of behaviour which shall apply' inflexibly to any situation which may arise and the very best instructor in the world can take . his pupil only' so far.on the road to efficiency. Beyond that, the pupil must be his own teacher. Or rather he must learn from, experience, and deal with each situation as it arises to the best of his ability. In trying to help the beginner, one can only give the rule of behaviour regarding a specific situation, and it is doubtful whether it is made sufficiently clear that a single and apparently insignificant detail might make it desirable, to act in a totally different fashion. I An excellent illustration of the fallacy of tryiug lo govern, motoring behaviour according to a set rule is found in the application of the speed limit, which persists in some form or other in most parts of the world. "Thou shalt not drive in contain circumstances at a greater speed than X miles au hour, says the law. Now, the law doesn’t care at what speed we drive, provided we do not cause danger lo other people.

At least there is no reason why it should care, since speed in itself in relation to danger is meaningless. Before a given speed can bo regarded as dangerous, the circumstances of read and traffic must be considered; and the maximum speed which is safe varies from second to second, and from yard to yard. Wo arc supposed to drive according to the rule of the particular speed limit, without regard to those other circumstances. As far as one’s “duty to one’s neighbour” is concerned, the same thing applies to every' single item of motoring behaviour, and to many others wkicli affect the car itself and its passengers. Up to a point it is impossible to in-

struct the novice how to prevent, or neutralise a skid—but every skid differs, because it depends on how the car was handled lo cause it, Ihe nature of the road surface, of the tyres of the car and of its load. And Jinally, upon the amount of space in which the car can run amok. How to “corner” is another detail of driving which is equally dependent on a number of factors that vary in almost every case. Proficient Pupils.

There is, of course, a moral (o all this, and that is that no instructor can honestly certify that a pupil has passed out in a state of complete proficiency. The normal course of instruction can do no more than give the novice a thorough grounding in the broad rules oi behaviour. Experience and the driver's own intelligence must do the rest. Over confidence is positively asking for trouble.

Newly acquired mastery aets'womlcrfully so long as things go smoothly, but it is, so to speak, only skin deep, and a sudden emergency is liable to confuse I lie brain, so that the feet and brains fail to execute, their duties with the instinctive accuracy necessary to deal with the. situation. Fortunately, in most cases, nothing worse results than a bad flight for the driver and passengers, and thereafter the over-confident driver appreciates bow much there is! left to learn. *