THE MOTORIST

Northern Advocate, 11 August 1934, Page 6

THE MOTORIST

AT THE WHEEL. NORMAL HUMAN BEING. RESPONSIBILITY AND ACCIDENTS. If; motorists were not normal human beings accident prevention would be easier, says an American writer. If all drivers responsible for highways casualties were abnormally vicious individuals, law and public opinion would have a relatively easy job with them. But many cars are wrecked by responsible business men and conscientious clerks. Pedestrians are killed by kind fathers and reasonably devoted husbands. It has been established that, in almost every someone is to blame. Too often the culpable driver is essentially to blame for acting like a normal human being. Analysis of Accident. 'A recent analysis of accidents in country districts adjacent to Detroit, for instance, has revealed the fact that three-quarters of them occurred on wide, straight highways and involved city drivers temporarily out of town. Explanation is easy here. iCity drivers in a city are hemmed in and held back by traffic. Their movements are controlled by lights and policemen. They are inhibited by metropolitan circumstance, But inhibition is not agreeable to normal human beings. They escape from it whenever they can. And, as motorists, they can escape when they find themselves beyond the limits of congested areas. Seeing an open road ahead of him, the city driver enjoys a feeling of release. It is a joy. Release is always enjoyable. There is nothing now to stop the escaped prisoner of traffic. He is free to go—and he goes. Until he is stopped by something that seemed nothing to think about.

Undeniably the accident is the result of reckless driving. But, in these conditions, it is natural for a driver to bo reckless. This does not mitigate the damage and suffering, of course. It merely makes it harder for safety workers to reduce the number and consequences of accidents. Many accidents occur because people drive as they walk. They arc naturally impulsive in both. They start, stop and go ahead without thinking of the starting, stopping and going - ahead of others. On the sidewalk, this doesn't matter so much. If a man on foot stops abruptly to hail a friend, the man behind may bump into him. It is seldom, however, that serious damage results.

If the driver of a motor car as naturally makes a sudden turn or stop, however, the collision incident that follows is seldom closed with a polite apology or a passing snarl. The immediate result may be anything from bent fenders to broken bones. And this is the beginning rather than the end. It may take anything from a minor repair bill to death, damages and civil punishment to wind up the incident. All because of human impulsiveness in the driver’s seat of a car. Things to Realise,

The first thing - for human beings to realise, therefore, is that it is not intelligent to be blindly natural. Naturalness of impulse is shared with apes. Monkeys would be reckless in motors because they haven't the mental capacity to reckon. Walking on the sidewalk, and driving a motor car require different sets of habits, and the man who does not cultivate the habits necessary for safe driving fails to rise to the higher humanity that is supposed to distinguish him from the animals he is pleased to designate as “lower." Impulsive, instinctive action in human beings is refreshing. A world of consistently careful ami calculating men would be dull. Intelligent control of all human behaviour would leave no room in life for poetry and parades. But a degree of intelligence really should be exercised by a man entrusted with the control of a ton or two of animated steel.

REGISTRATION FEES. REG LIBATIONS GOVERNING REDUCTIONS. The regulations governing the regisi tration of motor A'ehiclcs provide for a reduction in the fee if the vehicle is not registered for the full year. In such cases the fee to be paid is ealeujnted according to the number of mouths (or fraction of a mouth) to run before the end of the folloAving May. The regulations, however, make no provision for an unusual set of circumstances Avhich occurred in Blenheim. A motorist Avished to use his car on July I, Avhich happened to fall on a Sunday. On Saturday, June 30, ho applied for his ucav registration plates, but Avas told that the act of paying the fee in June Avould be tak,en as registration for June, and that the full fees Avould have to be paid. The registration office Avas, of course, closed on the Sunday. The officer avlio gave this ruling Avas acting according to the regulations, Avhich do not appear to give any option in such circumstances. The regulation states: —“The license fee for a period of less than one year is to be computed as one-tAvelfth part of the prescribed annual charge for each month or fraction of a month from the date the license is applied for up to May 31 folloAving. A person making application for plates after the commencement of a motor registration year must pay the proportion of the license fee required to cover the period between the date of application and May 31 next folloAving.” CARBON MONOXIDE. DANGER OF POISONING. Although published details arc a Hi tie meagre concerning the death of a woman in Sydney from the effects of carbon monoxide gas from, the exhaust of a motor car, they suggest some important considerations. A colourless, tasteless, and odourless gas, the dangers of carbon monoxide increase from exertion, loav temperatures, aud a humid atmosphere. Another little known though extreme danger-is present in a stationary motor car with the engine “idling,” and housed in a badly ventilated garage. So intense is the accumulation of carbon monoxide under sucli conditions that it Avill cause an engine to cease running. An unconscious Adctim should be promptly removed to fresh air, Avhen, if breathing lias not ceased, he Avill soon recover. If breathing has ceased, artificial respiration by the Schafer method (as used by the Royal LifeSaving Society) should be tried. TESTING BRAKES, ASSOCIATION CIRCULAR, “The decision of the recent conference of traffic officers in Wellington to carry out a Dominion-wide check of brakes and lighting equipment on motor vehicles has stimulated the interest of motorists in these tAVO important essentials to safety or danger on 1 the roads, says the latest safety-first message of the Canterbury Automobile Association.

‘‘lt is the obvious duty of all those who drive motor vehicles to make sure that nothing is left to chance in the legal and effective working of brakes and lights. There is only one satisfactory way of making certain that brakes and lights comply with the law and that, is by having them properly and efficiently tested, with a cer.tifica--11 on ready for production when the driver is approached by a trallic, inspector. Local bodies generally are co-operating in this check-up, and the work will not be confined to any one district.

“The danger caused at night to all classes of traffic by headlights which are badly focused is well known, but many drivers have neglected to rectify obvious faults, and the action now contemplated by licensing authorities is aimed at increased uniformity in safe equipment. Braking systems, too, are frequently overlooked by drivers. Brakes should be tested properly and adjusted periodically. “If motorists delay as little as possible in having brakes and lights officially checked and certified as complying with the regulations they will save themselves inconvenience.”

VIEW TO THE REAR. POSITION OF THE MIEROE, An English writer remarks that designers pay meticulous attention to the arrangements of Avindscreen and Avindscreen pillars so that most cars proA'ide reasonable Adsibility ahead, but Avliat, lie asks, of the view behind? The mirror, he says, should always reflect the maximum area of road surface, for upon the driver’s knowledge of conditions behind depends, very often, the action he shall take about traffic in front. He finds that the best rearward view from an interior mirror is AA'hen the lower edge of the mirror just fails to reflect the bottom edge of the rear AvindoAv. The actual area of Adsible roadAvay to the rear depends on the size of the windoAV. He notes that an outside mirror is not so frequently consulted as an interior one, but there is something to be said for. fitting both types, as the rear blind cannot legally be drawn if only an interior mirror is provided. Ho complains of motorists dangling grotesque dolls and in other Avays interfering Avith the efficiency of the roar AvindoAv in giving a vieAV in the mirror, and lays stress on the importance of knowing Avhat vehicles are folloAving him, their speed, and their position. There is just as .great necessity to keep the rear windoAV free from splashes and dirt as there is to keep a clear Avindscreen. Some of the new streamlined saloons haA r e sloping rear AviudoAVS. When this is the ease the normal position of the mirror Avill not give a good vieAV to the rear. A panorama type should be fitted. BACKING- THE CAE. ADVICE TO MOTORISTS, Not all motorists, particularly novices, are happy when it comes to reversing into a confined space, such as a garage with a narrow door. There is a simple manner of tackling the job as long as one is satisfied that the opening is Avide enough for the car to reverse in Avith a foot or so to spare. The best thing to do is to steer the off back Avheel to Avithin about six inches of the off-side door post. Take no notice Avhatever of Avhat is happening on the other side. As the machine goes in, steer f the off-side front mudguard of the car Avithin six inches or so of the door post. By adopting this method, the space on the near side of the car takes care of itself.

The trouble with many drivers is that even when they are aware that there is ample room to reverse through a gate or into a narrow garage or shed, they endeavour to watch both sides, and thereby do not carry out the manoeuvre with ease. The simplest plan is to watch the off-side wheels only (they are easier to see), and let the near-side wheels take care of themselves. When a new gasket is to be fitted to a cylinder head, soaking it in water before hand softens the asbestos between the copper faces. This enables the material to pack closely as the bolts arc tightened down and saves taking up the bolts later. * * it * A new automatic road danger signal to save motor vehicles following a tram-car from crashing into excavations is being tried by a local authority in England. As a tram goes through it pushes aside a danger sign, which swings back into position as soon as the car has passed.