BUMPER EQUIPMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19163, 31 October 1925, Page 10 (Supplement)

BUMPER EQUIPMENT.

A NECESSARY ACCESSORY. Motorists are not unanimous on the question of fitting bumpers. A very small proportion of cars is seen carrying both front anc'l rear bumpers, and where only one is fitted there is a division of opinion as to whether it should be put on the front or back. There is no doubt that Auckland city .traffic has assumed dimensions which warrant the motorist taking the maximum precaution, to protect his car from damage. Two bumpers are a justifiable extravagance and may prove a cheap insurance. It is the little scratches and dents which are so annoying to the careful car-owner, and such trivial but unpicturesque disfigurements cannot be made good on the usual insurance policy. The most cautious driver cannot prevent his car from sustaining these knocks and grazes. Touching up the mudguards with enamel and varnish will not restore their appearance fully. A car parked in the streets or left in some garages, often receives knocks and bumps as the result of the negligence of some other driver.

In street collisions properly fitted bumpers may save many pounds damage. A bumper is not likely to prevent the wreckage of a car which crashes at 30 miles an hour, but it is most effective in absorbing the shocks of minor street collisions. The motorist who fits a rear burr per only, apparently takes the egotistical view that he needs'protection from the negligence of other drivers, but is quite competent to save his own car from a head-on collision. The notion is wrong. If the car in front slows up suddenly, the man who is sure ho could look after his car has rammed it, and done, perhaps, ten pounds worth of damage to each vehicle. Sudden stops are becoming the rule rather than the exception since the advent of fourwheel brakes. The radiator of any car is an expensive and comparatively fragile unit. A light blow which any bumper would absorb, would damage a radiator to perhaps twice the cost of a suitable safety guard. At the back, the bumper protects the rear wheel carrier and the benzine tank. A common mistake in the fitting of bumpers is to use them either too short or to attach them too near the. mudguards. The bumper should be long enough to ward off anything which would normally graze the mudguard. It is unfortunate that there is no accepted standard of height for bumpers. They are fitted at varying levels, and wheu two cars meet they may interlock or over-reach instead of coinciding.

A.A.A. ACTIVITIES. The service officer of the A.A.A. will endeavour to arrange headlight demonstrations throughout the Bay of i lenty when lie again visits the district in a few weeks' time. He will show how a simple adjustment overcomes most of the dazzling glare of headlights. This is a matter which should be much appreciated by country drivers. The courtesy and careful driving of the service car drivers of the Bay of Plenty and Rotorua districts was favourably commented on by Mr. R. S. Champtaloup, service officer of the A.A.A., who has just returned from a visit to these districts.

This week the service officer has been busy organising in the Waikato and King Country, and will leave again in a fewdays to signpost the Hamilton-Rotorua and Taupo-Napier roads.

The Whakatane and Opotiki motorists decided unanimously to form agencies of the A.A.A. after having been addressed last week by the service officer. Mr. G. R. Kent, Whakatane, and Mr. E. L. Siddall, Opotiki, were officially appointed agents.

A.A.A. 24-HOUR SERVICE. The private residence of the service officer of the A.A. A. has now been connected by telephone, and members may avail themselves of this extra service. Mr. Champtaioup will be away from towa a good deal until the beginning of December, but will be available at all times during the holiday season. The phono number is 12-406. NOTES. A Manawatu motorist., in order to prevent joy-riders from appropriating his car, has adopted the novel course of chaining a business-like terrier to the steering wheel. When a funnel is not available an easy way to fill the storage battery is by placing the screwdriver over the hole and pouring the water slowly along the shank. The tool will direct the water into the battery without spilling.

When water is not at hand to help find a small pin-hole puncture, a good method is to use some cigar ashes or tire talc for the purpose. With this on the ground inflate the tire and rotate it a little above the ash. The leak can be found by the disturbance made in the ash or powder.

Motorists who have passed through Awakino Valley lately, complain that the service car drivers are putting up speeds on the route which are the cause of some anxiety to tourists. Some private car drivers have even been known to time their trip to a nicety to avoid meeting the service cars.

Regulations affecting the issue of driver's licenses in Spain are most exhaustive. A large proportion of the public are first debarred from even applying for a license by regulations which cover such matters as age, height and weight. The remainder are examined by public health officials empowered to refuse licenses for any one of a complete medical dictionary of complaints from psvehoneurosis to pyorrhea. An indispensable instrument in every motorist's tool chest is a simple horseshoe magnet. It is handy for recovering nuts and bolts that have dropped into the drip pan, or valve keys that have slipped behind the valves.