LADY MOTORISTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19798, 19 November 1927, Page 10 (Supplement)

LADY MOTORISTS.

'CRITICAL VIEW EXPRESSED. LITTLE ROAI) ETIQUETTE. COMMON DRIVING FAULTS. The case for the lady motorist has been Itated to tho complete satisfaction of •verybody except the man who spends his time avoiding collisions with her 011 Auckland's highways. A male driver stated yesterday that ♦he mechanical shortcomings of the cars of k0 years ago had given Jmn less worry than he suffered when hemmed 111 a modern traffic jam with a super-cautious lady at the wheel of the car ahead and a hashing young female following in a cat %-hich seemed particularly well equipped bumpers and other apparatus for ♦learing a thoroughfare. He did not know Vhether the flamboyantly-driven car, yhich curled his rear mudguard up in its Impatience, was any worse than tho one driven by a lady which shuddered to a •top, crawled along in low-gear until a Jloar road was available, and then scuttled or safety like a scared rabbit with the Ongine roaring at full throttle. The veteran driver said Auckland's worst traffic problem was its 2000 women drivers. The manners and modes 01 the larlv at the wheel could bo observed 011 Onv street corner. She required just in excess of her legitimate half of the road, and was rather partial to running on the crown of the highway, mid-way between fterbs. Hard on the Brakes. "Giving the woman driver a wide berth Is a better protection than tlie best com(srehensive 'insurance policy.'' ho said. V'You should not assume that she will Observe all recrulations. It is too risky a supposition. You will find that her ie<u Iriew mirror does not reveal -following ftraffic to her for the simple reason that it Cias long been twisted out of its correct betting to satisfy the demands of vanity, ft have seen some close shaves, due to the (powdering, not tho scraping, of a cheek. Referring to the reliance which the lady (driver places on the brakes, the critipa taotorist said the security of four-wheel Ibrake equipment had been responsible for !ialf the following which the motoring lobby had from the fair sex. Hie undernaked cars of. 15 years ago would not lave appealed to the large number of lady (drivers whose progression needed such ijrequenfc arresting. The habit of driving (|n a series of spurts and stops was one ot ifhe unintentional and exacting tests which UHe voman driver imposed on the modern Jrar. Another was the unmerciful thrashing of gears. Through her failure to delve ifnto the mechanical function of the controls which she used with such confidence. '!he woman driver rarelv . mastered the rorrect operation of. clutches and gears. Airy Hand-signalling.

Hand-signalling bv tho lady driver (meanb nothing more than a vague mten'tion to do the unexDected, he continued. An airy wave to the right might .followed by a swerve to the left at ot) (miles an hour, or it might merely mean •that the attention of someone unseen was being drawn to the countryside. Otl the question cf speeding by lady drivers the motorist of two decades could no compliment. He thought the majority of younger women took liberties with the sneed-limits and 'relied on apologies and disarming smiles when the traffic Inspector stepped in. The "flapper motorist was not too cautious with her father's car, and he had heard the laughing retort, "dad will par,*' - when -the attention of young women had been drawn to the reading of the speedorpijt^r,

" "The dashing tvne of girl driver will pass you at any time on Auckland s concrete roads, but you will"dot kfto'w ft ufit*il' ghe flashes into your path with a foot to snare," resumed the observant motorist. ,? Road etiquette is not her strong point. She "Will monopolise a parking stand in a busy street and drink tea well beyond the permissible standing-time. I attribute my escapes during the last five years t-o a fair measure of luck and a stout set of bumpers." -THE HUNTLY' EOAD. /. The Great South Road at Huntly has been, the subject of rather pointed criticism lately. This section of the highway is certainly the worst between Auckland and Hamilton. In answer to the Auckland Automobile Association's comments on the Inadequate maintenance of the road, the chairman of the Town Board, Mr. W. C. P. George, states that the local body is us anxious as motorists that the highway should be laid in permanent material. 'The board is prepared to fandertake an Improvement scheme immediately approval Is given by the Local Bodies Loans Board. The Town Board decided to reform the road over six months ago and .the Main Highways Board agreed to subsidise construction at £2 for £l. Pending the financial arrangements the board has been maintaining the road with a subsidy of £1 10s for £l. SHEET METAL OAR. A motor car built entirely of sheet metal made its appearance at the London Olympia in October. The touring model is promised for about £125 but arrange meats for production will not bo triable for some time. The avoidance of castings has resulted in a considerable saving in weight. The four seater weighs 15cwt. as compared with 18cwt, for an identical car of orthodox design. Welding lias played a large part in the construction of the car. The engine cylinders u:ro turned steel tubes and the combustion chambers are pressed out of ;» plate to which the water .jacket is ■welded. The three speed gearbox is constructed of welded steel plates. It. is claimed that rigidity is not sacrificed in this novel method of construction.