ROADSIDE REPAIRS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21880, 16 August 1934, Page 18

ROADSIDE REPAIRS

AVOIDING TRAFFIC STREAM TWO RECENT ACCIDENTS ' The recent instances of a motorcyclist being killed and another being injured in separate accidents ns a result of being struck by motor-cars while stooping, over their machines to remedy tho failure of headlights draw attention to the dancer which exists in such cases.

It is always a wise policy, especially at night, to place the motor-car or motor-cycle well out of the stream of traffic when a breakdown occurs. On main thoroughfares thoughtful motorists avail themselves of street lights in such an emergency at night. It is not an uncommon sight to find motorists mending a puncture on the road with the vehicle almost in the way of passing traffic, and with tools spread over a large portion of the roadway. Although the wisdom of placing the car as near the edge of the road as possible and of carrying out the repair of punctures off the road would appear to be immediately apparent, it is remarkable how thoughtless some motorists are in this respect.

" HOW TO DRIVE A CAR " The 13th edition of the very useful handbook, "How to Drive a Car," has just been published by the Temple Press, Limited. The new edition, in accordance with the practice of its publishers, has been revised to keep pace with new improvements, such as svnchromesh and pre-selective gears, but as the title suggests, the book is intended primarily to assist the newcomer to motoring to acquire road sense, together with skill in the handling of a car. Besides giving a simple and clear account of tbe controls of a car and their functions, the book is full of valuable information which the beginner would otherwise learn only by experience. The combined roadcraft experience of the staff of the periodical, the Motor, is .put at the disposal of the novice and he is shown how to cultivate his powers of observation and how to anticipate emergencies and the driving methods to adopt under widely varying weather conditions.

NOTES A questionnaire issued in England to ascertain the views of motorists on the "ideal" car, shows that the light six saloon is the most popular type of body, while 75 per cent prefer sixcylinder engines to four.

It is announced that a number of motor-car concerns in America have made price reductions: They are not very sweeping. In England prices are expected tp increase next year, owing to tho cosi of raw materials going up.

When, after years of wrangling, the demolition of Waterloo Bridge, London, was finally started recently, them was quite a number of people who hoped to ho "last across." The honour fell to Mr. G. Alderson, who for a long time has been taking this route to Covent Garden with his pony and trap.

Of late a certain number of secondhand cars have been imported into South Africa from Great Britain, and there have been signs that this form of trade would spread. Local motoring organisations, however, opposo this importation on the grounds that it is likely to' disorganise the • trade, and propose action to render it unprofitable.

Herr Hitler is a keen motorist. It is supposed to be a wish of his that every German family should have a car. The possibility of producing a car to cost 1000 marks (£SO) is therefore under serious consideration in Germany, and detailed plans have been submitted to the Chancellor by the Berlin Chamber of Commerce. It is proposed that the car should cost about £55, have a 12 horse-power engine, capacity for carrying four people and a maximum speed of 50 miles an hour.

In America the motor industry has been experimenting for a'number of years with radio equipment for cars, but it was not until the present season that any cars so equipped as standard became available to the general public. The first British model to offer a wireless receiving set as part of the standard specification has now been introduced. The wireless set incorporated is specially designed for the car in one unit to fit under the dash. The aorial, of copper • gauze, is installed in the roof, and suppressors are fitted to spflrking plugs, distributor, coil and dynamo. The high tension supply is b" means of a vibrator and rectifier valve, forming an integral part of the set, and the car's own battery provides the current.

In order to decide an argument an interesting test was recently carried out in a Coventry works. It was contended on one side that, by reason of its fluid-flywheel transmission, a 10 horse-power B.S.A. car would run so slowly in top gear that it would take a full minute to travel its town length, without a driver at all! A level stretch in the factory was selected, and the carburetter was carefully set so that the engine ticked over at about 500 r.p.m. Then the hand brake was released and the car moved slowly off. On the first attempt, .however, it stopped.momentarily, this being due to a very slight unevenness of the floor. Two long boards were therefo.ro obtained, and on their dead smooth surfaces the car set off again. This time it took 60 seconds to cover Bft., driverloss and non-stop, at a speed of 0.09 miles per hour, or, in othor words, one mile in 11 hours.