THE MOTOR WORLD

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVII, Issue 10815, 3 February 1921, Page 2

THE MOTOR WORLD

— STREET TRAFFIC CONTROL 1 DANGER OF BENZINE EXPLODING SUDDENLY. (By "‘Torque Rod.”) It i» a common sight- »o witness constables at the int-u-r.-vuctions ot streets in tho city waving their arum about when directing -traffic in a manner that must entail a considerable amount of physical exertion. A hand goes up to stop traffic approaching in one direction, while the other hand and arm is kep-t revolving like a windmill to denote that traffic coming ,in the opposite direction mo.v proceed. There, does not uppear to bo any need for this physical exercise tin-, les* it is persisted in for tho purpose of keeping the men fit. The method adopt--1 ed in the streets of London could with advantage to all concerned, bo adopt, d here. A London constable does not wave his arms about, hut simply turns his body round and the drivers of vehicles know at once whether they r have to stop or are permitted to proceed. The method is simple, and is as follow: Wh&n a constable- faces one street and his back is to-another the traffic coming towards him and that approaching from •the back must .stop while that to his right and left may proceed. Immediately one lot of -traffic is cleared the constable faces half-round and the traffic . in the streets which had stopped proceeds aiid that, in the facing and approaching his back stops. There i» absolutely no confusing and no mistake in regard to signals, as sometimes happens in the streets of Wellington. • A DANGEROUS- PRACTICE. From time to time accidents occur through carelessness in handling benzine, and recently there was a fatal one, although there is no reason to suppose that it was due to carelessness. ’ Many persons are in the habit of straining benzine into the tank of- their cars through a piece of chamois leather. Water, should there be a drop or two in the benzine, is arrested by the lea-. ther, thus prevented from entering the tank and subsequently finding its way to the carburetter arid perhaps giving trouble. The object is a laudable one, but it is not without danger. It has been definitely established that the rushing of the benzine through the chamois leather generates a current and the possibility of the petrol igniting exists, and in fact has taken place. Care should also bo taken when pouring bepzine into the tank. The usual method is to use a funnel made of tin or iron, and during warm weather especially, if ordinary caution is not taken, the metal of the benzine container and the funnel may come shandy in contact, the result being that there is a spark and tho benzine in coining in contact with the worm air gives off it* g.uses quickly, and an explosion takes place. The idea that a flame is necessary to explode benzine is an erroneous one, as the following incident will prove-In a lprge garage a motor-car was being prepared for. show purposes and benzine was being poured into the tank. Standing some yards away was a man smoking, a cigarette. A slight current of air- was moving in the direction of the person smoking. The smoker blew the ash off h*s cigarette, iaml in a flash the benzine vapour* was ignited and the car in flames. In blowing the ash off the cigarette a spark was evidently detached • and the damage was occasioned in a twinkling. DANGER. ,SIGNS. The motor -department of the City Council has practically completed tho work of erecting danger &*gns at points of danger in the streets of the city and in the outlying districts. A motorist, when approaching a schoo-l, will notice 1 a red triangle, which is a warning to ■ him to proceed with caution, and in tlio centre of the triangle is the word school. :At other dangerous points triangles painted red have also been erected, and in every, case they are to warn motorists That they are approaching a clanger zone, and that caution is necessary to avoid possible accident. Theiro in-re. other signs to denote speed, and the figures on tho white discs speak fur themselves. TRAFFIC BY-LAWS. A revision and the consolidation of the traffic by-laws of the city -is urgently required. At the present time the traffic regulations and by-law e may be said, in street parlance, to bo "all ovei tho shop/'’ There has been no attempt made to consolidate them, but it is understood that the city s'dicitor has been instructed to bring about the desired. result, and is now engaged upon the work. It would be in the interests of a!l concerned if an endeavour was-made in the direction of bringing about -a conference of local bodies through New Zealand in order that some semblance of uniformity might be arrived at in the framing of by-laws governing traffic. As matters stand., it is practically ompoesibLo for a tourist to .become conversant with traffic regulations of each boropgh, as there are so few which, coincide in respect ‘to their by-laws. MOTOR-CAR LICENSES. In New Zealand the owner of a motorcar pays a registration fee of 10s, and secures a driver's license for a similar amount, and there lvi«* obligation ceases. In England he does not escape so easily, and is required to pay a fee of <£l per boise-power. It is <sx heavy tax to meet, and in order to assi-sf the motorist the manufacturer is reducing the power of tho engines to an apprecianie exrent. High-powered are becoming less and less, ,and there is T0a90.11 to anticipate that they will be a thing of the past, as far ’as Britain is concerned, shortly unless the present method of taxation is abolished or the tax reduced. A different system of taxation obtains in West Australia. There it -is based on the power of tho engine and the weight of the car, the contention being that tho heavy car with highpowered engine does more damage to the rt«ads, and Is taxed -accordingly. The following aro a few examples of taxes that are imposed:—Austin four cylinder. 22.4 h.p- <R.A.C. rating), weight 26 cwt, .power weight 49 cwt. tax jGS ; Buick six cylinder, 25.6 h.p.. 27 cwt. power weight 53 cwt, tax nC7; Buick tour cylinder. 16.9 h.p., 13.5 cwt, power weight 35 cwt, tax «£4; Daimler '.six cylinder, 30-1 h.p., weight 29.5 cwt. ’power weight 59 cwt, tax JsS; Darraeq four cylinder, 11.4 h.p.. weight 18 cwt, power weight 29 cwt, tax Ford four cylinder, 22.4 h.p., weight 141, cwt, power weight 33 cwt, tax J24j Studebaker six cylinder (light), 29 h.p., weight 26 cwt. power 57 cwt, lax .£8; Studebaker -six : cylinder (big), 36 h.p., weight. 29 cwt, power weight 66 cwt, tax .£lO.