THE MOTOR WORLD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19046, 17 December 1923, Page 5

THE MOTOR WORLD

By ACCELERATOR. SAFETY FIRST. Slow down and proceed cautiously in patsing intersecting streets, blind crossing's, schools, and bridges. Make a full slop before crossing railroad tracks. Equip your tires with non-skid devices, and proceed with care when streets are wet. and slippery. Keep brakes properly adjusted and equalised. When preparing to turn or stop, never stop suddenly, and always give a signal. Look beltind before backing ear HOW TO FIGHT A PETROL FIRE. PRECAUTIONS TO MINIMISE CAR DAMAGE. Have you ever meditated upon the possibility of your car catching lire and your probable actions in'such an event? asks an English expert. Admittedly it is an unlikely event, but such things do still happen, and it is just as well to be prepared. Before considering bow to put the fire out let us take the matter in order, and find out what starts those flames. And, to go right to the very beginning. I have noticed that c|uitc a number of people treat petrol wiih surprising carelessness. Familiarity breeds contempt, I suppose. You simply must not smoke whilst you are emptying petrol into a tank, and you ought not to smoke while in a garage. There are usually large "No Smoking’’ notices posted in public garages, but they are not always enforced so far as customers are concerned. Thev ought to_ be. If you are filling your lank in the open air it is unlikely, if not impossible, for a spark from your pipe or cigarette to ignite the petrol. The trouble is that some bystander, unconsciously wishing to follow your example, lights up, throws down the blazing match into a pool of petrol that you have spilled—and up goes the car! In the case of a car catching fire in this way, if you were not smoking yourself you might, argue that it was not your fault. But I think that to keep an eye open for too-closely approaching strangers who are smoking, or liable to start smoking on the slightest provocation is only a. matter of reasonable precaution. And it is not quite so complicated as it looks on paper! Apart from carelessness, are there any other ways in which a car may catch fire? Is self-ignition by the car possible? As a matter of fact it is possible, if unlikely. A blow-back into the carburettor may set the liquid in the float chamber alight. Another possible cause is external sparking from a faulty high-tension lead. The wiring is short and well away from the carburettor on a new car, but it is worth while remembering, if ever you have. occasion to overhaul the plug wiring, that untidiness is not the only disadvantage of badlyplanned or carelessly-fitted festoons of wire. A leaky exhaust pipe is another potential source of clanger, more especially if the underscreen ,is so constructed as to allow a pool of petrol to lodge in it. We all , flood our carburettors at times, in spits of the makers’ statements, that this is unnecessary. As a result, in certain circumstances, it would be possible for the inside of the bonnet to become filled with a moro or less explosive mixture, and a flame from a loose exhaust, joint would have interesting possibilities ! Whatever the cause of the fire, the results and the remedies are much the same. The first thing to no. if there is time, is to turn off the petrol from the main tank or autovac to the carburettor. The tap ought to ho accessible on every car. Gn my own it is under the dash within reach of my foot, and I can close it at cn instant’s notice. There, is only one way to put out a petrol fire, and that is to smother it. Water is worse than useless, for it s'mplv extends the active area of the blazing spirit without putting out the flames. You must 1 attack the fire directly by depriving it of air. Perhaps the handiest method is the use of one of the little pumps, containing a chemical preparation, which can he carried incon spicuously on the car. Failing this, the fire must be beaten out with coats and rugs, or in an emergency even road dust, if there happens to be a nice tidily swept-up heap handy, may be called into service. l If the fire is simplv at the carburetter and you have turned off the petrol at once, do not throw, dirt dr sand on.it. Even if you do not smother it. the flame? will sopnSßftTn' out without doing worse damage .than scorching the bonnet, bbt a handful or so of flint and granite dust will give you a few hours’ work in cleaning the, carburetter and magneto before the car will run.

The great thing is to keep cool. Close the petrol tap if possible, and, if the fire is obviously beyond control, save what you can of the car’s contents and fittings—if any I THE ROAD OF TEMPTATION. The road which runs from Birmingham to London through Coventry, Stony Stratford, Fenny Stratford, Dunstable, and St. Albans is now officially called Al2. A better title would be the Road of Temptation. Go out on to this broad highway any time of the day or night and you will meet u procession of motor cars all proceeding at. a decorous and law-abiding speed. If this was not sufficient!v unusual in itself you would note other features which differentiate those from ordinary private cars. Round the r.iuiator caps are slung in a negligent manner number plates. They look like the identification numbers tied to school children on treat day. They are painted in red—the trade colour. These motor cars are really children of the motor car world and they are beginning their life on the open road. They are travelling down Al2 because this is the chief way out into the world from the greatmotoring centres of Coventry and Birmingham, where they have just come to life. In their youth cars require special treatment I A child if it starts to walk too soon sometimes gets rickets. A new motor car if it starts life at too great a pace suffers worse ills. The whole of the interior of its engine seizes up. , . Twenty or 25 miles an hour is the limit for the first 500 miles. Instructions to this effect are found in a printed notice fixed to the dashboard. Hence this decorous procession down the Road of Temptation. Hence the utter look of boredom on fne faces of the youthful drivers. Al2 is a great read for speed. It has a fine broad surface. The scenery is dull, in itself an incentive to revolt. . To the young man with a hi" powerful new car noted for its high speed, the long stretch of read without any turns is a constant source of temptation. Some firms, knowing the temptation, have instituted ( private look-outs on Al2. They form- a sort of private police trap, though they might better be described as inspectors of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to New Cars. . . And woe betide the young driver who is caught in th ; s trap.- He would far rather be caught with an old car in a real police trap. • ■