THE MOTOR WORLD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23222, 21 June 1937, Page 3

THE MOTOR WORLD

ACKNOWLEDGMENT The Radiator for June. The Riley Record for May. RELATIVELY DANGEROUS A correspondent raises the question, of road hazards, and has expressed doubt as to whether any particular class of vehicle is " more deadly " than any other class. I agree with him. but would be inclined to stress the point that the person in charge is the " deadly '* element in the problem. It seems, however, that the motor cycle is relatively more dangerous than any other class. In dealing with this question the Minister of Transport (Mr R. Semple) produced a table and some comments on it. By estimating the annual mileages and relating the accidents involving various classes of vehicles to the mileages travelled by the vehicles in each class, he said the table gave a reasonably accurate indication as to the relative hazard due to each class of vehicle. Commercial vehicles, service cars and buses showed the best record of all vehicles in regard to safety; then came the private car. The records of the motor cycle, the rental car, and the taxi were, however, most unsatisfactory. "I have referred to the motor cycle on previous occasions," he added, "and would merely state that he is his own worst enemy." The table prepared by the department showing the relative accident hazard according to type of vehicle gave the following numbers of vehicles involved in, accidents per estimated million miles:— Motorcycles .. 6.5 Private cars 2.4 Commercial vehicles .. .. 1.3 Taxis 4.3 Service cars and buses .. 1.3 Eental cars 8.3 , SAFE CONDITION A good driver in a poor vehicle may avoid more accidents than a poor driver in a good vehicle, but the only really safe combination is a good driver in a good vehicle. Scrupulous care in obeying traffic regulations and constant alertness are attributes of good driving, which can, and should, be acquired d:/ every person allowed to control a road vehicle. They will be of little avail, however, if the brakes, steering, lights, and other safety factors are not maintained in good condition. Almost all garages and service stations will inspect these parts free of charge or for a nominal fee, and it is the duty of owners to see that their vehicles are kept in a safe condition.

MOST DENSELY "MOTORISED" Great Britain, for its area, is the most densely "motorised" country in the world. Figures quoted recently by the British Minister of Transport (Mr ■ Hore-Belisha) showed that the number of cars registered for each square mile of Great Britain was 23. The corresponding figure for the United States was only eight motor cars to the square mile. In England there Were two and a-half miles of road for every square mile of territory; in Germany the corresponding figure was only three-quarters of a mile. Density figures for other countries are:—France, 10.2 motor vehicles to the square mile! Germany, 6.07; Australia, 3.9; Italy, 3.27; New Zealand, 1.8; South Africa, 0.5; Japan, 0.5; Canada, 0.31; and India. 0.12. AUSTRALIAN SPEED RECORD The two Australian land speed records for a motor, car and a motor cycle were brought' closer together recently when F. Kleinig,. in a 1.49* c.c. Miller Special, attained a mean speed from a flying start over a quarter of a mile of 116.9 m.p.h., at Canberra. This is now the car record, which is still below the top speed achieved by a motor cycle. The occasion was the annual speed carnival held in the Federal Capital Territory by the Light >Car Club of New South Wales. The Australian motor car speed record is 123.2 m.p.h., established by A. Senior in August last year near Sydney. Riding a 500 c.c. Supreme Dunlop he reached a speed of 130 m.p.h. with the wind, but this was reduced to 116 m.p.h. against it. HOW QUICKLY CAN YOU STOP? Many minor collisions occur daily in the city and suburbs through one car bumping into the rear of another because of the sudden application of powerful brakes. The .responsibility for avoiding these minor collisions is divided. The driver in front should remember those behind and try to avoid sudden stops. If forced to brake quicklv he should try to give the correct hand signal as a warning. Drivers following other cars should not follow too closely. And they should keep constant watch for indications of trouble ahead which might cause the driver in front to have to stop suddenly. WHAT DO YOU SAVE AT 60 M.P.H.? The following table shows the time taken to cover 20 miles at different average speeds: At 20 miles an hour, 60 minutes; at 25 miles an hour. 43 minutes; at 30 miles an hour, 40 minutes; at 40 miles an hour, 30 minutes; at 50 miles an hour, 24 minutes; at 60 miles an hour, 20 minutes. So if you succeed in arriving safely at the end of your journey in an attempt to average 60, instead of a more reasonable 30, you have saved exactly 20 minutes. Against that you have undoubtedly taken a serous risk with your own life, and probably with that of others; you have used very much more petrol and oil; " scrubbed a lot of rubber of the tyres, and shaken your car about needlessly. You have certainly done nothing to be proud of, and can consider yourself very lucky that those children did not run from the footpath a hundred feet ahead of you. An empty track or highway, a car in first-class condition, and a great deal of experience and skill are needed to make speed reasonably safe. POLITESSE DE POLICE The police in Newport (Mon.) are trying a new way of preventing street congestion by parked cars. Instead of summoning the obstructionists, says the Motor the police place a polite little note in the offending cars requesting the drivers to co-operate with the police in preventing congestion and suggesting leaving the car on the opposite side of the street, or if leaving the machine for a long time using the car parks. The Chief Constable is delighted ai the response of motorists, and states that congestion has been immediately alleviated, and the task of the police is being lightened. Perhaps other Chief Constables might have a shot at it. Similar ideas have been tried in one or two other places, suggesting that a polite caution does more real good than a summons. FACTORY EXTENSIONS Speaking at a farewell function, Mr G. C. Seers, managing director of General Motors New Zealand (Ltd.). in making a presentation to Mr Coates, production manager of that company, announced that the company would spend in the near future £40,000 for additional buildings and improved production facilities. The presentation was made on the eve of the departure of Mr Coates for America, England, and the Continent to visit major General Motors plants in those countries and study the most modern production practice. Mr Seers stated thai Mr Coates's trip was just one more instance of the application of the policy of the company in the development of local staff and in giving opportunities for training to capable local men. The new building to be erected will bring the total area under roof in the Petone factory of General Motors New Zealand (Ltd.) to approximately 180.000

By ACCELERATOR

Items of news—short descriptions of tours, the state of the roads, etc., comment, or inquiries—will bo welcomed by Accelerator.

square feet, and will cover the ground now vacant on the west of the present warehouse building. The new structure will be 350 feet long and 70 feet wide, and will be of the same type of construction as the present buildings. The whole layout of the factory will be completely redesigned to put into effect the most modern assembly methods. The new main assembly line will be over twice its present length Mr Seers stated that General Motors New Zealand (Ltd.). has no doubt as to the benefits which will accrue from the expenditure involved in such widespread alterations. An investment of £40,000 in this extension of its facilities is an expression of confidence in the future of the motor industry and in the dealer organisation charged with the marketing of its products in New Zealand. So great has been the demand for General Motors' products that the present factory, although the largest single producer of motor vehicles in New Zealand, is still not big enough. The additions and the revised plant layout is to be supervised by Mr L. C. Fitzgerald, a Detroit engineer, with wide experience in Scandinavia, South America, Germany, and the United States. MENTAL BLANKS How much is pre-occupation responsible for traffic accidents? How many times out on a straight, open road has one drivqp, seen a car approaching in the distance, and failed to make a mental register as the car passed ? Every person suffers from occasional momentary blanks while working hard mentally, according to Professor Arthur Bills, who has been carrying out research on mental processes at the University of Chicago. Physical work, says Professor Bills, demands periodical rest periods, but mental work can continue apparently for hou after hour without exhaustion setting in, merely because the mind automatically rests itself when necessary. In a normal adult who is not physically fatigued, enforced rest periods, during which no amount of effort will carry on the train of thought, occur from three to five times a minute, but so brief are they—usually a second or less—that their occurrence goes unnoticed. With a tired person the blanks are forced on the attention because they may last for two or three seconds and recur eight or ten times a minute. For the motorist there is a lesson in this. Concentration on driving is never complete, and will be dangerously impaired by worry or other forms of mental or physical weariness. This habit of taking time off which the mind has—it amounts to about one-sixth of its working time, or 1 hour 20 minutes ii. an eight-hour working day—is probably at the root 'of many of these accidents and narrow escapes about which one says later: "I don't understand why, but my mind seemed just to wander for an instant."

Motorists have long been reminded of their inevitable physical shortcoming, such as the delayed physical response to stimuli (reaction time lag), and the optical blind spot. A realisation of the nap-snatching habits of the brain is at least as useful.

Weariness may increase one's reaction lag from one-fifth to half a second, but if the emergency arises near the beginning of a mental rest period the consequences may be far more serious. The need for care in such circumstances thus can be seen to be considerably greater than is indicated by a mere consideration of the reaction times about which so much has been said and written by safety students. EXHIBITIONS IN LONDON The world-renowned series of exhibitions organised by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, Ltd., of London, England, in the interests of the various branches of the motor industry in Great Britain, will henceforward be held in new accommodation now in an advanced stage of construction at Earl's Court. The events to be held in 1937 are the International Motor Exhibition on October 14 to 23, and the International Commercial Motor Transport Exhibition .on November 4 to 13. The former will embrace sections for private cars, their carriage works, components, accessories and ty.es; for motor boats marine engines and equipment; caravans and trailers; service and garage equipment; and the latter, vehicles for goods and passenger transport and utility purposes; rail and industrial motors; accessories; components and tyres and service and garage equipment, and together the events will embrace the products of over 700 manufacturers of motor goods. Notwithstanding that the exhibitions in their former accommodation have represented the largest displays of their kind the world over, the new premises will supply a much-needed increase in the accommodation for exhibits, and will give unsurpassed facilities both for exhibitors and the public. The society is able to provide valuable admission and travel facilities to visitors from overseas for these events, and will gladly supply them on application made to the exhibition manager, S.M.M. and T., Ltd., 83 Pall Mall, London, S.W.I, England. EXPLORATION OF SOUTH AFRICA. "It might be of interest to you," writes Mr N A. F. Edwards, "to hear of the most marvellous service rendered me in South Africa and Rhodesia by a Morris eight two-seater I bought the car early in 1935. and it truly turned out a wonderful investment. It covered a total distance of 17,600 miles in a period slightly less than seven months. It was used in all weathers and over some of the most terrible roads imaginable, and never once did I experience a moment's trouble.

" From the very beginning 1 used this car for country work. The roads in South Africa have to be seen to be believed, more especially when one is off the beaten track. Miles and miles of pot-holes, corrugations, drifts, stories dongas, and dust. All these my Morris eight took in its stride, without any complaint. The car was nearly always overloaded and always driven very hard. The gradients were very steep, and there was a lot of hard, low, and often second gear work to be done. Never once did the car boil even under a blazing tropical sun. My headquarters were in Durban. Natal. From there it did many trips to Northern Zululand, Northern Natal, and East Griqualand. On many occasions I passed larger cars, firmly embedded up to their axles in the mud, without even using chains. " On one occasion, after an all-night drive, I fell asleep at the wheel and piled into the bank at about 45 m.p.h. The only damage sustained was a burst tyre, buckled wheel, broken spring, and bent axle. I changed the wheel and drove on, 380 miles, to Durban, at the usual speed, and arrived without any further mishap.

" On one occasion I went up to Rhodesia. 1 carried one passenger and approximately 7501 b of luggage, including 32 gallons of petrol in cans. The distance we had to travel was 2000 miles, but, knowing what the little car could do, it did not worry me. The roads in Natal. Southern and Northern Transvaal were bad enough in parts, but could be called roads. In Rhodesia, however, there were just two tracks running through the bush These tracks were sandy full of holes, and meant for cars with a much wider track than the Morris eight. The grass-covered hump between the tracks concealed many stones and stumps, which tried their best to tear out the sump and undercarriage of the Morris. They met with stout resistance, however, for. barring

a few dents and bends, no harm was done. We proceeded in this manner as far as Enkeldoorn, where we spent a few days. The car was in daily use, and on one occasion we collided with a large buck. The only damage sustained was a broken bumper and a few minor dents. "From Enkeldoorn 1 went clown to the Sabi River, through the Chipinga district. The Morris went where no car had ever been before. In parts we had to cut a passage for the car, but usually we just picked on spots where the trees were very tiny and drove straight through.. For the most part, fortunately, the country was fairly open. We drove on through dry and stony river beds, bush and sand, and the car did all this under its own power. We only had to get help on one occasion. Crossing a river, in spite of removing the fan belt and putting a sail round the engine and hose piping on to the exhaust pipe, we stuck in mid-stream. This isn't surprising, as the level oi the water was up to the head-lamps. Still, natives and oxen made light work of pulling us out. When we eventually returned to Enkeldoorn we discovered that a cross member of the chassis passing under the gearbox, had been bent right back, and no longer acied as a support. The sump was also badly dented and the petrol tank was practically flat. The number-plates were folded double. With the car in this condition we set oil back to Durban. We drove for 50 hours, 1866 miles, to Durban. We naturally had to refuel, but oui stops were very few, and I shouldn't think any exceeded ten minutes. On this return trip the car was driven practically all out incessantly wherever the road conditions permitted it. "In my estimation, the service rendered by my Morris eight is a remarkable achievement; the car is a remarkable feat of engineering. My old car is now the property of a country doctor, who still finds plenty of hard work for it to do."

THE MOTOR CYCLE CLUB NOTES The annual meeting of the Motor Cycle Section of A.A. (Otago) was held on Tuesday night, with a good attendance of members and friends. Trophies won during the year were presented by the president of the A.A.O. (Mr F. J. Williams) and Mr G. H. Watts. Many members of the executive were also present, and the chairman (Mr J. Murray) extended a hearty welcome to all. After the meeting supper was served, and dancing indulged in for an hour or two. . The sporting trial found 14 members competing, the course being over partly formed roads on Waverley Hill close to St. Joseph's Orphanage. At the start the road was good, but soon came to a patch of mud, then a hill with a sharp right turn at the top. A left turn into another muddy patch led down to a left turn on to a good piece of road. After a few yards of this there was an uphill climb which started in a particularly wet patch, and another left turn produced an observed hill which was grassy enough to catch most competitors. A right-hand turn led into' a muddy patch, and a good road back to the start completed the course. The run had to be made three times. The competitors were started at one-minute intervals, but by the time the last observed section was reached they were all well mixed up. The most difficult section appeared to be where mud was encountered on the up-hill sections. Section No. 3 proved too much for the majority of riders, and accounted for more failures than any other part of the course. The outstanding riders of the day were R. H. Stewart, W. Tomkinson, Miss R. Hall, E. Harris, and E. Newall (who rode his "ncient four-cylinder in fine style). An amusing incident occurred at the third observed section, where J. Carson was taking photographs, until some inconsiderate person came along and supplied a too liberal spray of mud. G. Sinclair came to grips with a gorse bush, and rode on with half of it attached to his machine. R, Stewart collected the only nail on the course and finished with a flat tyre. The results were: R. Stewart (Royal Enfield), 1 (lost 23 points); W. Tomkinson (0.K.). 2 (lost 44 points); V. Laws (Triumph), 3 (lost 53 points).

WORLD'S RECORD

A new world's motor-cycle record for a non-stop (engine) run was made recently with a Triumph outfit ridden by two Melbourne men, F. Goodsell and R. Aldridge. They rode the machine for 9261 miles before the engine stopped. The previous record, made overseas, was approximately 5000 miles.

Sponsored by Rhodes Motor Company and observed throughout by officials of the Auto Cycle Union, the two riders followed a route from Melbourne to Sydney, back to Melbourne, and on to Adelaide, back again ,to Melbourne, and then on to Albuvy, back to Melbourne, and then right through to Sydney again, back again to Melbourne, and down to Warrnambool, and then continued running between Warrnambool and Sydney. The engine stopped at Wangaratta when the point of a plug fell off. That was after the machine had continued for 312 hours —13 days and nights—at an average speed, including delays for refuelling, etc., of 29.6 miles an hour. On its return to Melbourne a new plug was fitted, and the machine continued running as sweetly as before. It was a standard 600 c.c. O.H.V. Triumph, fitted With a Dusting sidecar. The total weight of the machine, including rider, passenger, and provisions, was 9cwt lqr, The record had been sent to the Auto Cycle Union of England for official confirmation.

SPARKS Witness at Highgate Court: "Owing to the motorist leaving his car while he went to lunch, traffic became seriously digested." * * * " How's the car running?" "Badly. Can't keep her throttled down at all." "Just like the wife, eh?" * * * Red is an unpopular colour in Germany. It has been suggested that red cars be forbidden, and now all the fire engines are to be painted green

Fat policemen in Pittsburg, U.S.A., have been ordered to slim. Fat traffic cops, says an authority, cannot be efficient.

Besides, they cannot dodge so easily

It is suggested that motorists convicted of speeding should have a mudguard painted yellow. Anyway, it would always help you to sell the car.

It was bound to happen in the end In the small Scots town of Denny recently a lorry dropped part of its 12-ton load of jam on to the highway. "Traffic jam. of course." adds the Motor.

Passing motorist (to driver standing by his car upside down in a ditch and badly bent): "Shall I send a breakdown van out to tow your car in?" "No, thanks, old boy. it's finished with."

The Tyrol Provisional Government has just sold the top of the Grossglockner, Austria's highest mountain, to the Austrian Alpine Club for half a crown. A peak price

If the car refuses to start after being left for a period, although it has previously been running well, suspect an air bubble in the fuel system, usually caused by an air leak in the line to the fuel pump, causing that component to suck air instead of petrol. When the car is in motion the pump will overcome a slight air leak, but the leak may make it impossible to start up.