THE MOTOR WORLD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23331, 25 October 1937, Page 3

THE MOTOR WORLD

By ACCELERATOR

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Radiator for October The Riley Record for August. AUCKLAND ASSOCIATION PROGRESS “The association has continued to make good progress during the past year, and membership has increased by 7000 in three years,” said the president of the Automobile Association (Auckland), Mr F. G. Farrell, in moving the adoption of the report and financial statement at the annual meeting. The objective this year was 25,000 members, Mr Farrell remarked, and he had no doubt that this figure would be reached. The membership now was 23,300. Grave concern at the continuance of the present high rate of motor taxation was expressed in a motion moved by the president. The motion strongly supported the representations made by the motor unions for remission of the 4Jd tax on petrol, which is paid into the Consolidated Fund. •Mr Farrell said that at the present time every gallon of petrol was subject to a tax of IOJd, 6d of which went to the highways fund and 4Jd into the Consolidated Fund. This tax was brought down b-' a previous Government during the depression period with the promise that it would be removed when conditions improved, but the promise had not been fulfilled. “As far as taxation is concerned motorists are called upon to. pay more than any other section of the community,” said Mr Farrell. “The association will not be satisfied until the 4id tax is removed. We consider it unjust and unnecessary.” The motion was carried. On the motion of Mr F. L. Kenrick it was decided to devote £SOO to the staff provident fund, and to set aside a further £SOO as fixed capital, the interest on which could be paid out from time to time. Mr Kenrick pointed out that the accumulated funds of the association stood at £19,467, and he believed that with the increased membership during the next year it would be found that the fund would be greater than ever at the next annual meeting. The motion was carried. Considerable support was given a motion proposed by Mr A. J. Lowe that the rules should be altered to provide that any member convicted for the second time on a charge of drunkenness while in charge of a motor vehicle should be at once struck off the roll. A lengthy discussion ensued, and it was pointed , out by Mr A. Grayson that the council already had power to suspend any member for breaches of discipline. The motion was lost on the voices. CARBURETTOR ADJUSTMENT Scientific instruments are available to-day by means of which the correctness or otherwise of the adjustment of a carburettor mav be determined by an analysis of the exhaust gas. Several up-to-date service stations in Melbourne and suburbs are equipped with this apparatus, which enables a much more accurate adjustment than could possibly be made by any rule of thumb method. The efficiency of a carburettor properly adjusted is about 95 per cent at full load and 85 per cent, to 90 per cent, at lighter loads, but a badly adjusted carburettor may be responsible for a fuel loss of as much as 20 per cent. For average quality petrol an air fuel ratio of 151 b of air to the pound of petrol gives good economical running, but for maximum power output 13 to 1 is a better ratio. By testing the exhaust gas while the engine is running on various airpetrol mixtures, the right adjustment can be arrived at, assuring sweet running, power, and economy. The apparatus works on the quantity of carbon-monoxide—a product of incomplete combustion —present in the gas. TESTING MOTOR VEHICLES Adverse criticism by the Wellington coroner, Mr E. Gilbertson, J.P., of the authority which issued a certificate of fitness for a motor truck involved in a recent accident was replied to by the Mayor, Mr T. C. A. Hislop, at the last meeting of the Wellington City Council. The coroner, in giving his verdict, said: “I am not prepared to comment on the lack of attention of the driver, but I am prepared to comment on the disgraceful condition of the brakes. There is something wrong with the authority issuing the certificate of fitness.” “ The licensing authority in this case was the Wellington City Council,” said the Mayor. “ The certificate was issued on May s—five months before the accident, There is no justification whatever for the coroner’s comment that there is something wrong with the authority that passed this vehicle as fit. A vehicle can be fit at the time it is examined and unfit a week later.” Mr Hislop said he knew of a case where within a fortnight of the issue of a certificate of fitness the brakes failed to operate as satisfactorily as they should have done. The certificate had been issued by a thoroughly competent private firm. The vehicle unquestionably was in perfect condition when passed, and the fact that the brakes subsequently were found to be faulty was due to oil finding its way into the mechanism. The examination was well worth while, added Mr Hislop, because it meant that vehicles were inspected at least every six months instead of perhaps not at all. The fact, however, that a certificate of fitness was issued was no guarantee that the vehicle would remain in perfect order until the next inspection. If that were so, garage proprietors might just as well close up during the intervening six months. “ That is the error the coroner has fallen into quite innocently,” added the Mayor. “ Our inspectors are thoroughly competent and the vehicles are thoroughly inspected." DETECTING METAL FLAWS An interesting result of engineering research is a crack detector. This, by magnetic means, detects cracks and flaws in iron or steel due to overstrain, fatigue, or shock. When a piece of iron or steel is magnetised, local magnetic poles are formed across any crack which exists on the surface. After basting or spraying the part under test with a special detecting ink or powder, the cracks are rendered visible. Cracks can be detected which are invisible even under a magnifying glass. • To detect cracks inside steel there is a new X-ray unit which will take photographs of steel plates up to a thickness of 2J inches. These appliances were shown at the Engineering and Marine Exhibition at Olympia in London. SALES STILL SOAR The number of new motor cars sold during the month of September. 1937, establishes a new record for any month in the history of the motor trade of New Zealand (says the Radiator). Previously, the biggest month ever recorded was December 1929, ■ when 2746 cars were sold, but this i figure has now been exceeded —the i sales for September last being 2779. For the nine months ended Sep- ! tember 30, 21,649-cars and 4671 commercial vehicles have been sold, making a total of 26,320 units for the nine months. Last year this total was 20,221 units, and in 1929 18,430 • units. If the last quarter of the year shows the same percentage of increase over last year, the number of cars sold for the year should be 30,000. and commercial vehicles 6700. People are beginning to ask where all these vehicles are going, and to talk about a saturation point.

A little study of the position will show that New Zealand can use the large numbers of motor vehicles being sold, without fear of congestion, much

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

less of saturation of the market, and it is likely that sales will continue in large volume so long as money is available.

During the lean years of 1931, 1932, 1933, and 1934 comparatively few motor vehicles were sold in this country, although the use of motor vehicles was not greatly diminished. The effect of

this was to keep in use many motor vehicles after their economic life of usefulness was passed. For this reason the average life of a motor vehicle has been increased from 11 to 13 years. This may be proved by the fact that all the motor vehicles imported into New Zealand from the year 1924 to the end of 1936 are required to make up the number of such vehicles licensed for use at December 31, 1936. The average life of a private car in England is 8.2 years, and of a commercial vehicle 7.84 years. The first cost of motor vehicles in New Zealand is approximately double that in England, and this is one reason why New Zealand keeps them off the scrap heap longer than England does. The wide difference between the average life of a motor vehicle in England and New Zealand confirms the opinion we have previously expressed cthat a large number of motor vehicles In New Zealand are past their economic life of usefulness and should be scrapped and replaced by new vehicles. To maintain the number of vehicles in New Zealand at the present average life of 13 years, the number of vehicles to be replaced each year would be nearly 17,000, and if the average life was reduced from 13 to 10 years approximately 50,000 newj vehicles would be required at once. From these figures it will be seen that there is a large market for new motor vehicles in New Zealand, and so long as the country is prosperous the indications are that sales will continue to expand. EDUCATION OF ROAD USERS One of the main difficulties in educating the road user to the proper use of the road, and coping with offences committed unwittingly by many inexperienced drivers is that it is possible for police officials to witness only a very small proportion of the offences against traffic laws and driving courtesy. It is the opinion of many experienced motorists in England that motorcycle police patrolmen would help materially in observing traffic offences, not solely for the purpose of prosecution, but mainly with a view to the offenders being warned that their offences had been observed and must not be repeated. Many traffic offences are the result of ignorance or inexperience, and an official warning would, in most cases, prevent repetition. London now has 800 specially trained police instructors out on the roads to warn transgressors of traffic laws, and, according to latest reports, these motor patrols are already having a beneficial effect in checking reckless driving on England’s main highways and improving traffic conditions. PEDESTRIAN CONTROL It was stated at an Automobile Association (Wellington) dinner the other day by the Minister of Transport (Mr R. Semple) that while New Zealand leads Australia in control 'of motor traffic, the position is reversed where the control and regulation of pedestrian traffic are concerned. That is easy to understand when one considers the amount of. confusion and ignorance shown over the operation of the pedestrian crossing rules. At present- (says “Chassis,” in the Dominion) the position is farcical in the extreme, and it is obvious that, while most motorists know what is expected of them and try to obey the regulations, there are few pedestrians who seem to have the vaguest notion of their duties, rights, privileges—call them what you will. Pedestrians, without worrying about looking left or right, step on to a crossing place, a motorist halts, the pedestrians stand still, look at the driver, the driver looks at the dumb pedestrians, and then looks away in disgust. Then the pedestrians take the hint and waddle across. It is not permitted motorists to overtake and pass other motorists halted for pedestrians at crossing places, so small and large processions of cars and trucks are soon created, and a filtering process is developed. Even flow of pedestrian or motor traffic is out of the question. The regulations governing pedestrian and vehicular traffic do not dovetail, and harmonious working is impossible with the regulations as at present framed.

Away from the pedestrian crossings pedestrians are still walking obliquely over thoroughfares, but it is noted that there is a greater readiness by pedestrians to yield the right-of-way. as the regulations say they should, when crossing places are not “ reasonably available/’ “Reasonably available,” of course, is a part of the regulations which has not yet been before a magistrate, the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal for translation into inches, feet, yards, or miles. Again, it is stated that the contusion and ignorance abroad among pedestrians to-day is due to lack of education of the pedestrians, and in this particular the safety campaign is sadly lacking. It is a long time since the road code was delivered to householders; there have been several football games, and two or three race meetings since then, and the average householder has forgotten about the book of rules prepared for him. We are lagging behind in pedestrian control all right, and no wonder.

But we lead Australia in motor vehicle control; the motorist is the easy mark because he is licensed, tagged, numbered, tested, registered taxed as a class, and so on. If the Minister of Justice goes ahead with his Bill in-connection with injuries caused to persons by motor vehicles, there will be a further charge on the motoring community. In addition, as the question of negligence on the part of pedestrians is beside the point, in relation to compensation, no useful contribution will be made to any efforts now existing toward impressing on pedestrians their responsibility toward road safety. It is time the National Road Safety Council met again and considered whether or not some effective means of educating the pedestrian is urgently needed.