Cycling and Motor Notes

Otago Witness, Issue 2850, 28 October 1908, Page 59

Cycling and Motor Notes

BY DEMO*.

Tlie Hon. G. M'Lean was in Oamaru last week in his 25 h.p. Deasy. Chauffeur Mater appears to have this car running very well. ' -Anyone wishing to try his car through a fair water course should run over Flagstaff and through the Silverstwdm, at North Taieri. One car on going through recently discovered, after crossing, that tfod horn would not blow and -the coils were full of water.' Of course the horn was Tiot fitted on top of the steering column. * The Dunlop bar-thread covers fitted to Dr Bateh-elor's car- are putting up a fine record. The back covers were replaced about a month ago. The fronts are still running, and have never had a. puncture. They got over 1000 miles in connection with the last reliability trial, and havo since gono through 10 months' daily work in Dunedinl * The Bell Brothers, the well-known Otago push-bike awl motor cycle riders, and the kindest Samaritans of the couth road in'hyjjonc 'Jays, arc now doing excellent work in Kelantan for the Dominion Rubber Company, where' they have already planted a large area of land. They have a Jaunch\on the river, with a . four-cylinaer engine run on accumulator ignition. The accumulator is recharged by a dynamo run on the boat. In tho damp climate of Kelantan it is difficult to keep tho accumulator up, and the experience gained with the Jap and -tho Peugeot stands them in gcod stead. Tho health of the brothers continues good, "Dod" being the only one to have a touch of fever, from which he speedily recovered. The brothers cay that ciert>i«c is -the white man's salvation in Kc-lantan, so they are all hard at work from morning to night, and tho only two things they miss are their friends and butter ! The Taieri and Peninsula product set their palatc-3 at too high a standard for the stuff they can buy in the East. The charges of alleged infringement of the Motor Act against ReKfrutld Aoton Adams and Percy Ashton. Elworthy were disposed of at the City Police Court on Wednesday before Mr H. V.' Widdowson, S.M. — R. Acton Adams had been charged with dri\ ing a motor car on a public highway at a speed dangerous to the public, and with furiously driving a. motor car. Percy Ashton Elworfhy had been charged with driving a motor car on a public highway at a speed dangerous to the public. — Mr A. O. Hanlon appeared for the defendants, and Sub-inspector Norwood conducted the case for the police. — Herbert Elworthy. brother of one of the defendants, stated that the car was being driven afe a rate up to 15 miles an hour — not a. dangerous rate of speed. In an emergency it could be stopped in its own length. He (the driver) did not slow down at street corners, but could not have collided l with a cart if that cart was keeping its own side of the road.— Charles James Fox, financial agent, said that he was used to motor cars,

and that, he had returned from England! a month 1 ago. ~ In London the speed regulation was" 20 miles- an hour. There -warn nearly as much -traffic- there as in George street. In. the parks the speed of motor cars was limited to-8, 10, and 12 miles an. hour. He would not consider that speed! dangerous in George street, Dunedin, pro-. vided the car was in the hands, of a competent driver. He would seriously, ' say that if there was no traffic to, stop himi, a man coujd drive through Oheapside afe" 1 20 miles an hour.— The Sub-inspector ex-. pressed incredulity. He said ho had been/ in London, and knew what the traffic- was. like. Be would have said that such a epeed^'wotild ' be impracticable and dangeroue. — The Magistrate eaid it was easy ten comprehend that speed would be danger-,! ous at one time and? not at another. They circumstances surrounding the case at the* time rrvbst be considered' according to the' law. In the case in point defendants weret , driving - along' .George street, , which presented a straight run, with, no bends or corners, andv-the, traffic at the time did nod appear to have been large. The motor cars had been driven at a speed which Mr Adams had described as being- faster than, usual. Mr Spencer had apparently no/ complaint to make as to the speed at which the cars travelled, but had objected td the horns, which frightened horses. Constable M'Oiilloch had itated positively tfiatf the care were travelline at 25 miles ant ! hour, and he would appear to be a judge ofi spaed. He himself was inclined to think' that the cars were travelling rather faster than Mr Adams had admitted — poseiblyi jl9 milea an hour. As to the rest of th« ' evidence brought by the police as to speed. f he could «ot think it altogether reliable. j Dr Batchelor considered the speed eaf«% . north of the Octagon, and other witnessed ; had said there- was no danger. The ques— .' tion to decide was whether the speed was dangerous to the public under all the cirl cumstanoes. He *ro.s not satisfied that tbi-» I had been, proved, and the cases therefor® j would be dismissed. For the same reasons th-9 information against Reginald Actonr Adams for furious driving would also b«s' dismissed— ln reply tp a pointed question by the Sub-inspeofcer,. the Magistrate said* he did not infer that the policemen whoso evidence had been rejected had been tellinir untruths, but he jnerely regarded their evidence touching the question of speed ** unreliable. — -^-The foregoing evidence furnish.** rathei- interesting- Tcadinir, and the ruling of the magistrate that 19 miles an hour itf George _ street is not a dangerous speed is certainly open to objection. I understand that the City Council will shortly bring :n: n a by-law limiting? the speed of motor cars in our city streets to some 10 miles an hour, thus falling in with a suggestion throwrt out by Mr Widdowson during 1 the hearing of the atovc cases. In regard to M* Fox's evidence, I Kalicvp the legal liroilt , on a.ll English roads is 20 miles an hour. • but in the confines of London, if a drives j is travelling at a pace considered by thd : police dangerous to other users of • the j road he is at once proceeded against. A ' gentleman well known in local motor circles informs me thai; he has se^n drivers in . London when proceeding at but five mile< an hour stopped- and the number of theirf car taken — for the sufficient reason thai on this particular occasion the speed ha* been decided, to be a dangerous one* Of course, the truth of the remark made by Mr Fox Jhat a drive* could drive through Oheapeide &{ 20 miles, an hour, "if there wan no traffic to stop him," ia quite palpable. H* could also drive down George street on a Saturday night at tiiis (rate if there was no traffic to stop him. Th€ point, however, b to Ret the streets of big citie* when there is no traffic. , And there is also the danger of a vehicle or cyclist coming into the, street where the fast speed i« being traversed from a side street, and before the fast traveller could do anything! an accident would have ensued. On Saturday the police had another; case of too fast riding 'before 1 them, \yhor* Leslio Ashcvoft Edwards nleadcd "Guilty" to a charge of having ridden a motor cv lo faster than four miles an hour acre.'-'- Ui<* intersection of Princes and High strco'=.. I cor.trf >y to By-law Xo. 18, section 12b.-

In. ihe absence of Mr Widdcwuon, the rase gas tried before Mr W. Q-. K. Kenrick. ffhe defendant said that be was a new arrival in tbe dty, and bad not ridden a toptor oyole in it before. In other places n«M no bad been a motor oyole was glMWtd i» be driven at a reasonable speed, [

and what tha.t was vleoenried on the >>tate of the traffic. Ho had udden a motor c\ele in Wellington for ovci .six years, and bad not even been oautioned. In Christchurch a bicycle could even be ridden on the footpaths. When, he came to Duiwdin he thought that so long as he rod-e at •

reasonable speed according to the traffic ha would be right. Before taking the crossing be looked to 9ee that) all was clear, and aa he saw no one except two policemen he concluded that he was quite justified in going at the pace he did. — Sub-inspeotor Norwood said that the defendant's statement that bicyclists were allowed to ride on the footpathe in Christchurch was not correct, as it was only a short time sinoe a whole batch of eyefista had beei? fined for co doing. — Constable M'Holm gave evidence as to defendant's rate of speed being fully 10 miles an hour. — His "Worship eaid that he did not understand why those riding on motors 6hould ride in the main streets when they had such broad streets parallel to Princes and George streets. They should show more consideration for others. He would nor in£ict a heavy fine. The defendant would be fined 20s and costs. This report makes still further interesting reading. It is certainly time that we had a uniform set of by-la.w« governing the speed of motor cars and c\cles in the chief town 6 in New Zealand. If the defendant in this case was, as eta-ted, travelling- at 10 miles an hour ho was certainly grossly exceeding the limit of four miles an hour allowed when crossing the intersection of street*. The remark made by Mr Kenriek that he could not understand why motormen should prefer to Tide in the main streets when they had such broad streets parallel to the main thorough- , fares is very apropos, and this matter has been referred to on several occasions by myself. However, I suppose the whole of the charm of fast driving would be iofct if it were not possible to indulge in such practices before the gaze of the public eye. "Man, poor man, dressed in a little 4>rief authority," etc. The judgments in the two cases tried in tho Police Court last week give rise to the rather pertinent query. Had Mr Widdow6on been trying Saturday's case and Mr Kenriok that against Messrs Acton Adams and Elworthy, what would have been tho result? . The remark made by Mr Kcnriek in regard to consideration of other users of oui roads is very timely. Motormen. complain bitterly on occasions of tho treatment me*ed_ out to them by drivers of vehicles, etc., in these gentlemen keeping in the middle of the road and refusing to give way till the very last minute. The • motormen in this instance, however, should remember that in all probability they are paying the penalty for incivility shown^n a previous occasion by a motor driver to tho driver of the horse-propelled vehicle. However, I suppose it is no use talking — there are some drivers of cars w.ho simply cannot, or will not, restrain the temptation to soor<sh on every available opportunity, and the large majority of motorists have to suffer for the sins of the few. Still, of this I am certain: if motormen become known as careful drivers they will receive every/ consideration from other users of the roads. 'In this connection I have only to mention Dr Fulton. The genial doctor is met with a cheery salute from all sorts and conditions of men — drivers, cy-clists, etc., — who even go out of their way to give the" doctor a clear run in his little Rover when occasion arises.. And this is simply a result of the caro shown by Dr Fulton when driving- his car and ooneideration for other people. ShouW a horse show the slightest restiveness, - -ihe ßßoverv v er at once becomes stationary till the horse has passed. There is no" reckless' dash" past, leaving the horseman on a bucking horse to manage as best, he may. and offer up anathemas on the general body of motor ear-owners and drivers, and this driver in particular. If this spirit of the doctor's were more widely shown we would have very little road-hoggishness on the part of either motormen or the drivers of vehicles. '.One more police case and I am done. This report further complicates matters, and 6hows the discrepancy that at present exists among our magistrates and J.P.s as to what constitutes reckless driving. These cases, however, * should help to remedy the existing diversity of opinion as to what constitutes dangerous speeding — we will have a definite legal speed-limit for our ckv streets, and whoever exceeds such limit will have to pay the penalty. At the Invercargill Police Court on Monday week Thomas Slone was charged, before Messrs W. Tcdd and G. Froggatt, J.P.s, with having driven a motor car at a 6pecd dangerous to the public. A constable averred that defendant had driven along Dee. street at 30 miles an hour, and said defon<lant afterwards admitted that the speed was 20 miles an hour. Mr Russell, for defendant, pointed out that in. the act no speed limit was made for motor cars, and there was no danger to the public on a street two chains wide on a Wednesday afternoon when traffic wai li^hfc. Tho defendant atated that ho was driving about 12 to 15 miles an hour, and the street was almost without traffic. Other witcpsscs for Ihe defanoe said the speed was l 6 or 17 miles an hour, and that tho car was not travelling at an unusual rate. The bench considered tlwt the speed ovon admitted by the defence was a dangn'ous ipoed in the town. Defendant was tinol £3 and costs, and the bench declined to increase the fine so thai aa appeal might I>p lodged. A mooting of the Canterbury Automobile Association was he'd on October 13; present — Mr P. L. HalJon~ie ; n (wi tho than. Drs Diamond and Neely. dr.<H Mews A Morten, R. B. Wa!ke-\ A L. Pratt, .T. Troup, M. Steed-, and V.. Nordon (secretary)- The New Zealand Automobile Association wrote stating that it wi' i piopo-ed. to hold the no\t annual jmotlnj ar.ci conference in Chi ''stchurc'i, during November, and asking what would he flic lr-cst convenient daH. It was decided to sucrcest Tv» v sday November 10. Mpssra Hallenstein, W. E. Mill*, and Morten wer« lelcrtcd doleoates to the New Zealand Association, ar.d the presidant and secretary v.ere appointed a sub-committee to arramro matter s in connection with tho entertainment of delegate i to the annual conference. It was decided that the assof idt ion's d<?!eEra"tes should brin? the matter of preparing road niap3 of the dominion and arranging for uniform hotel tariffs before the annual conference. A sub-committee, cor^i-sting I of Messrs W. E. Mills, Morten, and F. N. ! Sinclair, was appointed to prepare an. itinerary and guide beole in connectiou with tho reliability trials. At a meeting of the executive of the Christchurch Cycling and Motor Club, a letter was received from the Cycle Traders' Association asking that a conference should be hsld between representatives of the association and the cycling olub, with, a \ie\v to promoting road races

arwl popularising rycling generally. It was decided to acr-^dc to tho wishes of the association, and M«sirs Barker, Bates, ar.d Burgess wero appointed to repiesent the club. ——A lot of good money liae been spent k

on the Continent an<J in England in putting dust preventives of a chemical ■natur* on the roads, but they have proved to be merely " palliatives," and money wasted. It has been proved sufficiently that it i» true economy to spend the money

necessary, to make a solid road of -. such ' jnatertate as tar macadam, which, will _be _ . waterproof, dustless, and of such durability ' that, owing to its long life and' low main- 1 tenancy.* cose, it is cneaner actually than the makeshift kind of road! Experimental : stretches of '** tarmac," laid down 18 months ago in' England- for test under heavy traffic, < do not yet show any signs of wear. Th« whole of success in tar-dressing a macadam road lies in the solidity of its foundation, and the news that we City • Council's Public Works Committee is con- ! sidering : the floating of a £10,000 loan -for , -xjads, and is closing a contract for 200,000 ! gallons of tar, entitles motorists to believe (says ' Melbourne Punch) that the " good roads movement is widening out. In the dust trials promoted by the Royal' A.C. of Great Britain/ the action of tyres in raising dust was carefully noted. It wag "proved that the fron£ tyres- do not^ \ raise any dust, but that the back or driving . wheels* are responsible for the evil. Large- : sized- pneumatics were proved to raise a, '. greet- deal more dust than .medium and smaltrsjzed tyres, -T>ut high --internal air ; pressure caused"'- a. distinct - improvement over low pressure in lessening the quantity of dust. Solid rubber tyres raised very little dust in tho trials, and confirmed the usual experience with this type of tyre. The suction effect of the pneumatic tyre an the road surface, causing quick inrush of air currents, disturbs the dust, which rises easily ■ in the partial vacuum made by the passage of a oar. / Now that the Dunlop road race for 1908 is* a matter of history, no harm can -•esult Irom commenting upon the future handicapping of this great (road event from Warrnambool to Melbourne. . The last two years have conclusively proved that the back markers have no chance of conceding starts ranging from 70 up to 80 minutes over the Warrnambool course. Three or four years back the long markers did not train-for the "Warrnambool" to the same extent -as -they do now, the result being they -ride^ the" race right out, and give the back " markers a useless and less heartbreaking stern-chase. J. Arnst'g victory from.scßatch in 1903 will be cited as against reducing the handicaps, but Arnsfc struck a particularly weak" field*, . especially amongst the long-mark divisions. Since 1901 Arnst is the only rider who has won from behind the 25 minutes' mark. Take the last four years: — In 1905 the scratch men would have hadiio negotiate the 165 miles in Thr 27min (13 minutes under recoid), to have caught the winner, W. E. Hawley. In ■1906,. D. Riley won off 28min, in only five "minutes slower time than the best accomplished by the back division. In 1907, M. B. Dobie, off 42min, covered the course 'in 7hr 45min 37sec, the Dunlop Crack, T. Larcombe, off scratch, finishing-fifty-seventh, after riding tho 165 miles in the world's record time of 7hr 40min lOsec. To have caught the winner meant riding the course) in a few minutes over &2ven hours, equal to an average speed of 23£ miles an hour. This year, J. T. Dcnohue, in receipt of 49min start, took Bhr Omin 28sec; whilst M. Chappel, who won. the blue riband, for fastest time, took 7hr 46min 27sec, having gained only 14 minutes on the winner,, finishing in the fifty -third position. ' It 3>rilk thus be seen that the limit cani" . with ."every justification, be considerably reduced. The trouble appears to be the" numerical strength of the middle divisions. " ranging in groups of from 15 •to 25 riders each, each group only being: separated by two minutes. Under these conditions a good rider has every chance of plenty or _ pace and company, whereas tho back- divisions are usually very weak, three or fouz on the mark, separated fey 4min intervals. It is thus apparent that 'the back markers have by far the hardest race to 1 run, with less chances of ultimate success. . It certainly; looks as if the whole 'handicaps can be judiciously reduced at least 15 minutes. With a limit of 45 minutes,, and ' the back division brought closer together, the read cracks would stand a fair chance of getting amongst the prize irinners.

THE VANDEBILT CUP. NEW YORK, October 25. Seventeen cars started for the Vanderbdlt Cup. George Robertson, driving an American car, prova«l >ie winn*c* doing t

258 milee in 241 minutes, establishing an American record. There were a quarter of a million spectators,, and many minor accidents, ' but no fatalities. t Owing to the .spectators swarming the course, only twp cars "were able to finish.