CYCLING & MOTOR NOTES

Otago Witness, Issue 3610, 22 May 1923, Page 48

CYCLING & MOTOR NOTES

BY

“DEMON."

——The second year of the Southland Association sees tho membership increased from 138 to 304. The number is still growing, and a scheme of district branches which is being launched is expected to further add to the membership

The forthcoming Australian road racing season promises to be a most interesting and, successful one. There is no doubt the revival by the Dunlop Rubber Co. of the great road event —the Wairnam-bool-Melbourne race —gave a great fillip to the pastime. But here again overpopularity is likely to cause considerable concern to the promoters; the trouble is where to finish the great handicap race without inconvenience to contestants and officials. It was this trouble that caused the world’s greatest handicap race to be abandoned in 1912, and on its revival last year the same trouble manifested itself, although the Dunlop Co. had the Ascot racecourse to finish the event on. It the event is to be run this year it looks as if a secret finishing point many miles from Melbourne will have to be found, for only by some such means can the overcrowding at the finish be obviated. a street without looking to the right or left is known as a “Jay-walker,” defined by an American paper as “A person who stens straight from the sidewalk into the casualty ward.” A Manchester firm hopes to achieve the ideal of ,a satisfactory suspension between the tyre and the hub. It is experimenting with a spring wheel, which, it is claimed, eliminates the necessity for chassis springing. Victoria’s Royal Automobile Club has a membership of more than 4000. The balance sheet for the past year shows a surplus above £2OOO. German manufacturers are stamping tyres as a safeguard against theft. An indelible mark is melted into the rubber, throughout the circumstance of the tyre, in a strip that is not subject to wear. REVENUE FROM MOTORING. The revenue received by the traffic department from motorists in N.S.W. during 1922 was £224,547, as against £182.736 for 1921. Quite the feature of the registrations was the increase by 1000 of the motoi; lorry registrations, which now number 4465, while 62,946 drivers’ licenses were issued, an increase of about 10,000. For the year 34.762 cars were registered, an increase of 6000, while 12,000 motor cycles were registered, an increase of 1000. The total amount received for registered licenses was £62,672, while tlie tax yielded £161.874, an increase of £30,000. ALARM FOR CAR THIEVES. Though the courts are doing something to discourage car thieves, these pests continue to worry motorists. Perhaps they can hope for some help from a self-con-tained burglar alarm attached to the right running board of the car, an interesting new device, which is attracting attention in America for foiling thieves. 3is an alarm, not a lock, and is called “Wow,” because it makes a lot of noise when anyl>ody tampers with the car. The moment a thief touches any part of the car,“Wow” sets up a clamorous ringing, which can be heard for blocks, and continues as long as the tampering goes on. BRITISH BUSINESS IMPROVING. Reports from London give the very pleasing news that the British motor industry. V a whole, is improving. The Daily Mail remarks that recent improvements in British cars, coupled with drastic reductions in prices, have had a very notable influence on the market, and half-hearted rumours that further reductions in price may he expected in the near future seem to have carried but little weight. Prices are cut so fine already, and in many cases profits are reduced to within the lowest possible limits, that any further reduction in selling prices seems quite impossible. It is known that in several ius La nee.s manufacturers, in their anxiety to extend their markets by reduction in prices, have cone a little too far, and are now awaiting an opportunity for raising the catalogue prices, of their cars, so os to ensure an adequate and satisfactory working profit.

SIXTH SENSE FOR MOTORISTS. The latest accessory for the motorist is the “sixth sense”; unfortunately, it cannot j be bought in a shop'; it may be acquired i from experience at some cost. A writer on this subject remarks that with the everincreasing powers of speed and acceleration of which cars are possessed nowadays, and the unchanging uncertainty in the raove- ! ments of pedestrians, the motorist has to be more alert than ever if he wishes to avoid accidents; he must have a kind of sixth sense, be* it called instinct, intuition, , or prescience, to enable him to anticipate what other road users and pedestrians will do in various circumstances. By cultivating a keen observation of causes and effects in traffic conditions, the driver will develop the sixth sense, and thus avoid the feeling of nerve-strain which otherwise prevails whilst driving in crowded thoroughfares. SOUTH ISLAND MOTOR UNION. There will be no election for the presidency of the South Island Motor Union this year, Mr J. S. Hawkes being the only nominee, but for the two vice-presidents' seats there are five nominations—namely, Messrs J. F. Lillicrap (Southland), IT. Halliday (Otago). E. It. Guinness (South Canterbury). R. P. Furness (Marlborough Automobile Association), and Dr Russell Adams (Marlborough Motor Cycle Club.) 1 he Otago Club is sending five delegates to the annual meeting at the end of the mouth—Messrs H. Halliday. A. E. Ansel!. Passmore, W. Wright, R. W. Curtis, and A. I. W. Mood. There will be two from Southland and four from South Canterbury. ” he Marlborough representation may depend to some extent" on the state of the roads. A South Canterbury remit to the meeting suggests that the club privileges in the R.4.C. (England) might be secured for overseas members for three months at a rate proportionate to the annual subscript tion. Possibly this arrangement could be made in addition to the present reciprocal arrangement regarding ordinary membership of the R.A.C. Two Otago remits to the meeting read: 1. This meeting protests very strongly against the Government’s delay in app'ointmg members of the road boards under the provision, of the Highways Bill, arid in the framing of regulations for the administration of the Act, Motorists have been taxed for almost: two years now. and altnough there is great need for some improvement in the roads, nothing has been done. 2. That the Government be requested to j amend the Main Highways Act to provide for two road boards, one for the North Island and one for the South, instead of one board for both islands. strong protest against a- car tax of being levied, as has been suggested, is made by the Otago Association. It has decided to favour a tax of £1 Is. plus a ta.x ot 5s per driver, the latter tax to be paid t.o the local body controlling the roads Otago protests strongly against car owners being levied on for revenue-producing purof the Wellington Motor Traders’ Union agams, the erection of toll bars on the Day s Buy road, holding them to be ‘a relic of ilie dark ages.” POWER-WEIGHT RATIO. A term that has come to be used with increasing frequency with regard to the description of small cars is that of powerweight ratio. ' In itself it implies but little to tee non-technical mind, but as the relationship between engine output and the' running weight of the complete car has a most important bearing on the performance ot any automobile, and particularly of le light car, it is more than interesting tor an explanation of th.s matter and all that appertains thereto to be given here<)ne, of the reasons why the modern lioht car Oi to-ciay can more than hold its own with larger types of cars is that its powerweight ratio is better. In order to simplify the .subject as much as possible, let us presume that we have a car equipped witn an engine which gives off at all times a constant amount of power, this being a. state of affairs that would be brought aoout if the throttle were 3et permanently say, a quarter open, and the whole of the driving done on the clutch. In this manner t) would hiivo ii. constant power to propel the car over the road. Now, by adding passengers to. this ear, we can increase its running weight, or, by leaving them out. we .can lighten the load with which the engine nas to deal. A little experiment would soon show that the maximum speed of the car would not greatly differ, whether It had four passengers or' only one; but what would differ exceedingly wo-uld be the length of time taken for a ear to attain teat maximum speed. In other words, its rate of acceleration would change. This proves in a very simple manner that one of the factors which is most greatly affected oy the ratio of the power of the engine to the weight of the load it has to pull is that of acceleration, and when one comes t 0 analyse all ordinary road motoring, it will be agreed that the ear which can accelerate anti decelerate rapidly to and from 45 m.p.h. is the one that is the most satisfactory. Speeds in excess of 45 m.p.h. are comparatively only rarely reached, and it is far preferable for any car to be lively between, say, 10 m.p.h, and 45 m.p.h. than for it to be slugish at fairly low speeds, Sven although it may be fast when once it gets going. In this connection between power and w'eight we have a very simple simile in an ordinary catapult. If we put a small pebble into the pad, stretch the elastic, and release it at full tension, the pebble will be projected with considerable velocity. Replace the pebble with a large stone, and it will be found that it is not jerked forward at anything like the same speed, although the same power has been applied. Here we have an apt case of constant power but varying weight. More so than on the level even does power weight ratio applv on hills. When a car is ascending a l-in-10 gradient the amount ot extra power required to negotiate the hill is equivalent to what would be necessary to lift one-tenth of the weight of the car in a vertical direction, and naturally, therefore, it is very advantageous for a car to ho built as light as possible, in order that it may ascend hills quickly, and it is on this count again that the light car scores. In connection with economy of upkeep and of running cost, it can usually be said that tyre wear, and, of course, petrol consumption vary in direct proportion to the povver required from the engine.

CAR INSURANCE AND CUEST LIABILITY. A case which was heard in the King’s Bench Division was one of great importance to all motorists (states an English exchange). It appeared that friends of the driver and owners who were passengers on a car as guests were claiming damages for injuries arising out of an unfortunate accident caused by collision with a stray pig. The car was the property of Mr Eric Bransby Williams, and on the occasion of the accident it was driven by Miss Ida Constance Bransby Williams, the owner o* the car, her biother, not being a member ot the party. CT course, it is an accepted legal fact that the owner of a car is liable for injuries sustained by passengers as the result of an accident caused by negligence. Other actions have been brought in which damages have been recovered by passengers, but the case under review war rare in this respect —that it appeared as the case was conducted and reported, as though friends who were guests on a ride were suing friends who were hosts. The jury returned a verdict for tho plaintiffs, assessing damages at £2200. and finding that there was negligence on the part of the lady driver. After the action one of the co-plaintiffs wrote a letter to the press pointing out that the car was insured, and that the defence was conducted by the insurance company; further, that the nominal defendants w’ero indemnified by the insurance company. Much comment on tho case has been published, based upon the assumption that it established an entirely new and disquieting aspect of “guest liability.” Tho

tact that the defence was conducted by an insurance company alters very materially certain views that have been expressed. The basic principle remains, however, that liability does rest with the motorist in respect of passengers (guests or otherwise) who may be injured as a result of accident if the jury find that, as a fact, there has been contributory negligence on the part of the driver; but it is of the greatest interest, to motorists to note that, as a result of this case, the fact is established that motor insurance covers guests, assuming that the terms of the policy are clear on the point. Another aspect of the case which is important is that the owner of the car, although not on the vehicle at the time of the accident, was made a party in the action. The jury found, however, that the sister, who was driving, was not at the time the servant or agent of the defendant owner, and judgment with costs w y as entered in his favour. It was not apparent from the reports that insurance was the essence of the action, and it adds very much to the importance of the case when this is known. It would, perhaps, bo advisable for motorists to look up their policies.