Driver Should Cultivate The “Sixth Sense of Motoring"

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17947, 26 November 1932, Page 9

Driver Should Cultivate The “Sixth Sense of Motoring"

DOAD sense is generally possessed by those who have had a long record of accident-free motoring, anti it is possible for those with normal acuteness of observation to cultivate what is sometimes called the “sixth sense of motoring.” It is a result of careful observation and experience of tho habits of other road users which finally enables one to know, almost intuitively, what they will do. The process, which is quite logical, can readily be understood by any student of detective stories. One of the first things to do is to ’ become thoroughly familiar with stopping distances at different speeds, and the effect of road surfaces and wet or dry. conditions on control. Skids are responsible for a large proportion of accidents, and their control is a matter of doing the correct thing automatically, without the delay necessary to having to think things out. This, of course, applies to all emer-. gencies, and is a matter of experience and observation. There are drivers who seem to know beforehand that a car will emerge suddenly from a blind turning. This may be due to noting a pedestrian stop, a driver going in tho other direction slowing down, or It may be merely' a reasonable assumption because a large number of wheel tracks indicate that the road is much used. The Range of Vision.

A person with' normal vision lias a range, sideways of about 180 degrees. That is,'he can see both hands held up vertically.at eye level while lookingstraight ahead, Some suffer from “tunnel-vision,” but a grout many with*’normal. vision need training to enable (them to use its side range efficiently. "A wide range of vision makes it very much easier to keep an ey-e on pedestrians.. and one will soon learn to read the signs that mean a person is going to step on to the road. Children and dogs are notoriously erratic in this respect, but arc more logical, and therefore easier to anticipate. than is usually supposed. When in doubt, to use the hooter is a good, plan,: but. never make it a substitute for correct driving. There arc. drivers who -will charge round a blind' icoraef-ion tho.wrong side with the horn .going. Evert supposing a driver going in the opposite direction is not drowning out the warning with his own, hearing it will merely make him stick closer to his own side, and the collision will .probably occur just the same. An important part of driving sense is never to use the horn in such a way as to startle pedestrians, and thus cause them to panic, and perhaps jump in an unexpected direction.. A signal, even in these days of compulsory- reflex mirrors, is always a safeguard when passing. At least half of the drivers do not concentrate sufficiently on what they are doing, and this is the cause of many crashes due to faults such ns bad cornering, and not noticing what tho driver ahead is doing. Laziness is another factor, and is shown by failing to keep a proper lookout and to give clear signals. Both become more serious menaces every- year. An important thing to remember is always, to: look sufficiently far ahead. When driving one should not only- be able to sec ahead further than one’s maximum stopping distance, but ono should actually see that distance.