MOTOR MECHANICS.

Southland Times, Issue 21073, 3 May 1930, Page 16

MOTOR MECHANICS.

SCHEME OF THE A.A.A. DECLARED “OPEN TO ABUSE." Strong criticism of a proposal by the Auckland Automobile Association to introduce a system by which members, on placing their cars in garages for repairs, Will receive the attention of mechanics certified by the association as competent to carry out the work, is made by Mr R. I*. Barter, secretary of the Amalgamated Engineers’ Union, says the Auckland Star. It is held by Mr Barter that the association’s proposal, which provides for a theoretical and practical examination of motor mechanics for certificates of competency is not a solution to the difficulty of ensuring that trained men will de repair work. “For twelve months,” Mr Barter said recently, “both the Motor Traders’ Associations and the Engineers’ Union have been fighting for the registration of all mechanics, and not merely of an individual in each garage. The Automobile Association intends that a garage employing one of these certified men shall be entitled to display a sign giving indication to members of the association that their workmen have been approved by the association. Under such circumstances, the certified man might be the employer, and have as many as twenty young men working for him; and those young men would do the work. Apprenticeship Difficulty. "The union’s trouble is that while employers within a 20-mile radius of the city must train apprentices to the work, outside that area an employer can keep a boy for five years and turn him out, saying that he is a journeyman. As secretary of the Apprenticeship Committee (which consists of three employers and three union representatives), I contend that until the committee has full power to bar. employers from taking boys on under the pretence of training them as apprentices, trouble is bound to occur. While I agree with the Automobile Association’s sentiment, I contend that the system of having one certified man in an establishment is open to abuse.” Commercial publications along scientific lines have, up to date, found little place in New Zealand commercial literature. A pleasing note has been struck in this' respect with the publication by the Shell Company of New Zealand of a scientific treatise called “Your Car, Its Care and Maintenance,” dealing with 12 different aspects of motoring. Each section has been thoroughly dealt with by a world-renowned expert, as a glance at the index proves. The booklet has been prepared, as the introduction states, with the object of assisting the owner-driver in obtaining the utmost efficiency from his car, and the numerous illustrations demonstrate in a practical way the theories of correct driving, correct adjustment of chassis, and the importance of correct lubrication. A nontechnical publication, “Your Car, Its Care and Maintenance,” should prove of great ■value to those people now entering the sphere of motordom. When reflecting upon the causes of some of the mechanical defects arising in privately owned cars there are often very good reasons for supposing that a fair proportion of such defects could be avoided if the owners displayed greater care and skill when handling their vehicles. When a car has suffered from continuous rough treatment an opportunity for discovering the fact will occur during the course of repair operations. As a general rule, however, opportunities of this kind are overlooked, with the inevitable result that the same wear occurs again. and again. One of the most expensive driving habits responsible for excessive wear is that known as the “Accelerator-Brake Style” of driving. In this style the driver jerks his passengers against the backs of the seats by violent acceleration, then exposes them to the risk of being thrown forward out of their seats by the sudden application of the brakes. This driver is making his own motoring far more costly than needs be by imposing these tremendous and abnormal stresses on every part of the chassis mechanism. The habit of driving "on the clutch” is another prevalent form of bad driving and should be studiously avoided. No matter what form of clutch be employed, no undue amount of slipping should be allowed. Car drivers are sometimes advised to keep on top gear as much as possible to save petrol, but actually, when an engine is labouring on top gear, it uses more fuel than when running on half-throttle on a lower gear. Mr Barter has communicated with the Association suggesting that, if it is earnest, a conference of representatives of the A.A.A. the Motor Traders’ Association and the Engineers’ Union, should be called. “May Cause Friction.” "While the Association might think it is doing something which will be beneficial to its members, such an action may cause friction among the men most concerned,” declared Mr Barter. “At present there are special classes at the Seddon Memorial Technical College for apprentices. At great expense to the Motor Traders’ Association, a syllabus has been drawn up for the students to follow, and two examinations arc held. Successful candidates are given certificates of competency. During my tours from the North Cape to the Bluff I have frequently found taxi and truck drivers who, with a slight smattering of the trade, have secured work in garages. They have classed themselves as mechanics and have sometimes been able to carry on with what knowledge they have been able to pick up concerning the mechanism of a car. The Motor Traders’ Association and the Engineers’ Union are both fighting, and have been doing so for a long time, for registration of men on the same lines as plumbers and electricians. Our opinion is that when a car is garaged for repair and the work is ‘O.K.’d’ by the foreman, the owner is entitled to expect that it is in perfect running condition. Once it is on the road, any defects in the mechanism or the braking system are a danger not only to the driver, but to the public in general.” The engineers’ organization stands for "qualified men on repair work.” “It is interesting to recall,” said Mr Ba'rter, “that while the union had advocated the employment of only served apprentices and qualified men, the arbitration system nullifies this by Mr Justic Stringer’s decision on an application by the union. His Honour stated that it was no concern of the union whether a man served his apprenticeship or not. The union’s duty was to see that the men eVre paid award wages and if the employer engaged inferior workmen it was his funeral, not the union’s.”