MOTORDOM

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 650, 30 April 1929, Page 17

MOTORDOM

By

Collisions

i \Drama in Three Acts Have you ever watched a motor,jt when he sees that a crash is I |„ e »itable? Everyone acts in a different manner. For instance, the grey-haired gentle3,id. just before he piles into the back i( ti g car ahead which stopped suddenly without warning. lie pops back 3 his seat as both feet push both nedals to the floor. Hands grip the -.-heel tensely. “By cracky!—the con■ounded imbecile!” Eyes stare. Face tl Bump! Radiator spouts. Fenjers fold. Argument. Curtain. Let's watch a middle-aged woman, jle sits straight back with a proud and haughty mien as she drives along. Here is an obvious effort to appear at ease. (She's really nervous.) Sudienly a car swings the corner close ahead! A crash seems certain. Down •o both feet in terror. She hits the ,-lutcb; misses the brake. She gets he accelerator. Wildly she swings he wheel. The motor roars. The ear leasts over the kerb—runs down the .idewalk, swings back for the street, t telegraph pole kindly engages the right front wheel. They embrace (the wheel and pole). Woman faints. Curtain. Here comes an athletic youth in a sporty roadster, several miles the •rong side of the speed limit. The catahead stops. Another coming from the opposite direction blocks the narrow, jitch-l>ordered road. He yanks the emergency. Eyes alert, narrow. “Hot iawg! here we go!” Right up to the crash with hand on wheel he watches for a possible escape. A sorry looking hamper. “Hmm —doesn’t seem to be much other damage. If I'd only been able to stop a couple of feet quicker. Curtain. IN HOW MANY FEET HOW THE BRAKES SHOULD WORK To have a motor vehicle under proper control a motorist should regulate his speed so as to be able to pull up within the distance which he sees clear. The following table shows the approximate distaDce in which a car should stop on the level under average road conditions, if the brakes are in proper order. On a falling gradient, or on a slippery or greasy road, a greater distance is naturally required. Speed, Ord. F.W. m.p.h. brakes. brakes. ft feet 6 feet 13 20 feet 13 feet 20 35 feet 23 feet The distance required to pull up increases very rapidly as the speed increases. It varies roughly with the square of the speed, so that at 20 miles an hour you require four times the pulling-up distauces to 10 miles an hour, and at 40 miles an hour 16 times the distances.

HEADLIGHT

BRITISH CARS OVERSEAS

ADEQUATE REPRESENTATION “MUCH STILL TO BE DONE” That the motor vehicle is destined to play an increasingly important part in the well are of the Empire becomes ?.!S£ rer * vevy „ >’ ea r-. sa >s an article in The Times British motor supplement. The trade of this country is largely upon fbe development of the Dominions, colonies and protectorates, and the growth and geueral prosperity of British communities oversea must also depend upon the opening up of vast unoccupied areas the potential wealth of which has been allowed to lie dormant for want of suitable means of transport. Head porterdge and animal traction are inadequate to the purpose and have obvious economic drawbacks, while the railway, essential as it is for the full exploitation of a country, manifestly cannot be used as the initial means of expansion without locking up a large amount of capital. It has been left for the motor vehicle to blaze the trail, and it has only been in the. last year or two that motor vehicles adapted for crosscountry work have been devised. Now that the experimental stage in the design and production of the British rigid-frame six-wheeler has been passed the advantages to be derived from its use are already becoming apparent. Where the commercial vehicles goes the motor-car will surely follow, but until a country has been developed to a certain extent and some reciprocity of trade established the purchasing power of the population is necessarily low. The use of the motor-car in the colonies and protectorates has been greatly increased during the last two years, but it is only a faint promise of what the future has in store when trade has been stimulated and enlarged by the exploitation of new and rich areas. OVERSEA REPRESENTATION A certain amount of progress has been made during the past year in the export of cars and commercial vehicles for use oversea, and especially with the latter class, but much still remains to be done before our markets can be said to rest on a sure foundation. Attention was drawn in “The Times” so far back as 1923 to the vital necessity of counteracting rival influences by more widespread and efficient propaganda and to the need for our manufacturers to be properly represented oversea, with increased facilities for service and the supply of spare parts. The importance of these questions can be emphasised with equal force to-day. A golden opportunity is offered to the home trade at the present time, but it must be remembered that the American is wide awake to the possibilities, and with the constant menace of saturation being reached in the United States, not only is his gaze fixed more intently on the motor markets of the British Empire, but he is straining every nerve to capture them completely. Certain British firms engaged in the production of cars and * commercial vehicles are undoubtedly taking a serious view of the situation, with results that ?u*e already proving successful, even if in a limited degree. On the other hand, many firms have not be-1

stirred themselves, and unless they do so without delay and realise the advantages of amalgamation and co-ordina-tion they will be forced out of existence. INITIAL PRICE British cars and industrial vehicles are now being produced which are perfectly well suited to the conditions of oversea service, a fact which is at last beginning to be realised by transport users abroad. But it is incumbent on the British manufacturer to take every practical step to strengthen and confirm this good impression. It is also beginning to be understood that there is no finer investment in the world in its class than the British motor vehicle. It must, however, be realised that the mind of the purchaser oversea is greatly influenced by the initial price, and it should therefore be the aim of the manufacturer to reduce overhead charges by combination, labour-saving machinery, and larger output. Courage at the present, time is essential. The trader who will take a broad outlook and is prea large outlay to gain a larger income has a promising field before him.

STOCK ON HIGHWAY

NEED FOR PATIENCE Herds of cattle on the Great South Road are not regarded kindiy by motorists, and drivers of vehicles are inclined to resent any hold-up in their progress. This assumption of the right of way is hardly fair, since the cattle drover is working at his calling and is not in the position of an idle obstructionist. There is, however, some cause for complaint where herds are allowed to get out of control. The habit which some drovers have formed of leaving the motorist to clear his own way through sheep or cattle, is probably the cause of the impatience which nine out of ten car drivers show when the way is blocked. If a car is driven without any consideration for the drover it is quite possible that the herd will be stampeded in the wrong direction. It is not uncommon to see a drover sit stolidly In his saddle and allow a car to find a thoroughfare. Should the process break the herd up or head them Iu the wrong direction, the horseman springs from his lethargy and the motorist comes in for some pointed abuse. Whenever an alternative route is available cattle are not allowed on the concrete sections of the Great South Road. At the approach to Westfield, there is no stock route and large herds are encountered daily on the main highway. Former Owner (after hearing complaint): “She didn’t knock when I had her, anyway." New Owner: “Didn’t she? Well, every time I drive past a row of houses the people come to their doors to look for the postman!” A traffic signal invented in Denmark is a double arrow placed on the back of a car, but also viisble from the sides. Eights indicate the direction the driver intends to take and warn following motorists when he is about to stop. A miniature replica of the signal Is fitted to the dash so that the driver can see his signal. Control is by a simple movement of the foot.