AFTER AN ACCIDENT

Taranaki Daily News, 17 June 1933, Page 15 (Supplement)

AFTER AN ACCIDENT

NOTIFY INSURANCE COMPANY. WHAT FAILURE MAY MEAN. ' • , (By “Spotlight.”) . Under , the Motor Vehicles Insurance Act,: 1928 (Third Party Risks), if is down that immediately after an accident a motorist must acquaint the insurance company with the full facts of the case. The insurance company concerned is the one which was nominated for Third Party Compulsory Insurance when the new season’s number plates were obtained from the.Post Office. Should the owner of the car fail to give the required information he becomes liable for any damages which the insurance company niay have to pay as the result of the accident The injured person (the third party), is adequately protected, but the Company after meeting the claim has the right to proceed against the owner of the vehicle insured for third party for the, amount which the. company has had to pay the'injured person. It is contended that there is a growing on the part of. motorists in Taranaki as well as in other provinces to ■ ignore this requirement, of the Act, apd;, with a view of issuing a* general warning an insurance company is shortly tairing action against a motorist who, it is. alleged, failed to notify an accident involving Third Party injury. RUNNING-IN THE CAR PATIENCE VERY NECESSARY. : LOW: SPEEDS AND LONGEVITY. ;• (By Our Motoring. Correspondent.) London, May 2, Many people are now taking delivery of ’ their new car and are confronted With the distasteful task of commanding their souls in patience for the first few hundreds of miles until the mechanism has been properly. run-in. One of -the principal .joys of a new possession is to make the* fullest use of it at once, and it is certainly irritating, in the case of a car, to have to drive it for the firpt few week-ends at less than thirty miles per hour,. but the thing is inevitable, for the alternative is to ruin the engine. Where expensive cars are concerned, the running-in process is carried out by the manufacturers themselves, and the car is not delivered until it is in a fit state to be driven at any speed. : But running-in; is, a costly process which can only ' be afforded by the makersuf .they sell 'their cars at a good prjee. Where, mass-produced and quantity produced cars, are concerned, the makers have no option, in view of the low price at which their products are marketed, but to throw the burden of running-in on the purchasers. All they undertake to do is to see that the car functions properly when it leaves the works, and to warn the purchasers that, unless the components are allowed to settle down by running the mechanism for some, time at a Ipw speed, they cannot expect ultimate good service and a long life from, their vehicle. ; The usual thing is. to fix! the runningin period at about 500 miles, but in this connection it may be useful to point out that every mile in excess of that figure at which the car is kept at moderate speeds adds another fragment to the probable. life of the car. Like most manufacturers’ instructions,, the runningin period laid down must not be taken too, literally. It does not mean, for instance/that, having kept his cat at a speed of-25 miles per hour for 500 miles, the/driver can let her rip at the 501st. mile,’and dp 50 and 60 miles per hour. A god way is to graduate the speed over the first 1,000 miles, working gradually up from 25 miles per hour to a maximum of 45 miles per hour. After the first 500 miles, the prudent owner will take his; new car back to the dealer from whom it was bought, and ask him to. tighten things up generally, empty the sump, and replenish it with oil. The old oil will be found-to contain foreign matter, such as filings, which will'not do the engine any good, if allowed to remain. ."

THE EXTRA HAND.

MECHANICAL INDICATORS. The Ministry of Transport Committee on Traffic Signs reports (says the London ' "Daily Telegraph”) that it finds no objection to mechanical direction indicators on motor-vehicles, but does not recommend that they should be made compulsory. ■ The committee has considered several devices, including “an illuminated hand which can be operated to give the signals described in the Highway Code.” Emphasising the importance of clear signals, it makes the following unanimous recommendations:— Electrically operated signals of intentiqn to turn to the right of the left should consist or illuminated signs of amber cblour, of a minimum illuminated length of 6in, of a shape long in proportion to their, breadth and displayed horizontally. Any such signal should not be more than 4ft behind the windscreen and not more than 6ft above the ground. If the signals are repeated at the rear of the vehicle they should be of similar design and shown coincidently with the front signals. Flashing or occulting lights should not be,used. ■ On vehicles not fitted with electric lighting equipment, signals should oe in the shape of a hand painted white, and should project at least 6in from the side. ■ Indicators' should not be such that when in the neutral position they are liable to be misleading to the drivers of other vehicles. If signal of intention to stop is given by mechanical means, it should-be given by means of a red or amber stop signal at the rear of the vehicle. The report continues: “Although certain .types of existing direction indicators ’ are, in the committee’s opinion, undesirable, it considers that the making ’of regulations retrospective of effect is objectionable in principle.” It recommends that regulations embodying its recommendations should be brought into force at the earliest possible date, with an exemption for several years for vehicles previously registered. The Minister of Transport has given notice that to avoid undue interference with the output of manufacturers for the current season any regulations which he may decide to make will be made to apply only to vehicles registered for the first time on or after October 1, 1933.