MOTORING

Taranaki Daily News, 14 March 1935, Page 13

MOTORING

THIRD PARTY INSURANCE FORMALITIES AFTER ACCIDENT. MOTORISTS RESPONSIBILITIES. (By “Spotlight.”) A tendency on the part of motor vehicle owners to overlook responsibilities in connection with the third party insurance, which is compulsory under the Motor Vehicles (Third Party Insurance) Act, has always been noticeable in Taranaki and other parts of the Dominion, and it was quite refreshing recently to find a motorist seeking information on the subject through the medium of the Daily News correspondence columns. Every motorist on the road is covered by third party insurance but, when benefit is to be sought, it is wise to remember there are certain preliminary formalities. The premium for this insurance is paid at the post office, when the annual licence and number plates are procured. The motorist himself nominates the company he prefers, and, in the event of accident resulting in death or personal injury of any person, the insurance company that has issued the policy must be notified immediately. Full particulars regarding the nature of the accident, the date and general circumstances are required. Should the motorist fail to report the accident, he is responsible for the amount of the damages, and the insurance company may take action against him. An important point for motorists to remember is that they must not tender any circumstances, make any admission of liability, promise of payment or settlement in respect of any accident without the written consent of the insurance company, that was nominated for third party insurance. Apart from the question of insurance, it is the duty of" a motorist to report to the police any accident when injury to any person is involved. CARE OF BATTERY REGULAR ATTENTION NEEDED. POINTS TO BE WATCHED. The battery is one of the most important components of the modern motor vehicle, especially when coil ignition is employed. / Regular attention to it may save much loss of time and, in some cases, large repair bills. Periodically remove the stoppers from all the cells—not just one, and if that is in good condition take it for granted that the remainder is also. This may be done by inserting a piece of glass tube, and when it is touching the plates place the thumb over the top end, thus making it absolutely airtight. ' The level of the acid above the plates can then be ascertained, by the amount in the tube when it is withdrawn. If a tube is not available, one can usually see'the plates with an electric lamp or torch, but a match should never be used owing to risk of fire. Distilled water should be added to bring the acid level just above the plates. A small funnel is useful for this purpose, to avoid splashing the water on top of the battery. A glass or earthenware jug having a good spout should be kept solely for this, and should be plainly marked “Distilled water.” Cases have been known where other liquids have been accidentally poured in and have ruined batteries. THE TERMINALS. The terminals should be kept tight and clean, and smeared with. vaseline to prevent corrosion. When tightening terminals, support as much as possible the posts to which they are fitted, as these are easily broken and not so easily replaced. If there is the slightest trace of corrosion it should be removed, a little ammonia being useful for this purpose. Battery trays or brackets should be kept clean. An occasional coat of paint will lengthen their service. The battery should be fixed firmly with either holding-down bolts or a cramp. If these are not available, it should be fixed as securely as possible with wooden wedges. A common failure in batteries is fqr one cell to become weak and drain the remainder. The remedy is to have the battery opened up and either t replated or replaced. Batteries should be placed in the hands of a competent electrician for repairing. It is useless to replate one cell if there is any risk of. the others giving out soon after; also it is false economy to replace the positive plates if the negatives are not in good order. Lastly, but very important, it is no good replating a battery if the container is at all faulty. It should be thoroughly tested to see that there is no chance of leaking. PASSING AT CROSSROADS A BAD DRIVING PRACTICE. ADVICE FROM ASSOCIATION. A bad driving practice which, unfortunately, has become rather prominent lately, is that of passing another vehicle going in the same direction over an intersection, says the latest safety message of the Automobile Association (Canterbury). This important matter has been referred to before, but the memories of some drivers are fairly short, apparently. The law is very definite on the subject, and prohibits the act of passing another motor vehicle within 30 feet of an intersection. There is a great temptation for motorists to put on a spurt to pass a car which might, be dawdling, but that is no good excuse for placing oneself or other drivers in a position of danger. While there is no sense in dawdling near an intersection, . the dawdler may have seen ' some traffic factor to cause him to. go slow, or even stop, or he may, if he does not know any better, suddenly thrust out an arm to make a right-hand turn in the track; of the overtaking vehicle. It is bad driv- > ing to attempt to pass any vehicle close | to an intersection, though some drivers regard it as smart. Because vehicles do not always travel as close to the left as they are expected to, the driver overtaking has to get on to the incorrect side of the road to carry out his dangerous manoeuvre. . There is. one safe way of making a right-hand turn. It is by sounding the horn, some distance from an intersection, extending the right arm well out from the car, and then making the turn. There is one safe way of passing another vehicle. . It is by sounding the horn and then moving smartly past; but never pass another vehicle close to, or on, an intersection.

CHANGING THE GEARS CORRECT WAYS EXPLAINED. SYNCHROMESH; WILSON BOXES. The task of the driver has undoubtedly been simplified by the easy-change transmissions which have become so widely used during the last few years. For this very reason present-day drivers are apt to become careless in handling the gear lever; furthermore, they do not always realise the limitations of the various mechanisms employed. Most of these devices enable a gear to be selected without clash or shock, but the re-engagement of the clutch (or gear-change pedal) which follows can result in a most unpleasant jerk if the driver is careless. Consequently, it is true to say that skilful handling is still highly desirable if a smooth transmission from gear to gear is to be achieved. TWO LEADING SYSTEMS. At the present time the two leading easy-change transmissions are synchromesh and the Wilson preselective epicycle gearbox. In the synchromesh system the toothed parts in the box, which must be meshed to effect a change of gear, are guarded by friction cones which come into contact as the gear lever is moved. In changing down from top to third, for example, the driver declutches, and should then push the gear lever through neutral to a point where a slight resistance will be felt. This represents the contact of the cones, and an instant later the movement can be completed to bring the toothed parts into mesh. The cones will by then have synchronised the speeds of the teeth so that they may engage without clashing. In the old-fashioned gearbox the driver had t see to the synchronising by a skilful manipulation of the clutch and accelerator. When the gearbox does this for him he is apt to forget all about the speed of the engine, so that this may have dropped to an idle by the time that the clutch is once again engaged. HOW SHOCK MAY OCCUR. A car moving at speed is equivalent to a big flywheel mounted at the tail end of the transmission, and the rotating parts of the engine resemble a smaller flywheel in front of the clutch. The careless driver is therefore trying to couple these flywheels by a friction clutch when the big one is turning fast and the small one is turning quite slowly. Before these speeds can be balanced the big flywheel must lose energy to the smaller one. The result, on the road, is to produce a retarding effect on the car which is so abrupt as to be unpleasant. It also has the effect of stressing the whole transmission system. All this can very easily be avoided if the driver will remember to accelerate the engine before re-engaging the clutch. The extent to which engine speed must be increased will, of course, be determined by the gear ratio, but, in actual fact, so long as the speed is somewhere near the mark a good clutch will take up the drive quite smoothly. A point in connection with the synchromesh is that, with the exception of a few well-known cars, it is applied only to the top and third gears of a fourspeed box. Consequently, when changing down into second gear on a stiff gradient no assistance is derived from the synchromesh mechanism. ' It is then that the skilful driver will find the benefit of having learned how to control engine’ speed to a nicety. As so little has been heard about it lately, it seems advisable to give a brief account of the double declutching method which must then be employed. After moving the lever from third into neutral, with the clutch out, the clutch pedal is released momentarily and the engine accelerated to the speed at which the driver estimates that it will have to run after a change is completed. The usual “step-up” is in the neighbourhood of 50 per cent. This should have the effect of synchronising the gear speeds within the box, so that, upon again declutching, the gears can be meshed without difficulty. CHANGING DOWN ON A STEEP HILL The advantage of being able to carry out this change smartly lies in the fact that it is usually required on an exceptionally steep ascent. Consequently the change should be made before the road speed becomes unduly low, and the quicker the engagement can be effected the less is the drop in the speed of the car which occurs while the change is in progress. In the Wilson system all the epicycle gearing Is continually meshed and the various ratios are selected by applying one or other of a series of brake bands. To effect a change of speed, the driver first moves the preselecting lever to the position required, and then depresses the gear-change pedal with his left foot. The mechanism is then in neutral, and upon releasing the pedal, the appropriate brake band is engaged. The action of the brake band is to couple the engine to the back axle, although it does not perform this function as directly as does an ordinary friction clutch. The fact remains that if the engine speed is not increased when changing down energy must be subtracted from the car to “rev,” the power unit, and this' can only result in a sudden decrease in car speed. HOW TO CHANGE UP. Although only downward changes of gear have been described, it will be realised that, when changing up (with either the preselective gearbox or the synchromesh system), the speed of the engine should be allowed to drop. Some drivers keep the engine turning fast by resting the right foot on the accelerator, so that when the clutch (or gear change pedal) is re-engaged energy is subtracted from the engine and put into the car. The result is a forward surge which may be exhilarating, but certainly adds to wear and tear.

In conclusion, mention must be made of the free wheel from the easy change aspect. This device is a one-way drive which allows the engine to convey power to the back axle, but will not permit the back axle to turn the power unit. Consequently, whenever the accelerator is released the car coasts with the engine idling. Under these conditions, the speed of the gears is so low that changes can be made in many cases without even declutching.

After the change has been made the car continues to coast until the driver uses the accelerator to make the engine catch up with the transmission, as it were. Consequently, even if one attempts a change from, say, top to second gear at 50 miles an hour, the transmission cannot very well be over-em-phasised, although there may be a slight clash from the spinning gear-wheels. There is no possibility of shock when the drive is taken up, as this occurs automatically, through the free wheel, so soon as the engine is revved to a sufficient extent. The driver must, how-

ever, remember: (1) to allow time for the engine to drop to an idle, after releasing the accelerator, before attempting to change, and (2) to move the gear lever straight from one position to another without pausing in neutral. Most free wheels can be locked by means of a facia control, which should only be operated when the engine is actually pulling the car. When the transmission is locked the gears must, of course, be changed in the normal manner, so that every driver will be well advised to master smooth gear-changing by careful control of engine speedy