WOMAN AT THE WHEEL

Taranaki Daily News, 4 September 1935, Page 13

WOMAN AT THE WHEEL

DRIVING TEST FAILURES. NERVES IMPORTANT FACTOR. (By Air Mail—Special to News.) London, July 25. It seems to be erroneously and ungallantly assumed by many people that woman’s inferiority at the wheel has been definitely established by the fact that more women than men have so far failed to pass the driving tests. But it appears to me that this higher proportion of failures among the fair sex. is capable of a logical explanation which has nothing to do with the standard of achievement reached when the last driving lesson is over and, the applicant for a driving license is ready to face the examiner. It can be summed up in the one word “nerves.” I have been talking to an instructor about it, and his experiences with woman pupils tend to confirm my own impression. He tells me that during the first lesson or two the woman aspirant displays much more uncalled-for nervousness than the man. She is inclined to become all hot and bothered, not because she feels less capable than a man of mastering the apparent intricacies of the controls, but because she is not at her ease as yet with her instructor. Of course it is impracticable that every woman applicant for a driving license should get to know her examiner socially before the examination and thus establish a basis of confidence, but the chances are that if she could feel herself at ease with him she would have little difficulty in passing the tests for which she had been so well prepared in advance by the instructor. It may also be of interest to air another theory—that women drivers are likely to pass their tests more successfully with a woman examiner than with a. man. We were not told by the Transport Minister how many of the failures were tested by men and how many by women. If this information were available it would perhaps support my own belief that the failures were mainly wider meh examiners. I have no special knowledge of the psychology of women, but such little information as I makes me think that a woman applicant, confronted by a woman examin-, er, would simply not allow her nerves to .let her down. It would become a question of pride and a challenge. MATTER OF NERVES. But with a man examiner a different set of psychological emotions would prevail. The question of pride would not obtrude itself to the same degree, and ordinary nerves, held less in check, would have more sifray. A man who taught his sister to drive in preparation for her test put her through the sgiqe test immediately after 'she failed and she did everything she was asked to do unhurried and unflurried. A correspondent tells me that he also tested three women failures immediately after their examination, and could not find the slightest reason for their failure. All of which goes to support my theory. As the tests have come to stay we must accept them philosophically, but if the authorities really believe in their efficacy they ought io make them applicable also in > the case of people who have pot driven a car for some years. I came across an instance at first-hand, the other day, which suggests the advisability of such a course. It concerned a neighbour who had held a license six years ago, but had not driven since, because he was abroad and the opportwiities for driving were not present.

Having already held a license he had no difficulty in securing a new one without the preliminary'test. He therefore took out his new car —a saloon of a popular medium-priced make—and embarked on a short run. During the outward journey he sustained a buckled wing and a twisted bumper, and after the return journey he tilted into his own garage door, damaged the door and the other front wing and completely de-

stroyed one headlamp. He also admitted to several “narrow shaves” both on the outward and inward journey. The following morning he reversed his car out of his garage into a lamp-post. He will no doubt pick up his driving again in due course—if his car survives in the meantime. LABORATORY TESTS. Some interesting work connected with road transport is being carried out at the National Physical laboratory at Teddington. We have been complaining a good deal lately of defective rear reflectors for pedal cycles, but it will not be the fault of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, which is in charge of the laboratory, if this state of affairs is not remedied. At the present time tests are being carried out of specimen reflectors to ensure that the performance required of the reflectors by the Transport Ministry regulation is achieved. The test certainly lacks nothing in comprehensiveness. The reflector is fixed 100 feet from a motor-car headlight of 2000 candle power, and is rotated to reflect at various angles, while an observer near the headlight measures the intensity of the reflected red beam. This must not be less than one-thousandth of one candle-power for the whole range of angle through which the reflector is turned. But most motorists will agree that most reflectors met with on the road are not up to laboratory standard. Another demonstration I saw bn a recent visit to the laboratory is of importance both to motor vehicle builders and road surveyors. The bumping of vehicles over the irregularities in road surfaces causes deterioration, and wear of both the road apd the vehicle. The forces set up are of considerable importance to both road constructors and vehicle designers in regard to such factors as effect of speed, load, size - and type of tyre. The forces between the road and vehicle are impact forces, and special apparatus has been designed at the laboratory for continuous measurement of these impact forces at road speeds up to 45 miles per hour. The apparatus I saw was fitted to a heavy six-wheeled lorry, and it works automatically and continuously by oscillograph giving a spot of light on a moving cinematograph film. A wavy line on the film, something like that to be found oh a talkie film, is thus obtained, giving the load between the wheel and the road as the vehicle runs over irregularities. What the scientists hope to achieve with this apparatus is information that will help to build' both roads and chassis that will last longer.

New American Models. This year the annual motor show at New York is to be opened on November 2. Previously it has been a January event. American car makers usually defer announcement of their new models until the fortnight preceding the show. Consequently their 1936 programmes are likely to be released in October instead of early in January. This rearrangement brings the three big motor shows within a period of a few weeks. The opening dates are: Paris Salon, October 3; Olympia, October 17; New York; November 2. English importers of American cars may have difficulty in securing 1936 models in time for display at Olympia. It has already been forecast that the 1936 models will show no. radical changes in design.

How to Crank a Car. It is seldom necessary nowadays to crank a motor vehicle, and this may account for the number of minor accidents which occur when cranking does have to be done. Should an emergency compel a driver to crank his car, the following is the safest and best way of doing it: Pull the handbrake on, set the gears in neutral, retard the spark and open the hand-throttle slightly. Then take a firm stance in front of the car in such a position that the arm can get a fairly straight pull upward on the crank, while the body and chin are clear of its swing- should a backfire occur. Hold the handle so that the thumb is on the same side of the handle as the back of the hand. Pull the crank up smartly, allowing the leg muscles to take most of the strain. Finish the movement with a jerk, and then release the handle. It may be necessary to repeat the process several times. Pushing downwards is dangerous and seldom as effective.