A COMMON DILEMMA

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19803, 19 May 1934, Page 10

A COMMON DILEMMA

If the horn is sounded a man in the road is disconcerted, and if it is not and there is an accident the authorities may say that the motorist was driving dangerously, pointed out a London coroner, in commenting upon a dilemma of which many drivers are painfully aware. The question he has raised is one cf importance. There are undoubtedly many occasions when an experienced driver realises it is safer not to sound the horn. Courts are very apt to draw incorrect assumptions from a negative answer to the question “did you hoot?” It is only a very discriminating and knowledgeable Bench that is able to weigh the argument that to hoot would have been dangerous at its proper value. It frequently happens, of course, in a really serious difficulty, that the driver has no time to press the horn button. As a broad rule when a pedestrian crosses the road in front unexpectedly it is wise to hoot. The case in which to refrain from horn-sounding is when the pedestrian is fairly far across the road with his back to the car and it is proposed to pass between him and the kerb he has left. This is decided by the fact that a sudden horn blast usually causes people to start backwards. There arc, it must be emphasised innumerable exceptions to every rule such as this. NOTES The practice of fitting either dual wipers or dual blades deserves support, for not only is the front-seat passenger then able to see the road ahead clearly, but the driver has a better field of vision to the left or near-side of the highway. Wipers affixed at the bottom of the screen are preferable to wipers which work from above. They carry tramcar from crashing into excavations is being tried by a local authority in England. As a tram goes through it pushes aside the danger sign, which swings back into position as soon as the car has passed. When adjusting a screen wiper after attaching a new wiper strip it is necessary to see that there is adequate but not excessive pressure of the strip upon the surface of the glass. Usually there is a simple adjustment for varying that setting, and too great a pressure should be avoided, since the wiping effect will not be improved, but more work will be thrown upon the electric, or pneumatic, motor, and the rapidity of movement slowed down. There is a growing tendency for the public to ride on the running-boards of motor vehicles. This is a most dangerous practice. Under the Motor Vehicles Regulations the driver of a vehicle and the person riding on the running-board are liable to prosecution. It is understood that the authorities are tightening up control with regard to this dangerous aspect of motoring. Before alighting from their cars, drivers should make a point of seeing that the road is clear. In crowded and congested thoroughffares it is an easy matter to open the door and hit a passing car. Much damage and even injury can be caused by the practice. It is also dangerous for a passenger to attempt to open the door of a car before it has pulled up at the curbside, for there is always the danger that the door might strike a post—and it is usually the door that comes off second best. According to the Moscow press, 1933 has been a most successful year for the Soviet motor-car industry, production of both light cars and commercial vehicles having exceeded the estimated figure. Practically all motor-vehicles produced in the Soviet factories are based on American design. Few Soviet citizens own cars, for they are not on sale to the general public, but only to the new army, institutions, Government offices and the like.