WHEN ROADS ARE SLIPPERY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 123, 26 May 1936, Page 5

WHEN ROADS ARE SLIPPERY

t 1 Every Precaution Necessary f 1 It should be obvious to every driver t of any experieoice thil brakes snould t nut be us-ed while a car is actually f negotiating a corner where the road is ur may be “treacherous” (writes u M.W.-B. in the Morris Owner). This im- o plies that before the corner is reached I the speed of the car should be reduced o to or below the maximum at which the i corner can be taken safely. But in the i case of a corner proving to be more [ t acute than the driver imagined (or slip- t pcry when he expected it to be dry), s implying that he finds hims-eJf taking it I faster tnan he would wish, it will still * l be inadvisable for the brakes to be f used actually “on” the corner; brak- t ing may encourage a skid to commence, < aud this applies almost as forcibly to t braking effect gained from the engine a (by the full release of the accelerator) - man to the use of the brakes them- I selves. What’s to be done, then, in such a case? If the speed does not seem to 1 be greatly in excess of what the driver 1 would prefer for his peace of mind, he t can depress the clutch pedol and “roll” ‘ round the remainder of the corner, t That would be safer than merely io- r leasing the accelerator, for there will 1 be no braking effect to encourage a f skid. Some drivers maintain that it is safer to depiess the accelerator euouga j 1 to make the engine pull the car round; 0 but as any sudden acceleration of the ” engine will be almost if not quite as likely as braking to start a skid, the writer considers that the average driver will be well advised to cut out the *' engine completely and roll round the corner with the clutch disengaged. But supposing the excess above safe speed is considerabte, making a skid appear to be certain unless the speed )s reduced. What then? The only hope of successful braitiug lies in the fact that nearly always the extreme edges of the road—the gutters —are covered with t grit even a road with very little cam- ( l bcr. That being so, and assuming the . way is clear, the car should be steered n to the very edge of the road before the f brakes are used. If the wheels on one side of the car only can secure adhesion sufficient for braking, all will be well; f but even so, braking should be as light v as possi’ole, for even on a dry road it is never prudent to use the brakes j while actually cornering.