HIGH ROAD AND BY-ROAD

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20464, 2 April 1938, Page 28 (Supplement)

HIGH ROAD AND BY-ROAD

THE HOLIDAY CODE y#»ry many motnrist* will b** lnr Inn- n r abort distance from th*» home garage over the Easter season 5, V5 t'.hassis” in Ihe Dominion . and n few notp« on general motoring bevritl an eye on the pi mulgn- • ion of creator road safety will be f mely. ?ome points are mentioned, too. dealing with conditions met with n ‘he South as well as in the North Island. Conditions of road marking, etc.. are •ot un form In both inlands, and all road users are counselled to measure ?: *.j»- w- to rondnot bv the conditions met with —In other words, to meet problems by the application of the >rdinar> rules of common-sense bei h’aviour. There is no rule of thumb method of road safety. On certain roads you know you may ' measure time by mileage. depending [ ..n traffic density, of course, but ’ schedules are out of the question on I many strange road-* because they are strange, because of surface, gradients, and their narrowness and bends, j Allow yourself plenty of time. Heed the Warnings In the South Island a system of colour-handing highway* Is followed. Not- all narrow bridges in the South Island are indicated in advance. Heed the warnings given by sign or symbol. They are for your guidance. Road paving is not so far advanced in the South Island as it is in the North. and North Islanders used to the provision of white posts or discs to indicate road width, bends and so on at 1 night time will not find this detail I commonly used in the South Island, i Without such details it is not diffii cult to get into trouble if “speed in

A COLUMN FOR MOTORISTS. |

; t i,p circumstances ’’ overlooked. ! On narrow and winding roads m ; both islands keep strictly to the left. • be prepared to step instantly, and if i you know another car is approaching ; =ock a place to halt for the process ‘of passing or allowing the other \ehicle to pass. This ’mportant motorj nig gesture is applicable to very many roads in the Dominion. It some districts it is not uncommon to meet or overtake timber-laden | waggons. Invariably motorists are warned by notice that such waggons may he expected. Their drivers are uniformly courteous and considerate, and car drivers will serve the needs of safety if they reciprocate. There is no excuse for dangerous speed anywhere; if you cannot see what is coming be prepared to stop. Do not honk unnecessarily at. the man ahead;* try to appreciate his difficulties. If you are the man ahead, keep well over to your left, and if it is safe to do so, give the stop signal hv hand, slow down or pull up. and allow the following driver to pass. The Dust Nuisance I Remember that on unpaved roads j your dust may be troubling the man behind. Try to minimise it by your rate of travel. If you are following such a car and it is maintaining a reasonably safe speed there is no reason why ypu should keep too close. If you must get past, do so with care on a wide part of the road, and. once past, move smartly ahead, so that your passing will not he construed into an act of reprisal. If you are shown some discourtesy, taking reprisals will not get you anywhere in safety. We know there are motoring morons on the roads. Don’t emulate them. Should your car he one nf a proces- : slon. maintain your position in that. 1 procession, keep going. and never be tempted to leave the line and cut in. | Few of us. when we travel ♦‘•ng distances, realise the trouble caused by dusty windscreens. The other day a North Island motorist visited the 1 South Island and did a few hundred miles of night travelling. In the ; oubby-hole of the facia panel a moistI enorl chamois leather and a dry duster 1 had been placed. At convenient in- | fervals. gauged by the traffic, a stop I was made, and the application of the ■ dry fluster was followed by the damp 1 chamois. The difference which this j made to visibility, and as an antidote I to headlights, was fully appreciated. Ever tried It ? Make sure that you reserve hotel accommodation in advance; and if cancellation Is necessary, notify your hotel in plenty of time. Do not ekpect full hotel meal service at any time of the day or night. If you have an eye to some particular camp accommodation, it will not be there if you overlook booking It. COBT OF CAR OPERATING AN OVERLOOKED FEATURE In considering the cost of operating a car there is one feature that frequently does not get the credit to which it is entitled, and that is the many items of expense one’s family is . saved by the ownership nf a car. Modern living conditions are making greater and increasing demands for individual motor transportation, whether living in city or country. The outlay for running a car is not altogether an expense that could he, avoided by not owning one. Much of the expenditure on petrol maintenance, is merely diverted from other forms of living expenses. Any family which perforce has to do without the service I of it* car for a month or so soon disJ covers this. The family purse soon feels the burden of an endless suc- | cession of small expenditures for fares In trams, trains and taxis, de- : livery cosls for parcels, etc., items 1 which soon mount up. and in the aggregate practically offset petrol ; charges incurred when running a car. i Then, again, time saved has an economic value, and in many instances this 1 saving alone more than compensates i for the outlay on the running costs of , a car. BOTTLED GAB Bottled gas. which Is used throughout the countryside In France where j there is no main gas supply, is now : suggested as a solution to the fuel problem in the French Army. Fran-e has to import every drop of petrol from abroad: even her colonics are almost devoid of petrol, although borings in Morocco have given a small ! yield of experimental value. The Oer- ! mans are. already using bottled gas, and it is suggested that the French do the same. This gas is found in a natural state in certain districts in the South of France, and is compressed in containers some inches high, but i the old bugbear of weight enters into j consideration again. The French Automobile Club is organising a demonstration of vehicles driven by comj pressed gas. UNIQUE PETROL BTATION CALIFORNIAN’S ENTERPRISE | An enterprising garage proprietor in i Los Angeles (California has adopted ; a unique metliorl of attracting business j lo his petrol station and the allenlion i of the fWLOOO motor drivers who pass I his service house daily. He purchased i a lars-e two-engined Fnkker that originally cost. £22.000. which, after 2500 flying hours, had ended its flying days. The huge monoplane, with its widespread wings, is now installed on a i plot of ground in front of the station, where the wings serve as a canopy for the petrol and oil pumps. The ground plane, which is mainwhen it flew, attracted so many visitors who are welcome to gel into it- ' and inspect the mechanism, instruments, etc. - that the wooden floor in the machine lias worn out twice and has been replaced by a steel plate 1 floor. An attendant accompanies visitors over the plane and explains everything. The propcllors of Hie Ids plane are fenced in for safety. Such is the attraction of the grounded plane that the service station is reported to : he selling petrol to the value of over (£2OOO a month.