HIGH ROAD AND.BY-ROAD

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20917, 23 September 1939, Page 24 (Supplement)

HIGH ROAD AND.BY-ROAD

COLUMN FOR MOTORISTS

SPARKS For the six months January to June, 1939, the sale of cars in Great Britain, and Northern Ireland totalled 173,909, showing an increase of 18,314 over the same period in 1938. No fewer tha,n 357,000 work people are employed in the construction and repair of ‘motor vehicles, cycles and aircraft in Britain at an avergae return ol' 83s a week. Last year 44 5,000 motor cars were produced in Britain. This total was spread over three or four major and a large number of minor concerns, but the lamps for practically every car , were made in a siflgle factory. It is rumoured that a well-known American car will be shown at the next Earl’s Court Show equipped with a British 6-cylinder Diesel engine. At the age of 83, Mr Bernard Shaw has just taken delivery of a new RollsRoyce “ Wraith.” He had his first car in 1908, and used to drive himself quite a lot. In America, with its twenty-five million private cars, it is estimated that, out of every 100 cars sold during 1939, 65 will be used cars and the other 35 new machines. This means that, if 3,000,000 new cars are sold, something like 5,570,000 used cars ( will find new owners. This fact illustrates the big and important part that the business in used cars plays in the welfare and development of Dhe , huge automobile industry of America. in a recent case concerning a car stolen from an hotel car park in Eng- , land, it was laid down by the judge, Sir Gerald Hurst, K.C., that the car , park is part of an inn, and therefore the licensee was liable in law. He added that this was based on a law . dating from the days when innkeepers , were often in league with highwaymen and in these days laid a formidable burden on innkeepers. i There was nothing more dangerous , than the tendency of some persons to sit down and say: “ What is the good of planning, what is the good of buying this or that, where shall 1 , be in a year’s time? ” If a great catastrophe arose they would not be better off because they did not paper their room or did not buy a new car, said Mr Oliver Stanley, president of the Board of Trade, in London recently. IMPORTANCE OF SIGNALS There seems to be such a laxity, so far as the giving of hand-signals is concerned (says the Motor contributor to a contemporary), that attention is drawn once more to the great importance of properly given signals in ensuring safety on the roads. Those who do not think it necessary to give signals are selfish as well as careless. They are not playing the game in the interests of road traffic generally. Failure to give signals of intended halts or change of direction is a fruitful cause of accidents and traffic misunderstanding. Next to neglect to give signals is negligence in giving proper signals. SAFETY IN A STORM WHAT SHOULD MOTORISTS DO ? What should a motorist do in a storm to ensure maximum safety > Should he accelerate, or reduce speed? The question of protecting the motorist from lightning lias exercised the minds of motoring experts in Britaiu, but they are not agreed regarding the measures to be adopted. | The Royal Automobile Club states that normally people inside a saloon car are not exposed to danger. The | club suggests, however, that it is adI visable to reduce the speed of the car, especially when driving in flat country, since, if a trail of rarefied air is created in the rear of the car, any electric discharge is attracted to it. Also the windows on the side of the car from which the wind is blowing should be closed, as lightning strokes have a way of following draughts. Professor A. M. Low, a scientist member of the club, thinks differently. “ It is absurd,” he said this week, “ to say that people are safe In a saloon car. The “ cage ’ effe-ct of a steel body might prevent persons from being burned if the car w’ere struck by a branch of the lightning. Nothing would save them if a direct stroke of some thousands of millions of volts in strength came along. “ Lightning will find an easier path in rarefied air. But the rise in safety brought about by a motorist slowing down from 70 m.p.h. to 20 m.p.h. in a thunderstorm would be so negligible as to count almost for nothing. Draughts, because they often contain particles of moisture, might increase the conductivity of the air as it enters the car. But there again the benefit would be extremely small.” FOCUS OF HEADLIGHTS To focus a pair of headlamps properly, one needs to have the car on a flat, plane surface, dead at right angles to, and about thirty feet from a truly vertical surface perfectly whitewashed. There should also be guide lines on the w'all, and then the matter becomes comparativey simple. The headlamps should be lef* unopened as long as possible, since dust and damp are the mortal foes of the silvered re- ! llector. When it does become ne-ces- [ sary to remove dust from it, a perfectly clean, soft chamois leather, o-r in emergency an old soft silk handkerchief, should also be used. Sometimes, when the care has to be moved by hand the headlamps offer a most inviting grip, and many ought to know better than be seen to .move the car by the lamps. This may cause the lamps to shift a fraction of an inch on their mountings, and next time the lamps are used, the beams will light the tops of the telegraph poles.

MOTOR-ASSISTED BICYCLES POPULARITY IN BRITAIN EASY TRAVEL, TRUE ECONOMY The motor-assisted bicycle is coming into its own in Great Britain, which is not surprising considering the advantages such machines—known as ” Wilfreds ” in England—offer to those who desire to cycle without being called upon for undue oxertion. Wellmade reliable motor-assisted cycles are now- selling in Great Britain for under £2O each, and judging by the reported demand, this type of machine is rapidly gaining in popularity m the Old Country, which is credited with having some 10 million cyclists. Described briefly, these machines have the appearance of a normal bicycle, only that the usual components are more heavily designed. Normal pedalling gear is featured, an ingenious dog-clutch arrangement being provided to enable the machine to be pedalled in an emergency, without turning the engine. A little petrol engine of about 98 c.c. capacity, developing in the region of one h.p., supplies the necessary power to propel the cycle and its rider at an average speed of from 20 to 25 m.,p.h. ! over give-and-take roads. Only on very stiff gradients is it | ne-cessary to give some slight assist- j ance by a few thrusts of the pedals to j keep up the “ revs ” of the little en- ! gine, so that it can deliver its full power. The average petrol consump- ! lion runs out at about 140 miles to the ] gallon, thus providing one of the i cheapest forms of transport, the cost i for fuel and oil working out at about 5 miles a penny. The machines, which are marketed with either diamond or open frame, can, il is stated, be started, stopped and controlled almost ; automatically, yet they are so simple in construction that they make little demands upon the owner’s mechanical abilities or ingenuity. It is rather surprising that the motorised bicycle lias not been taken up to any great extent in this country, for it represents easy travel with true economy. BUSINESS AS USUAL A PIGEON POST In addition to the emergency precautions being organised by the authorities in Great Britain, many of the large manufacturing concerns in the Old Country are also planning to ensure carrying on “ business as usual.” For instance, there was recently inaugurated by the Duchess of Kent at the huge plant of the Dunlop Rubber Co., at Fort Dunlop, Birmingham (England), a pigeon service which will take the place of telephone and telegraph in an emergency. The homing pigeons have lofts at Coventry, Glasgow, London and Manchester. There are 50 birds, some capable of 60 m.p.h., and they will carry aluminium cartridges, each of which holds five tiny photograph negatives of full sized messages. These message can be enlarged with a projector for reading, and their small size enables a bird to carry 35,000 words. In the event of dislocation of communication between the centres mentioned, the Dunlop organisation will be able to rely on speedy pigeon post to facilitate its business. A USEFUL HINT PLASTICINE FOR LEAKS Not all motorists are aware bow handy plasticine is in stopping leaks in some motor car components. For instance, this putty-like substance can