TO DRIVE WELL.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19150, 5 November 1927, Page 5

TO DRIVE WELL.

PHYSICAL FITNESS • NECESSARY. A" DOCTOR'S OBSERVATIONS. Complete physical and mental fitness for driving a motor vehicle involves considerations which are not apparent to the average man, says the "Autocar." It is too often assumed that any intelligent person of moderate strength and ability, after suitable instruction, is' fit to be entrusted with the charge of a motor vehicle, but from a report recently prepared by Pr, Archie WKendrick, an eminent medical specialist and expert, of Edinburgh, it would seem that there are certain indispensable qualifications which are not to be acquired by training, but which are inherently constitutional. To the.absence of these qualities from otherwise ideal drivers, Pr. McKendrick attributes theliability of some people to accident. Jt js all a question of what is known physiologically as reflex or automatic action 8»d reaction of the nerves and muscles. For example, says Pr. McFendrick, when the finger touches some unexpectedly hot object, the hand is withdrawn, When the sound of a motor horn is heard from behind, the person turns the head, and probabW prepares to jump out of the way. A still more complicated act is performed when one perceives a missile travelling rapidly towards the face—the eyelids close, the head is drawn aside, and probably the hands are raised to save the face.

Jferves and Telephone Wires. There is, the report, an exact analogy between what goes on in the nervous system in the human body and what goes on in a» automatic telephone system. The nerves are like the telephone wires. "The sub-stations in the brain and spinal cord are like telephone exchanges or switchboards. There are millions of such microscopic switchboards or sub-stations in the brain and spinal cord. Each nerve as it outers or leaves the brain or spinal cord has about half a dozen small branches; it ends in a kind of tuft, and each branch of the tuft can make contact with a branch of any other tuft in the vicinity, and it roust make such a connexion before any message can pass any further into the spina! cord or to the brain. . . iU It is the precision with which these connexions ore made that determines (a) the rapiditv with which an action is performed after receipt of a stimulus, and (b) whether the, action will be' in proportion to the stimulus or not. In a man suitahj* for driving the messages are sent to the brain by the shortest route, and sent back from the braiu also by the shortest route, and thero ie no delay in the substations, In the unsuitable man the connexions may be made correctly, but too slowly, or the connexions in the substation* may be indiscriminately made —not clearly—and the response be disto the stimulus received. Slowness of nerve transmission is evidenced in the behaviour of the skin,

the hair, the circulation of the blood, etc, so that». special attention should be devoted to these points in any medical examination, The onlv indications may be a,.little dryness pF the skin,, a commencing disappearance of the bail*, at tlie outer part of the eyebrows. a little fatty fullness over'the collarhones, a little slowness in the replies given to questions, a lowered blood pressure, or a slight forgetfulness. If the nerve- sub-stations are working indiscriminately, the man js of the neurotic type; his' t physique is slightly abnormal, his skin probably Hotter than normal, his pulse more rapid, and his blood'pressure higher than normal, and there may be a fine and almost undetectable tremor of the fingers, fle is watchful and alert. b"t when danger threatens he- is liable to make a mistake. He is the type of man who would put his foot on the accelerator pedal instea'd of the brake pedal.

HORSE OR MOTOR?

INTERESTING COMPARISON. For certain classes of work it caii' not be doubted that on its face ralue alone the horsed vehicle is cheaper than a motor vehicle, and where it is still employed this is often done because in the areas of congested traffic the average speed of transport is so reduced that the factor of speed has to be dismissed from consideration altogether, although in itself it constitutes a factor in speed reduction. These are practically the only poir.ts iu favour of the older type of vehicle, whereas there are many against it, says an Australian exchange. Although it may not appear so, jb is actually more difficult to drive, steer, and otherwise to manoeuvre, fir there cannot be that harmony between the driver and his horse such as exists between a motor driver and the >nechanism which is under the direct control of his own brain and muscles.

Horses are insanitary, their stablea are breeding places for flies, and the road surfaces as now constituted are not really suitable for them, and it is obvious that road surfaces cannot very well be modified to meet their requirements and those of modern traffic. With the result that one sees frequent traffic blockages due either to horses falling or to wheels being wrenched off in tramlines, etc, In t)»e Iptter instances, to add to the general con* fusion, there is often a Jong string of stationary trams which not only disorganises large sections of tin tramway system, " but in itself forms another and important cause of congestion.

To move a, eertain quantity ».f jfoo'ls from one point to another'within a specified time requires something like five times as many horsed vehicles a-s motor vehicles: so one can well imagine what a chaotic state of affairs would occur if motor vehicle* bad, for some reason or other, t« i-e replaced by those drawn by horses, There is no doubt that the horsed vehicle must ere long be barred altogether from those thoroughfares where it impedes faster vehicles and is a big factor in our ever-increasing traffic congestion.

X 739 Second Gear to Negotiate Steep Hills.

Using second gear when climbing steep Gills enables a car to operate at & lower temperature and use lesg petrol than when climbing in high gear. Low-gear speed in high gear means a wide-open throttle, and rific combustion. Low gears can speed in second gear requires less gas per power strpke. of piston and affords better circulation of water and oil. Also, the fan runs at »• higher speed Plld. there is less- friction through strain. The reason most, motorists think of gecond as a hestiiig-up process is because they never resort' to it until the engine is already overheated from failure to "make" a hill in high gear.

To Tighten Rattling Wind Shields. A loose and rattling windshield glass can be securely tightened by nlling the space in the frame.with shellac. The solution should be applied slowly with a brush so that it it ill pack tightly in the opening.

A Spare Plug Test. A defective spark plug can be detected by laying it, with cable at* tached, on the cylinder head and starting the engine. If the spark is seen jumping the gap between the wire?, the plug is functioning- provided the spark is of sufficient intensity.