WATER IS LUBRICANT

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 23, 27 July 1939, Page 26

WATER IS LUBRICANT

DANGEROUS ON THE ROAD

r "Water is an excellent lubricant between tyres and the road, and that 3 circumstance is overlooked by far too > many drivers, not only in braking but I in steering," says a road safety mes- > sage of the Wellington Automobile [ Association, Inc. "On the paved highway or street i after a shower of rain there is a cushion .of water upon which the tyres run. ; That cushion of water is, in effect, a i lubricant which becomes an enemy of ; the brakes and tyres. When it is men- • tioned that the film or cushion of water may overlie an already greasy road, & road greasy from oil drippings, or a road surface polished and worn smooth •by fast and continuous traffic, the • driver may realise the extent of the ■. risks he runs even in driving with ex- ' treme caution. "That cushion of water provides a t first-class winter driving hazard, a trap ; which may encompass the downfall, ■ overturn or upset of any driver caught , unawares. But no safe, thoughtful ■ driver would be caught off his guard, for there is no room for preoccupation for one second in driving time. Even a split second may be too much time. Vigilance must never falter. "Because of this dangerous cushion of : water, drivers are counselled, particularly at this period of the year when road are wet or otherwise treacherous, to keep a safe distance behind vehicles they might be trailing, to guard against the use of tram rails, to guard against the indentations in which tram rails are set, to avoid speed and acute turns at speed, and to avoid giving too fine a margin of distance between their vehicles and others approaching or when they are overtaking and passing other vehicles going in the same direction.