MOTOR NOTES

Hutt News, Volume 2, Issue 48, 8 May 1930, Page 10

MOTOR NOTES

DRIVING BY NIGHT

THE CHARM OF MYSTERY

IMPRESSIONS OF THE ROAD

(By M.M.0.)

Just before dusk we set put. The wind was rising and the sky was dark and lowering. Over to the west just above the hills,: a great jagged tear in the clouds revealed a sky serenely blue tinted with, pale yellow like the colour of a primrose. Deeply, richly green in the half-light glowed every field) and tree. Mournfully the wind sighed around us as fhft ear purred steadily onward and we settled back comfortably; like a wide beige ribbon the road lay in front of us, changing into a petrified stream as it rippled under our wheels.

An enchanted night this, and. unreal world that we sped through. Dimmer and dimmer grew the greenness. around us and the pearly tints faded from the sky, leaving a world of grey and black, of thick scudding clouds and moaning, wind-swept earth. Bright and golden flashed out pur headlights, likening the

road to pictures of the moon with its sharp' contrasts of light and shade. Few and fewer grew; the pinpoints, of light that betokened the dwellings of men untfl ye were left alone in a world

of shadows. TaU tress' writhed "Weekly

against a stormy sky . like bewitched figures—^ poplars like maidens strluiagarms to heaven in a vain effort for help, sturdy pines singing a dirge like a

great organ as the wind played through their reeds.

INTO THE VALLEY

. Here is an" ancient fir tree with distorted branchees, great green ghostly talons, writhing ceaselessly as though'a giant hand would snatch us as, we j>ass. An unearthly radiance seines fitfully in the distance /until upon rounding a corner, the two great dazzling, eyes of a car stare unwinkingly at us while we steal cautiously past each other. On. and on into the blackness we speed, our headlights making ghostly shadows. A thick willow grove looks like a Dore drawing, ,the tree trunks gleaming, greyly through the massed fbliage-^-one expects to see the wliite drooping figures of the inferno gliding among them.

Down into a valley of darkness we go; somewhere bqlow gurgles a stream as we bump;over a narrow bridge high banks tower each' side anoi a sharp corner confronts us. * * Good place for a murder observes someone facetiously and we all repress a shudder. In this eerie world it is not good to speak of such things even in jest.- "Who knows what evil spirits may not mqunt guard over such a spot?

As if in answer to our (thoughts a great black shape looms ahead and appears to hover in- the niiGidle of the road. The car lights strike it ,and two huge green eyes like living emeralds glare balefully. upon- us. Fixedly it stands until the car is almost upon it, then springs aside and .with a friendly "woof" and wagging tail the collie dog goes on its way as we rattle down the hill. '■ .

A dim diffused light as of1 some faery Qi . . • . ■ ' ." • -

revels, with thin, threads of music coming faintly on the wind, reveals itself as a lighted verandah with the inevitable gramophone. Then miles and miles of windy darkness, a strangf star peeping adventurously through the cloud-wrak, until suddenly lights sparkle, a train whistles shrilly, and with an extra spurt of speed we come back to the world of everyday and the lights of home.

IRREGULARITIES OF DRIVERS

MANOEUVRES IN A JAM

THE NOVICE AND HIS WAYS

A car backed out slowly from the kerb, grazed another and careered back wards down the street, unoccupied. Just as it started to gather speed, with the engine turning over, a man leaped on the footboard, flung open the door, and with almost the same - movement, stopped its unguided career. The owner had left his ear on a grade in reverse gear, but had not pulled on the hand>-brake.

In narrow streets, parking is a real problem and one that is intensified by the fact that many drivers, do not-know the most expeditions.■'•way.to park their cars. Women are probably the biggest offenders in this respect. So long as they find sdmewhere to leave their car while' they buy their bit of lace, they apparently do not mind how much inconvenience they cause to others. Walk down th main streets any day ,and you will see women parking -their cars at all sorts of erratic angleu.

In manoeuvring a car, it is most important that the driver should have a. complete and definite plan before lie starts .Only by study and experience can manoeuvring be Teduced to. the fine art which it undoubtedly is. If a driver enters haphazardly into a position which has potential complications, he will invite nervousness. In all cases the car should be driven into an area so that the exit gives little difficulty. At all times the driver should guard against getting flustered. This can be avoided by the exercise of a reasonable amount: of thought in advance and by manoeuvring slowly and with patience. MOVE SLOWLY Of course, the first essential in parking is accurate steering but it is surprising how many drivers fail in this respect. The wheel should never be turned whle the car is stationary. This and driving over the kerb in order to save another reverse is a, sure sign of the unskilled driver. USen if steering movements are large and have to be made quickly they should always be smooth. When the driver wants to reverse he should turn the wheels on to the other lock before the car is stopped. The car should be driven slowly both forwards and backwards, because by doing this, more time is given for locking over the wheels. If this point is remembered the parking troubles of so many drivers would quickly disappear. Some of them are far too fond of bull-at-a--gate methods. Always park where possible so that the car can be driven out forwards. Now that the closed car is so popular reversing becomes a subject of greater and more serious interest. When the driver is. not sure of the space behind him he should always get out and make sure. In no case slioulci the engine be raced, but, just as the clutch is taking up the drive the accelerator should be depressed gently so that the car will move slowly and smoothly.