MOTORING WORLD

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 46, 22 January 1938, Page 16

MOTORING WORLD

TEST OF EXPERIENCE. VALUE OF SAFETY-FIRST. Are yon a super-driver ? A total of 49 men and women, chosen as representative safe drivers, gathered in New York City to discuss the driving practices that had enabled them to achieve outstanding records as motorists. Everyone.of them had driven for ten or more years and covered from 100,000 to 1,00U,000 miles without an arrest for a traffic isolation or a single accident—not even a scratched fender. Were these super-drivers exceptionally cautious —the namby-pamby type of driver who goes along at 20 miles an hour on the open highway ? No. Virtually every one confessed that he or she often exceeded the speed limit, sometimes driving up to 70 miles an hour, or more. Were they all young and strong? Three women were among the 49 winning drivers; the youngest of the men was 30, the oldest 77, and most of the others either middle-aged or past. Were they the kind who spend an unusual amount of time and money in keeping their cars always at the peak of condition? Not particularly. By “keeping car in proper condition” they did not mean that they were greatly concerned with the mechanics of their machines, but- rather that they wanted to keep them tinder control at all times. They did not care so much whether their cars were equipped for maximum powers, accelera tion and speed. But they did insist on being able to stop in lime, on using good tyres that might save them front a bad skid, and on having a steering mechanism that could be depended upon in an emergency. The basic points cited bv the safety winners as reasons for their driving records were as follow, in their order of importance as voted upon: Keeping car in proper condition; observance .of traffic laws, signals, etc.; consideration for others; caution; alertness ; speed to fit conditions ; good early training; no driving while drinking; passing only when safe; no dependence on other driver; ability to size up situation; exercise of common sense; strict attention to driving; slow night driving; driving only when physically fit; willingness to yield right-of-way; personal responsibility ; taking no chances; avoiding hurry. And here are some driving practices which the super-drivers considered especially “bad” and conducive to accidents:' Failing to give hand signals ; passing on bill-crest and on blind curves; excessive _ speed for conditions; discourtesy; disregard of stop-lights; failing to dim headlights; cutting in and out of heavy traffic. SPEEDOMETER ACCURACY. The knowledge that a speedometer fitted to a car is recording the speed with some degree of accuracy always Has been valuable, but with the institution of a speed limit, it. is likely to become essential. The simplest way of making a check i,s to secure a stop watch, and, with this, time the car between mile posts while holding a steady speed, which, incidentally, is a surprisingly hard job. The time in seconds . shown by the watch is then divided into 3600, and the result will be the actual speed in miles per hour. If it agrees with the speed shown by the speedometer, or nearly so, then the instrument is reasonably accurate. It is best to make a number of tests at different speeds, because speedometer error is rarely constant,. but is apt to increase as the speed rises. It will comfort owners to know, however, that most modern speedometers are surprisingly accurate. Even at 80 m.p.h., it is rare to find an instrument that records more than five m.p.h. fast. , A point to be remembered is that the detaching of the speedometer head and sending it to a firm of experts for test is useless. The speedometer itself may be accurate but the gear ratio of the driving mechanism may be hopelessly wrong. Not to be overlooked either, is the fact that the use of oversize tyres will make a speedometer read slow.

MIXING OF OIL. It is very unwise to fill the engine sump with a certain brand of oil and then, when “topping up” becomes necessary, to put in a quart or so of oil of a different brand, even if the two brands have an equally good reputation. . It is recognised quite generally by oil experts that the mixing of two different brands will result, within a day or two, in emulsification, a chemical reaction of the one brand upon the other which seriously impairs the lubricating efficiency of both. When circumstances arise where the contents of the sump must he brought to the proper level by using a different brand, as when in a small country town on tour whose garage does not sell the oil which happens to bo in the sump, it is quite permissible to refill with the different oil, but the sump should he drained within a day or two and refilled with fresh oil.