DOMINION MOTOR TRAFFIC

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIII, 13 July 1929, Page 9

DOMINION MOTOR TRAFFIC

AUSTRALIAN’S IMPRESSIONS

A writer in an Australian motoring journal, “The Open Road,” says some very interesting things about New Zealand trafhc regulations and touring conditions. His opinions were fqrjned after a lengthy caravan trip last summer, and, of course, were published solely for home reading. “Christchurch (N.Z.) was an eyeopener to me when I visited it recently. A ■ more charming place you couldn’t wisli to find, but the traffic is the very limit. Traffic control is in the care of inspectors appointed by the City Council, and, of course, municipal funds are never too large, and so the number of inspectors is small. To make their minute quantity still smaller, they do not exclusively choose big men and, to cap all, they clothe them in khaki. “Hence it is a . perfect. scream to see a little man in an invisible uniform trying to direct traffic at a busy intersection. Such traffic it is: motors and horse-drawn vehicles, hand-carts, thousands of bikes, hundreds of prams and somnambulistic pedestrians, all wandering about in any old sort of way. “The motorists there are most slovenly in parking their cars. Rarely do they draw in close to the roadside. 1 Three or four feet out seems the usual j order. When I was there a girl on a j bike was crushed between a tram-car j and a motor parked well out into the j road. Their city streets are anachronisms, with a prodigious cambered surface and finishing with a deep gutter on either side. Wellington and Auckland I found most wide-awake, particularly the latter place, which has excellent streets, with traffic controlled efficiently. “I would advise any of our members who propose taking a holiday there to take their car to Auckland and travel to Wellington by the east coast. The Union Company has a fast steamer specially equipped for transhipping cars between Wellington and Picton. The journey is only a matter of a couple of hours or so across the Strait to the South Island. Petrol is . cheaper than here. i “On the whole, the roads are in far' better condition than the general run | of our country roads, and in addition, every mile is of absorbing interest.

“There is no duty on tourists’ cars, but a cash deposit is required for Custom’s bond and is returnable when the car leaves the country. The Auckland Automobile Association will always assist visitors through the Customs. Country accommodation is. reasonably good. Anyhow, I met nothing to equal the deplorable places that exist in plenty of our country towns. “The old-time goodwill still exists there between motorists, and to meet it again makes me feel regret that so little is seen of it • nowadays over here.”

1 REMOVING A SIUD L l When the average owner-driver is • faced with the task of removing a , stud that is threaded at both ends, he usually applies footprints or a Stillson wrench to the plain portion of the stud in , the centre. If the stud is tight, some damage may be done to it if this method is followed, but damage cannot occur if he borrows a leaf out of the book of the skilled mechanic who always threads two nuts on to the stud, locking one against the other, so that a hexagon head is provided and a spanner may be brought into play. WEAKNESS IN COMPRESSION In a well-used engine weakness of compression may be attributable to wear on pistons and cylinders. Compression should be tested occasionally by turning the crank-shaft slowly with tiie starting-handle. The ear soon learns to detect variation in compression of the cylinders. Usually varia«<?o~ U'nt op.-* o”o o' ”■ •-'!■ • u.'rq- i-'V, i : oii and adjustment. REMOVING TANK DENTS 1 To remove a dent from a petrol l i tank or anv closed tank, solder the i head of a bolt to the centre of the ■ dent, clamp the bolt in a vjpe and pull the tank. It may be necessary to solder the bolt to several places before a good job is obtained. , FOOT AND CLUTCH PEDAL Unless the clutch is actually being disengaged, the left foot should be rested on the floorboard and not • against the clutch pedal. The latter, practice is harmful, no! became it rnlives clutch slip, but because it heats i VP the clutch withdrawal thrust snr-.j la.eea; thins the lubricant »hd in Umej wears out the mechanism which makes eear-chhngiim difficult and means the ; expense .of early renewals. j SLAMM T NG DOOR EVIL j Have you ever noticed how many | motorists and passengers slam the j door when alighting. from a car? Everyone seems to take it for granted I that the door should be slammed, and there can be no doubt that a great deal of damage and dilapidation suffered by car bodies is due to this practice. This shock to the whole frame construction of the body has its effect in loosening the joints and panelling, and starting those squeaks and rattles . which indicate a body whose members are not sufficiently in rigid attachment with each other. Body builders put door straps on doors to preventthem from being flung back on their hinges, and it seems remarkable that they have no provision for checking (he door, as it closes into position.

WOMEN’S INFLUENCE ON CAR DESIGN

The influence of women is undoubtedly making itself felt even in the motoring world (says an English writer). The brighter body colours and dainty interior appointments all show that manufacturers are realising the | influence that women have in the choice of a car. It is interesting, and perhaps illuminating fact that a woman generally chooses a brightly liued car, and pays more attention to the interior than a man would. , This is an age of colour, and drablooking motor cars seem almost as much out of place on the road as oldfashioned regulation bathing costumes look on the beach. An important factor is the feminine element, which is so prominent in everything connected with motor cars to-day. One of the reasons why the fabric body failed to find favour at first was the use of drab-coloured material, which contrasted unfavourably with the prevailing vogue for.highly-polished paint and varnish. The modern fabric material is quite as decorative as paintwork. Not a little of the success of certain American cars is directly attributable to the free choice' in colour schemes which is given to purchasers.