MOTOR NOTES

Opotiki News, Volume II, Issue 194, 14 June 1939, Page 4

MOTOR NOTES

NIGHT BLINDNESS Temporary night blindness suffered by millions of motorists through headlight glare and differences in street lighting can be minimised n drivers eat an 1 orange "a day! That is part of a remarkable discovery on which a Scottish scientistDr. C. P. Stewart, has worked, lei .months at the Royal Infirmary* in ‘■Edinburgh. 'Uwelve months ago the Govern-

ment offered financial assistance to research workers, with a view to discovering it a cure could be ioaimi for night blindness, in. order to reduce the rate of road accidents. Dr.,,|j>tcwart believed that the cure lav.-inc,im tain ins. •Villi'-.. . ~ . ~ iff converted a small room at the infirmary 1 into an experiment room. Ltrboratory colleagues who, agreed .to assist him were then exposed to : 'frt/re for several minutes. Those found deficient in the power of night vision and rapid recovery from dazzle were placed on a special .diet. Experiments proved that one or two oranges "a dlav, because of their "vitknmi ‘‘■■•content, helped to preserve normhl vision.. To obtain further subjects for his examination, Dr. Stewart approached the Transport and General Workers’ Union. Later, he met Mr. Ernest Bevin, general secretary of the union, and the union agreed, where possible to assist with the experiment. ONE MAN IN 48 HAS A CAR Statistics show that there are 42,677,948 motor ears in the world, which averages about, one, car to every 4S inhabitants. The largest number of ears in any one country is the United States’ huge t.O'tal of 29,705,220, .which is one car to every four people. • New Zealanders stand the .next rbesti chance of a ride, for they have one car to, every seven people (239,66S ears).' * Next ctjnre Canada and ..Australia (one; in eiglit), with ear totals of 1,306,139 and*- 882,699. Great Britain and France are equal as cars per person , with one car to 19 people, and have very nearly the* same- number of cars—France 2,192,471, Great Britain 2,418,728. Italy lias litfd car lor' every 97 persons, Germany one in 43, Belgium, one in 37, Denmark one in 26, Eireone in 48, Norway one in .36. Some countries in. Europe do not seem to be so well off . in Bulgaria the figure is 1484 people per car, Greece 483, Hungary , 123."Pbland 939, Rumania 777, Czechoslovakia 144, Turkey 1704, and Yugoslavia, 1034.

TEST FOR A LAZY EYE Here is a worth-while test for motorists to eheek up whether they are lazy-eyed without knowing it. Hold a linger out at nrni’jß length. Line i't up with some fixed object across the room. Then, with your other hand, block off fir.st one eye, then the other, noting each time what happens to the line-up of finger and fixed object. If the linger is HERE when seen with both eyes, hekb •• ... :. v when seen with the right eye, 1 : HERE

when seen with the lift eye you’re all right. ' i But if tlie linger seen by both eyes at once is HERE’' or HE/RB or close to either, then you are right- ; or left-eyed, as the ease may be. , It means you depend alnjust completely. - upon your light or eye lor locating objects at any (.instance. ’lids is important if you drive. In a ..recent check-up in Britain 20 per cent, of all motorists• hivolve<l|m!'.f !4 '.; fatal accidents had one-eyed vision: In every ease the accident 'took y place-on, tiro- side pf' t-lie- lazy one. .d -Vo ) - "4per" cent, of all motorists are affected by this .weakness..Hr'* _• <‘4’.' ;i •* » ••.t ..?• -