SCOTTISH RELIABILITY MOTOR TRIALS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 1 September 1909, Page 59

SCOTTISH RELIABILITY MOTOR TRIALS.

AN .EXCITING RIDE. A young electrical engineer from Dunedin was amongst those privileged to tour Scotland during the recent Scottish reliability motor' trials. The tour lasted a •week, and he writes home a full and mos* interesting description of the various

places visited and of the outstanding inci«dents of the trip. The car by which he was travelling broke down towards the < «nd of the test, and had to be towed home. -He gives ths following vivid account of i this concluding portion of the journey — " They dtave us home from Alexandria to 'y Dumbarton road — S driving,— and it /W as the most sensational sensation I have I ever struck— Saturday night on Dumbarton road and the indicator showing 48 miles t»n hour! Round a corner, on to a ?- straight; then you feol the back of the reseat of the car push hard. All is «lear enough ahead, but looking sidewaya objects '■ simply whizz. The pointer goes .op ''ste»dily at 30, 36, 40. A cyclist ahead. p A -shriek of the whistle. Pressure on f your back ceases and the, whistle sinks to 6 a'chortle, then rises suddenly to a. bloodr curdling yell as you feel the engine tug f forward and hear the tyres skid with the ■ severity of the drive. Click ! The cyclist " is past. 35, 38, 40. A continually-rising 7 hum accompanies the rise of the indicator needle. 42, 45. 805 crossing the road 100 ■yards ahead. Shriek of whistle, but he takes no notice. Nor do we swerve or ela.iken. You grip the side cushions and draw breath, but cannot refrain from a '. smile of admiration, for the driver knows ' — we all know— that he calculated the distance instinctively, and we shall miss ths boy by 6ft. But the boy does not see us, and we just notice nis crouch down as t tb« motor roars past 43, 45, 4&, and heal just 100 yards ahead— a sharp bend - with a road "intersecting, and a dozen cyclists riding from it across our track. Instantaneously fcbe engine is silent. There fa ft fusillade of pops irom the tyres, ihe back of the 6eat refuses you all support and your feet are hard down on the footboard. The boom of the deep-toned hand horn causes a flutter among the cyclists, but they cannot move in time and an electric car appears round the corner. It ■ looks an impossible situation for the first half of that 100 yards, improbable- for the next 20, but the* remaining 30 are filled witk. a sigh of relief as we glide silently - and meekly round th© corner, past the car, through the cyclists, and under the eye of an unsuspecting ' bobby,' the very picture .of gentleness and innocence. Then repeat and so horne — sleepy but not tired." MOTOKISTs ANI» TBAPFIC. AN IMPORTANT JUDGMENT. NAPIER, August 24. An important judgment with: regard to th» law affecting motor cars was delivered by Mt M'Oarthy, S.M., to-day in a case in which Henry Styles sued Tom Rome for £49, damages sustained through being run down by defendant. Plaintiff whilst riding a bicycle at night was overtaken by defendant, and severely injured. The magistrate held that the fact of plaintiff not having a light did not exonerate the defendant. Cyclists, pedesrians, and others had an equal right to the use of the road with motorists, and it was the duty of the latter, when travelling at a good 6peed in the dark, to take ev«ry precaution to avoid mishap. Defendant failed to sound his horn, and' otherwise keep a vigilant look out, hence he must be held liable. Judgment was given for plaintiff for £25, and costs.