MOTOR NOTES.

Putaruru Press, Volume VI, Issue 243, 28 June 1928, Page 7

MOTOR NOTES.

BAD PASSENGERS.

A NUISANCE AND A DANGER. Bad drivers are always being criticised. So far the bad passenger, who is not only a nuisance but also a potential source of danger, has escaped comment. There are several types. Some err through sheer ignorance, others owing to nervousness. To my mind (says a London writer), the worst offender is the ultra-nervous passenger who insists on dinning advice into the ears of the man at the wheel —often wrong advice given at the wrong moment. If the driver is at all nervous himself, the running fire of comment by the passenger is only likely to shake his confidence.

All passengers should remember that the driver sees far more of the road and what is happening on it than themselves. If he is experienced, his eyes are trained to the task. To inform him, as some passengers do, that a tramway car is approaching or that a level crossing is closed, or that a party of people are about to cross the road, is challenging his intelligence. Distracting Actions. If he is so blind that he cannot see this himself, he should not be driving, To call attention suddenly and in a startled yoice to any unexpected danger that may arise may often distract his attention at a moment when be requires the full concentration of his faculties.

This type of passenger is by no means uncommon. Curiously enough, drivers, themselves often made the worst passengers, because they visualise every possible danger. They know, too, a tight corner when they see one. Often such a passenger will go through the motions of declutching with his foot and, down steep hills, of putting on the foot brake.

The ignorant passenger who knows nothing whatever about driving or road dangers is often the best man to have beside you, providing he keeps quiet when you are proceeding over difficult crossings or when an emergency requires concentration. All passengers should make a point of never talking to the driver in such circumstances. The Confident Deaf. The best passenger I ever heard of was a deaf man. He had supreme confidence in the driver, and never displayed the least anxiety. One day the car in which he was travelling got out of control down a steep hill, owing to faulty brakes. The driver managed by a skilful change down to a lower gear to bring the cal* to a standstill a few feet away from a level crossing which happened to be closed to allow a train to pass. His face was white, and perspiration ran down his forehead. When he looked at his passenger he found him unperturbed—he was even smiling.

“You took that jolly well,” said the driver. “ Well, you said it would be all right, didn't you?” said the passenger. This confidence, together with the fact that he was hard of hearing, saved the passenger from being distressed.

The ideal passenger is one who shows faith in the driver—an occasional comment on his skilful driving and the smooth running of his car does not come amiss—and only talks when the road is clear and the driver is not occupied with difficult manoeuvres.