NEW DEVICE.

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 11, 4 September 1931, Page 5

NEW DEVICE.

DUMMY CAR. A moving landscape that flashes before the eyes of a motorist.seated in. a dummy car is part . of ,a new, device to lessen road accidents, which was exhibited in London recently. '• Dr. G. H.j Miles, of the National Iristitute of Industrial Psychology, is the inventor of the test.- It is claimed that the device Will- help a novice to get the "feel" of a new cars an insurance- company to determine roughly whether a policy-halder's accidents are due:to carelessnesssor-physical defect; a transport company to weed out applicants for posts as drivers. . The dummy' car used in the tests can sway from side to side and record bumps. An electrie .fan giyes. the driver the impression of travelling against the wind. As soon as the ac-* celerator is pressed down-a scene in front. begins to move, . quickly or slowly, according to the driver's imaginary speed. . This gives him the impression that he is actually on the road. By means of an eleetrical arrangement'it is possible to determine how the driver takes the bends. If he goes too near the kerb or turns wrongly a bell rings. ' "So far, our tests with various types of people have bden quite successful," it was stated. "For instance, some people don't seem to see the necessity. for turning :the steering wheel to the right to take a righthand bend. This may sound extraordinary, but it is true of some of the drivers we have tested."