COMMON ERROR

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 23, 19 April 1927, Page 11

COMMON ERROR

BELIEF IN DIVIDED ROAD Some comment with a local application appears in the “Daily Chronicle.'’ London, under the name of Captain E. de Normanville. He remarks: An incident in which 1 was concerned yesterday serves to point a twofold moral—to suggest the exercise of courtesy to other road users, and to remove a common wrong impression as to road rights.

I was going out of town on the Edge ware Road, which, for the sake of readers who do not know it, is a fine wide road with two lines of tramways in the centre for most of its length.

Wanting to overtake a tram from which passengers were alighting, I did so on its offside, there being nothing approaching except one car. NEITHER COURTEOUS NOR SOUND

As the driver of the car passed he shouted, “Keep to your own side”— from which it was obvious that he was neither courteous nor sound on his knowledge of road lore or law. At the moment whop his car, my car, and the tram were abreast, there was still ample room for a lorry as well on his side of the road. So I wondered why he called out — and presumed he was one of those drivers who think that an imaginary line iri the centre of the road indicates the right or the wrong side. Such a belief is quite erroneous, alike in regard to law, common sense, public convenience, or even courtesy. The fact that you are driving along a road does not give you any legal right to the whole of your left hand portion of the road. On the contrary, the law stipulates (a) that you must overtake on the offside of the vehicle overtaken, and (b) keep to your left when approaching other traffic; not merely keep to the left half of the road. There is nothing except “presumptive danger,” which is quite enough normally, to prevent your driving on the right—when nothing is coming toward you. EASY DRIVING POINTS ON CAR ATTENTION Although there is no place like the road for testing the way in which a motor-vehicle handles, it is possible to form a pretty good idea of its “drivability” in the garage or anywhere that the car may be standing The quality which a car possesses to a greater or lesser degree of being j handled with ease and comfort in j widely differing circumstances is calico control ability. It includes such points as ease of steering in corner ing, and when driving fast on any kind of road surface; while the questions f braking and gear-changing ai • closely involved. In a word, a car which is really controllable is absolutely safe to drive in all circumstances. STIFF STEERING A car with stiff or heavy steering is unpleasant to handle, fo» not only does driving become fatiguing, but there is generally a difficulty iii correcting skids on greasy roads while occasionally, when one hand removed from the wheel for the pur pose of signalling to overtaking traffic the car may tend to follow its own sweet will, witl. possibly unfortunateresults. Consequently the steering must, first and foremost, be light and accurate. Stiff steering can be due either to inadequate lubrication or to fitting, generally the former. Every driver should carefully grease all the joints and connections in the steering mechanism. Steering that is heavy becomes quite light as soon as the front axle is jacked up, so that both wheels are clear of the ground, but stiff steering is still difficult to handltin these conditions. If by the jacking up just mentioned the steering is found to be free and easy, no further greasing is necessary, although it sometimes occurs that, under load, part of the mechanism is strained, or may ruo against some part of the chassis, so bright spots on the dray link or track rod should be looked for. OTHER CAUSES Heavy steering may be due simply to excessive castor action, which is often instantly betrayed by wheel wobble at high speeds. Turning corners when driving slowly will require considerabl“ effort, while, when the steering wheel is released, it will instantly fly back to central position quite automatically. If there is insufficient castor action the car will have to be, as it were, steered the whole time, and wheel wobble may be perceptible at low speeds. Other features, such as easy gear changing, easy carburettor ad justment, and so on, are of course always desirable, and the owner-driver ; should to it that there are no defi--1 cichcies in this respect.