Driving Fast in Safety

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 52, 24 May 1927, Page 11

Driving Fast in Safety

How to Make Good Averages A FORECAST Among the many interesting statements attributed to Major Seagrave on arrival back in England, after his record-breaking drive in America, is that in 30 years cars will be daily travelling on British roads at speeds in the vicinity of 120 miles an hour. The motorists in this country who have experienced this speed on the ground can be counted on one hand, so there is no one here to say him nay; but, on the other hand, Major Seagrave is a driver of great experience and a man who, in ordinary touring on the open road, will be passed by many less skilful drivers simply because he will not take risks when touring. Of course, the position must resolve itself into one of gradual education to higher speeds, but 1 have very grave doubts as to the likelihood of the average owner being able to handle a car with any degree of safety at the speed mentioned, even though he were so disposed. With the rapid growth of motor transport in New Zealand, congestion •specially in the cities, is becoming a very serious problem, and there is only one possible solution, and that is to ■peed up generally. The question might then be asked: “Is not fast driving dangerous? And what is fast driving^,” WHAT IS FAST DRIVING? An interesting sidelight was thrown on this subject, indicating the trend of thought of those in authority, when a magistrate recentlj' refused to convict a motorist simply because he was proved to be driving at 35 miles an hour. The magistrate rightly contended that, provided the roadway was clear, the speed quoted was not dangerous unless the car was taking a zig-zag course. Many motorists have live recollections of comparatively recent date of being fined merely on evidence of a Bpeed as stated. Actually dangerous driving is not by any means confined to mere miles an hour. The condition of traffic and the various other circumstances that may surround the particular case have just as much import as the speed itself. In fact, 10 miles an hour in congested traffic with a. car equipped with faulty brakes and poor steering may be very much more dangerous than 70 miles an hour on the clear open road In a properly-equipped car with no traffic in sight. In this direction lies the reason for a skilful driver being able to sustain a high average road speed without °J^ e nding either traffic regulations or the otlier road users. Average speed is all too frequently loosely applied and we find motorists glibly talking of a 30-mile an hour average over a trip of 100 miles or more. To correctly determine the average speed there can be nc deductions made tor stops, voluntary or otherwise. It 18 s| niply a matter of dividing the miles covered by the total time of the Journey from starting point to destination. The art of sustaining a high average t'oad speed when touring does not, nowever, depend upon blinding along tu f hrottle * or ten minutes and men easing down to a crawl on rough going or pulling up at a wayside inn IO L refreshment. .The plodd€*r in a much slower motor ''ho constantly keeps the speedometer at between 30 and 35 miles will got there" with a better average, and, consequently, in less time than an erratic driver. One may rightly say that to secure good average speed it does not matter o very much how often you drive fast s now seldom you drive slowly. As a n illustration we can take the ase of two motors travelling in company at an average of, say, 25 miles hour. Should one have cause to stop lor on a few minutes to change a wheel many miles will need to be covered at iurious pace before the other, plodding along at its steady gait, is overtaken.

One of the surest means of lowering ne speed averages is to allow trivial n i* Petty 7 stops to be made. __ , en though it be merely to make n inquiry as to distance or route, the ‘lowing and starting again throws the river off his "gait" and takes quite a oeal of making up. Further, always do your repair work l n garage instead of the open road or. besides the: time wasted, one cerr ii v loses dignity in these days of leiiable cars when for any reason adjustments are made on the roadside.