Test Your Brakes

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 722, 23 July 1929, Page 6

Test Your Brakes

a MOTORISTS RESPONSIBILITY ‘ - a. ' a’fi ‘ . Promment DllVel b Suggestlon THAT the In‘akm 01‘ all motor—curs should be “Mod by specially—up]wovod garagvx, and, 111 m, ct'x'i’ifivatcs that. the brakes haul been 10stcd should be. issued by 11105:: garages, was it suggestion made to a Sun reporter recently by Mr. I“. \V. Johnston, a member of the council of 11m (imam-bury Automobile Association, and one of the 111051, experienced car—drivors in New Zealand.

)Ir. Johnston L-onsidorml that this should l)t* made. compulsory by Urdcr~ iii-Council. and strirtly enforced. The lA'NIS, he thought, should In: carried out twice a youix “This ought.‘ to ho done, (won on tho. flat.” said Mr. Johnson. “In hilly country imoplo luivo to keep tl‘mir brakes in order for their own sofaty." (‘oininoniing on evidence Lit an in—quost concluded 2L [ow (Joys ago, 211 Christchurch Doronor urged that thou)! should be strict examinations of hrukvs. 1 adding that had this been done in tho (.1156) he: was considm‘ing tho fatality. might lmvu boon overtml, hiotol‘ists intorviowed \\'(‘l‘t: ununillJUUh in di‘r'luring thut: [hero was for too little atte‘ntion paid to the brakes of cars, but they wcrc unanimous, too, in tlu-ir opinion that it was impossible for tho outl'iorities to do the testing. The. regulations state thut (ivory our must lun'o LWo brakes, one 10 he :1, retaining brake and one :1, brake zuzting directly on the wheels. From a speed of 20 miles an hour, the foot-brake must be able to stop the car- in 50 feet and the hand-brake in 75 feet. “This is u, very lilwrul :lllu\\‘:lllt‘(“ of distuuuu." said it prominvnt. trufi'io oili—nial. “(hm-s with vflioit-nt lirukvs min pull up in considerably loss (listuni-I‘s than this. I am fully aware that many brakes an; had. and that ihv regulations provide a penalty—hut there is not the stuff to do the inspouting." A point lirought out by one motorist was that the brakes of all taxis are inspected i'ogulm‘ly. ”Tho condition and elliru‘nm' (‘l‘ brakes is perhaps tho most imimrtunt element in any safety—first considvrulions.” said unothor motorist. “On the one hand. we hear :1; grout (lr'nl about the speed on the road and tho driving power of the motor-cur, but the question of ‘stopability' is very little heard oft “The onus of keeping the inm-hunism of the cur—~ali(l that includes the brakes—in order, should rest entirely on the motorist. Vthn a crush occurs and someone is killed, iru‘iuirivs are not always directed, as thoy should ho, to the suite of the. braking system. _____._,______._._—._._. A NEW BRITISH CAR The first British car with a sixcylinder air-cooled engine is soon to be produced. It will be known as the Scotsman, and will be built by Scotsman Motors, Li;(l., at Edinburgh. Rated at 14 11.11., the motor will be built under S.A.R.A. patents, incorporating principles which are used 011 two French cars. There is an airblower at the front of the engine which forces the cooling air through cowls around the separately cast cylinders. Overhead valves are used. Similar cooling methods are used in the Franklin, an American car. Though it may appear a difficult task efficiently to air-cool a. car engine, tests have shown that the car can be driven at maximum speed in bottom géar for hours without overheating.

Anyunv who euros to watch the trunk: at ;L busy intm‘smstion will see that it very "small pvu-vntugo of curs stun bm‘unso :11] four wheels grip the road simultaneously. It is surprising the number of cars that pull up through one baCli wheel only acting. “The traffic inspectors could help in this way. When they saw this happen they should have the power to tell the motorist to get his brakes adjusted and then report to lthe City Council to Show that they were satisfactory. 4 “Thu mmlm‘n (*m‘ braking systvm is no mum (‘fl‘n‘irnt than the driver Inukos it. Home :lrivm‘s Grim“ ml the Nam—rails and wlmn they brake. the our skids. Many nf ll‘wm do not. know in what llismm'e llmir cars. will stop."