From Horse And Buggy To Motor-Car

Taupo Times, Volume VI, Issue 284, 19 July 1957, Page 13

From Horse And Buggy To Motor-Car

There are many parts of a motorear which still carry the names originally given them in the horse and buggy days. The names remain the same, but what a change has been made in their appearance and usefulness. A "dashboard' was originally a tooard placed on the forepart of a earriage, sleigh or other vehicle, to intercept water, mud or snow thrown up by the heels of the horses. In England it was first known as a "splashboard" but the Americans ehanged it to "dashboard". The word "dash" is probably of Scandinavian origin where "daske" wieans to beat of strike. An English dictionary of 1822 describes ''dash" to bespatter. The modern defmition of a dashboard is a board containing instruments fixed beneath the windscreen of a motor vehicle. It has moved from a protective measure to one against which the occupants of the front seat must be protected. Some manufacturers are now making rubber dashboards. One of the best ways to protect passengers against cracking their skulls on the modern dashboard when a vehicle comes to a sudden, unexpected top is a seat belt similar to those used in aircraft.