HIGH ROAD AND BY-ROAD

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19887, 16 May 1936, Page 28 (Supplement)

HI G H ROAD AND BY-ROAD

| A COLUMN FOR MOTORISTS. I 1 1

CONTACT BREAKERS. EXCESSIVE SPARKING. Excessive sparking at the contact breakers results in the destruction cf the metal, and whilst a fine file will probably be used to trim up the faces it is much better st/ek the cure. The usual cause is a faulty condenser, but this is difficult to prove without the necessary knowledge and instruments. There is no reason, however, why another condenser should not be tried, and although the actual capacity is of some importance to the production of the maximum spark, a wireless condenser of, say, one microfarad, can be tried. There is no danger of injuring the coil, as the condenser is always wired across the contacts and. usually, better results are obtained the nearer the condenser is to the contacts. To make such a condenser a permanent fitting it may be held in a clip secured to the most convenient point. In connection with the wiring, one end goes to earth and the other to the insulated contact point. When the condenser is built into the contact breaker unit it is a simple matter to replace it should it be necessary to do so. In any case a wireless condenser—the llxed type, of course—may be pressed into service in an emergency. MOTORIST’S PRAYER. The following was quoted by the Vicar of Eastbourne in a broadcast sermon:— •Grant me a steady hand and watchful eye, That no man shall be hurt when 1 pass by. Thou gavest life, and I pray no act of mine May take away or mar that gift of Thine. shelter those, dear Lord, who bear me company From the evils of fire and all calamity. Teach me to use my car for others' need, Nor miss through love of speed The beauties of Thy world; that thus I may With joy and courtesy go on my way."

HANDLE PLUGS CAREFULLY. Careless use of the plug spanner may seriously damage a sparking plug. The spanner should always be placed squarely on the plug, and should be kept so while it is being turned. If the spanner is forced to one side or the other, either through carelessness of in an endeavour to avoid an obstruction, it can set up a heavy side thrust which will craok the Insulator, particularly if this is of the poroelain type. The plug, of course, is ruinedA slight crack caused in this way might not be noticed at first, but would gradually spread until persistent misfiring resulted. Care is particularly necessary when using two spanners to dismantle plugs for cleaning. Accurately fitting spanners can be used in this way, but the operation is safer and easier if the plug is mounted in a vyce.

THESE VIRTUOUS OLD GENTLEMEN Attention to the danger of slowmoving traffic on the roads was drawn by the executive of the Automobile Association (Hawke's Bay) when a discussion arose over the recent declaration of war on “road hogs” by the Minister of Transport (Mr R. Semple). “These virtuous old gentlemen doing 20 miles on hour and patting themselves on the back because they are observing the speed rudes of the road are creating a menace to other users of the highways, said Mr. J. H. Edmundson. “It often happens the drivers of these slow vehicles are as much to blame in an accident as the man who is probably doing 40 miles an hour. It Is a more heinous offence for a inan to do five miles an hour on 1 lie wrong side of the road than for a man to travel at a decent pace on Ills correct side. While we as an association want to encourage safety first, the ideal on which that safety is based is what might toe termed the prevailing idea of a safe speed,” be continued. “If that speed is 30 miles an hour or even 40, then the man who travels at 20 is probably a greater cause of accident.” Mr R. M. Chadwick: “The most dangerous factor, T think, is the failure to keep lo the left when turning corners. The man who drives fas’t is not necessarily a ‘road hog.’ The driver who takes a corner at five miles an hour cannot gel out of the way as quickly as a man doing an average speed.”

USE OF LIGHTS. DREAM OF THE FUTURE. Illuminated roads on which there would be no occasion for cars to use lights were invisaged by Mr A. T. V. Robinson, deputy secretary of the Britisli Ministry of Transport recently. “ Much scientific study,” he said, “ has been given to the problem of headlight dazzle, but of recent years increasing attention has been given to the problem of adequate illumination of the road itself. “ It may be that the next decade will see so much material advance in this direction that on .ill the more Intensely trafficked roads there will be no occasion for the use of lights upon the vehicle, so that the approaching driver will see an oncoming vehicle not as a couple of spots of dazzling light with a black background, but as a dark silhouette against an adequately illuminated background. “ The road driver of the future may hear the traffic signals on his car radio set, but I find It difficult to conceive that the wireless-controlled aeroplane, Ihe automatically-controlled battleship target, and the driverless railway train of the Post Office tube will ever be paralleled upon the highway.” The theory that the most dangerous time of the day from the motorist's point of view is between sunset anil darkness was put forward by Mr A. Maurice Bell in his presidential address in London to the Association of Public Lighting Engineers’ Conference.

“ In the interest of safely, proper lightng should be made compulsory on roads in and through towns, and on all main arterial roads carrying heavy traffic,” he said. “In towns, In my opinion, headlights on cars should be prohibited, for it is now quite possible to obtain at a reasonable commercial price lighting quite sufficiently good lo obviate the need for such aids,” said Mr W. J. Allbright. “ The use of headlights should be restricted lu unlighted country roads.” SPARKS. Girls are employed as pump attendants at many places on the Continent. Keep a barrel or pail of soil or sand In the garage to be used as an extinguisher In case of fire. Headlight reflectors become dull and coaled with film, which lessens their efficiency after they have been in use for some time. A £20,000 motor car. “ Yankee Doodle,” is being built at Los Angeles to try to break the 301 m.p.h. speed record set up by Sir Malcolm Campbell in his Bluebird. Price and particulars of the Scott Flying Squirrel engine, of 16/34 b.h.p., a light engine specially built for the Flying Flea, may be obtained from Mr W. L. Notman, of Oamaru, who has secured the South Island agency for this engine.

Giving evidence at Oldham. Hampshire, concerning a motoring oase, an engineer rear-admiral (retired) said: “ I was driving astern of his lorry, doing a steady 16 knots. I saw the lorry cross the bows of a car; car and lorry smashed their bows.” A length of insulating tape fastened along the bottom edges of the bonnet effectively prevents the wings from being scratched when the bonnet is opened or shut. When lubricating the car always Include {\ll locks. .A few drops of light oil on each lock may prevent having to break a lock that has become so badly rusted it cannot be opened. An Amerioan rhymer offers a variation of Joyce Kilmer’-s “Trees”— I think that I shall never see, A billboard lovely as a tree; Perhaps, unless the billboards fall, I’ll never see a tree at all. When a fast car with a loud exhaust note Is approaching, the musical pitch of the sound produced is s'everal tones higher than when the same car is receding from the observer. This phenomenon is so common that few people pause to consider why it should be so. Scientifically it is known as the Doppler effect, and arises from the fact that sound waves emanating from a source which is approaching at speed, become crowded up, so enhancing the apparent frequency and raising the musical note. When a car is receding, the note is lowered in a similar way, the true “pitch” being neither the actual exhaust note nor the approach note, but between the two.