The Washington herald., 1911-04-02
AUTO "ROAD HOGS"
SPOIL ALL TOURS
Prove Just as Annoying as
Man with Horse.
FORGET THOSE IN THE REAR
Driver of Motor Car Who kceps
Highway to Himself More Preva-
lent Every Dny-Othcrs Enjoy
Speeding Through HnmIets with
Cut-outs Open and Horns footing.

Except in a few rural communities
through which automobiles seldom pass.
horses are so accustomed to them that
they ordinarily pay but little attention
to the cars. In most instances where
the driver of a horse signals the chauf-
feur to stop the request is complied
with.
The driver of 4 motor car is often
prone to become impatient with the
driver of a horse-drawn vehicle who
does not Immediately pull into the ditch
when he bears the horn, and they arc
sometimes called road hogs" The
average motorist does not realize the
rate at which he is travelling. nor does
the driver of the horse stop to think
how soon after he hears the warning
signal for roadway the machine will be
up with him. If both realized the situa-
ton. there would be less complaint about
this kind of road hogs.
Keeps Road to Himself.
There is a type of road hog" how
ever, who is becoming moro prevalent
every day, and he does not drive a
horse. Instead. he sits behind the wheel
of an automobile. and this class can be
subdivided into two divisions-the man
who refuses to comply with the law of
the road and give way to the man travel
ing at the greater speed, and the one
who comes up behind another car at a
speed greatly in excess of what the man
in front is travelling. but who. when
given the courtesy of the road. suddenly
forGets that any one is behind him and
Immediately throttles down and pro-
ceeds, in the language of the road. to
feed the man following his dust"
If the motorist who. in the first place,
was courteous enough to permit him to
pass in order to avoid this inconven-
ienCe. attempts to repass. the road hog"
Immediately accelerateS his motor, all
the time holding the center of the road,
so that although the machine following
he the faster. it cannot safely pass him.
The hog" either is afraid that some one
will see him and say that his car is not
fast enough to get out of its own way. or
he shows his ignorance by considering
it 4 smart trick.
Moving Too Fast.
The second class is the man who.
when you come up behind him, refuses
to give way if the machine behind is
moving at a faster rate. Instead, he
speeds up just enough to lead one TO
believe he intends getting out of the
way, but at the same time remaining
in the lead. However, after a short
squirt. he slows down again and tries
TO give an exhibition of showing just
how close he can hold the rear of his
car to the radiator of the machine be
hind without permitting it to run into
him.
He may have another object in view,
which is not a commendable one, namely,
to test the skill of the driver following
in keeping from running into him
Both of these types embrace drivers
who. when they approach a small ham
let. insist on violating the law by speed
ing up while within the corporate limits
of the town. at the same time opening
their cut-outS and sounding their electric
horns %
They seem to be possessed with the
idea they want everybody in the village
to know they are passing through. With
vehicles travelling in the opposite direc-
ton they also have the bad habit of
running up almost ON top of them, then
turning out.
They would consider it beneath their
dignity to stop and lend a helping hand
to the man who is trying to control a
horse that has taken fright at the ap-
preaching machine.
Worse Comes Later.
Considered in themselves, these are
trffiing things. but they result in the
of laws governing motor We
hicles by State legislators. the majority
Of whose members come from rural com
that work undue hardships on
the motorist.
AS a rule. the motorist is law-abiding
citizen, and always stands willing to do
anything in his power to promote the
comfort or salty of a feliow-citizen
he be the driver of an automo-
bile or of a yoke of oxen.
1t is on him that the stringent laws
passed by some legislatures governing the
operation OF automobiles work an un-
due hardship.
He, however, lis compelled to suffer for
the wrongs Of some ratticbrain whose
only qualification to drive IN automobile