The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-10-23
Good Driver /
 A Car Asset
Poor Chauffeur Means In creased Expenses - The Modern Rules for Proper Driving.

Paraphrasing the old mechanical dictum that chain is no stronger than it's weakest link, the observation IS advanced that car is not better than its driver. The merit Of the ob- servation is such that few can es- cape it, but the degree of it's truth is worth consideration by reason of the mass of supporting data.
 To take an extreme example, it can be shown that an inexperienced or Dlunderlng driver can reduce a $5, GOO car to $34 worth of junk by running it into a stone wall at high speed or sending it over the side of a bridge. In milder form, poor driver can and does reduce the value of a car by the lesser errors in operation and in main- of gears, sudden and hard application >of the brakes and in permitting the driving mechanism to accumulate dirt and rust, says the Motor World ex- pert.
 Only recently a manufacturer of cars that enjoy the highest reputation and Sell at topmost prices cited an veloped a ruined transmission as the result of being driven by chauffeur with more muscle than brains, who yanked the change-gear lever with such Sandow strength that he broke a steel ball in the transmission bear ings. The hard steel pieces of the ball did the rest, and the car was not again fit for service until it had a complete new transmission and new chauffeur.
 In other cases the value and effi- ciency of a car is impaired by im- proper control of the oiling and neg lect of adjustments affecting the car- hr1r ho ho even the fan belt tension. The tires afford the incompetent driver an ex- cellent chance to have trouble and blow-Outs, where a good driver would have taken the necessary precaution- ary steps and would have had no trouble at all. Failure to have enough water in the radiator has accounted for many a car being out of service until a new engine could be installed.
 Conversely it has been made ap- parent from the earliest days of the automobile business that a skilled operator can perform wonders with the most decrepit sort of motor ve- hicle. provided it can run at all. A car may not be as good as it's driv- er in which case the limitation exists with the car and not with the opera tor. A good driver gives the car it's maximum value.
 In commercial vehicle work it has UCCH Aouifu tH0l " 6Cl lHc foluS lAAl lies in the vehicles themselves, it is necessary to have competent drivers rather than men who are merely cheap. Whether the responsibility for the operating and the keeping of the mechanism in condition be a combined or divided duty, it must be placed with competent employees If the value of the vehicles, either in- trinsically or operatively, is to be preserved.
 The same processes of cost keeping and entertainment of relative values are used in relation to commercial vehicles. when applied to pleasure cars emphasizes, the same truth, which, to- repeat, is that car is no better than the man who is in charge of it.
 RULES FOR PROPER DRIVING.
 Do not place the hands above the center of the steering wheel,
 Do not take death grip on the and is tiresome and dangerous.
 Do not race the motor.
 Do not move the gear lever without disengaging the clutch.
 Do not let the clutch in fast, espe- cially when starting the car from a standstill.
 Do not move the feet away from the clutch pedal when the car is moving as it should always be in position. than first speed.
 Do not slip the clutch too much, as it will burn or wear beyond repair
 Do not watch the other fellow be. hind, as he is watching you.
 Do not for any reason take your eyes off the road while the car is rolling.