The Washington times., 1912-11-30
LEFT.HAND DRIVE
IS FINDING FAVOR
WITH THE MAKERS
Some Builders Of Large Cars
Converted, Though Most
Adhere to Right Control.

rbs adoptlon Of the method Of drtv.
,n- an automobiie on the left side. In
stead Of the right. has engeeed tns
tention Of American manufacturers ou'-
Ing the past two years.
since the Introduction OF the ieit'ssus
control II has made great strides IN Az
tonobile engineering. having b. en- adcpt-
cd by Q number OF prominent des.s"efs.
Many of the latter admit freely the
utility Of the ,eHt.sids steer and tne
eouaily new, though practical. central
Arrangement OF control levers.
The much.discussed question - TO
which type Of drive and control should
BE- made standard 10 stan an open one.
a. each type has many advocates. The
tendency OF builders Of small cars "a
yors the left.side drive. some OF them
placing the levers on the left side and
others making tho gear control CEN
tral.
priced machines have . % Hesn n more aSs, cSS. SS.
herring TO the right.si drive with
levers on the drivers right. The an
nouncement Of the 1913 models develop
that several OF the manufacturers nave
been converted to u: isfs;siqSs S.,vs, dr,v.;
or located in the center OF the door
boards, The great majority. however,
stiii continue 10 make the right SIDE
drive their standard CONSTRUCTION. a.
though number hay: s:ssisS ne hS qgss qso
inS the levers in the center ana ma KING
The situation OF the steering wheel on
the right or left optional with the
customer. .H-. t.-...i .... .. a.
standard Construction in Doubt.
Ieft.side steering 10 favored for city
driving. while advocates Of the righ,
side assert that the type has oil thu
advantages on the country roads. A.
regards motor trucks. It 10 almost unit
ver.aily' conceded. that the left-sIde
drive Is better, as the Grester part ol
their work 10 performed on the city
streets. Most Of the. right side. adher.
ents concedc that the left type OF drive
10 preferable for city driving, AZ leas,
e fast and dense. but ali maintain that
this is d minor consideration, as tn
long distances are covered over tns
country roads. where the rixht-std'
drive has all the adyantaEe. rae @ De
ever. assert that their type Of drivinl
, is superior under all conditions.
The uncertainty Of the attitude Of ,
number Of manufacturers leaves
the S.,Ssr SSs:sn ,Ss Se ossson ., s
steering wheel II to be optional, tim
Alone can determine. but all the indi
! cations, the placing of the gearshif
; and emergency brake levers IN the cen
ter VIII come to, to be .!v Ss"ssssiy y tSs t
throughout the industry there seem
| to be a feeling that left-stde drive !
the coming standard. Irrespective OF tn
tinaent IL that Il Is not yet time 70
such a change. that the public does no
want It a. yet. and that the new stat
lof affairs will come about gradually.
Each Plan Has AdheTents.
The controlling features Of the mod
ern automobile. consisting Of the steer
Ing wheel and. generally. a gearshii
lever and an emergency brake leve
permit Of Ave possible arrangement
These are: Steering wheel on the lei
side, with the control levers on III
drivers left: steering wheel on the LET
with the levers in the center. on Ii
drivers right; wheel on the right. wit
levers in the center, on the driver
right: wheel on the right. with lever
In the center. to the left Of the drivel
and wheel on the right with levers Q
the right.
general standard, at the present tim
"a 100 Of the leading cars of the cou.
try use that type Of drive and lew
control. as compared with seven max,
which have become converts to II
system, in which both wheel and leve
ere at tho left: seven retain the righ
side steer. but combine It with a Gel
trail lever location. and Use the 10
drive. '''
Adherents to each Of the four possib
arrangements advance strong argumen
as to the advantages and disadvantag
OF the types. In order to adopt q stan
ard type II will be necessary to emboc
the most important advantages and Il
least disadvantages. Among the adva
tages are: Both front seats are acce
s!ble from the curb: the driver can g