El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-09-28
ART Of DRIVING
IS NOT EASY TASK
Man Who Handles Wheel
Should See to It that Hob
by Is in Progression.

The problem OF driving IS h9t
would have US believe. Granted
that certain state of proficiency is
acquired without much difficulty, the
man who drives his own car regularly
should see to it that his hobby is in
a state of progression-nOt of static or
retrogression-each time he drives,
something more should be learnt with
consequent improvement. Before pro-
ceeding further it IS as well to make
clear that these lines are not addressed
to the person who knows Cor thinks he
knows) all about it, nor are they in
tended as a homily on how to drive
correctly.
Object to Being Driven.
Many who are in the habit of doing
their own driving have rather an OBJ
lection to being driven unless they
know full well that the man at the
wheel is what is termed safe"
The reason for this apprehension is
not far to seek, for, though there are
certain elementary rules TO be OBJ
served it must be remembered that the
individuality and idiosyncrasies OF the
driver are very frequently made mani
fest; thus procedure which appears
quite safe to the driver may appeal In
quite a different way to {. passenger.
A writer has declared that the char
acter of the driver could be diagnosed
to some extent by his method OF using
the horn. This is perfectly true, for
almost every action betrays certain
traits in mans character which are
noted by the thinking observer.
The nervous, irritable man toots
practically all the time-the pompOus
man drives right up to blocked traffic
sounds a long note, assisting the e1.
ficiency of the horn by the election OF
vocal sounds from his Iarynx; the
phlegmatic individual treasures the
horn so much that he sounds II not at
all lest it might wear out, and so on
It is instructive for the owner driver
to sit in the back seat Of car and be
driven. He will see things from an as
pect he never thought of previously,
and bordering over these he may pos
sibly discover unlocked for defects IN
his own driving. For example, he will
have demonstrated to him the treat
ment he metes out to his own passen-
gers at times, particularly When
thank you harmed read is run over
with no diminutiOn of speed
Possess Qualifications
In order to become an expert at the
wheel the graduate must possess GER
tain well defined physical and mental
qualifications. His senses OF slSnI
hearing, touch, and smell should De
perfect, and he must nave an innate
sense Of decency. This latter is pos
sibly the most important sense OF al,
for without it good driving is an alb
is cad in the everyday walks Of life is
still a cad W. n DRIVING a car: even
though he may have acquired veneer
of decency, this really does not count
much for the deposit is usually so thin
as to be useless-it rubs off at the
slightest prOvocation and reveals what
IS below IN ali It's SlaTlHS nlueOuSntSS-
In addition to the above, road sense
will be acquired, a knowledge of me-
chanies gained Of this did not exist
previously, and the powers Of obser-
proyed-an these forming the har-
monious whole which constitutes the
equipment of the good driver.
Having passed the elementary stages
of steering, changing gear, etc, the
owner driver naturally wishes his
friends to partake of the pleasure he
one of those friends is of the nervous
type and prone to speak his mind, he
will possibly do so, and tell the driver
owner just what he thinks. There will
be, as a rule. much rubbish spoken,
but after careful sitting there may be
a small residue of value which should
suggest how the driving appeals to
at least one passenger.
Gear Changing Art.
The point is that it is not sufficient
to take a carload of friends there and
back safely, but that the run should
be, as far as the driver is concerned,
absolutely without incident. Take gear
changing. for example How many anna
teurs change gears wellg Very few.
The fine point in gear changing is TO
do it so that the passengers know
nothing at all about it. On coming to
a hill, the good driver viii know to the
fraction OF a second when to drop from
fourth to third. His ear will tell him
the note OF the engine when the reyo-
lutions will remain constant or he viii
stinctively the limit of his top gear
without laboring of the engine.
The finer points in regard to meshing
the gear pinions ought to have been
mastered before the owner pretends to
take friends out for a run. The gear
system in cars varies much. Thus, TO
go from neutral to first. the clutch
may have to be put right out; from
second to third. half out; from third TO
fourth a mere touch of the Gluten
pedal and a quick movement OF the
gear moves it into top nicely.
No hard and fast rule can be laid
down for a sort Of universal method of
good gear changing. Cars and drivers
differ so much that the careful man
will dig out for himself the method
which suits his particular car best Bad
gear changing may be due to careless
ness, fondness for the "all on top"
idea fostered, unfortunately. by many
manufacturers. or by sheer nervous
ness in very many cases. The driver
wants to do the job well and in his
eagerness fumbles it; prOmptness and
decision are the unfaiHng desiderata
for overcoming the trouble