The Washington times., 1912-06-08
TAKING CHANGES"
IN AUTO THEORY
Many Accidents Follow Risks Which Amateur Automo-
bilsts Take Every Day in the Year-Some Com
mon Examples of This Point.

in a high-powered machine. The danger
in making the curve or corner at too
high speed lies in the car getting over
the middle OF the road, or, in other
words, not keeping close to the inside of
tho curve. The admonition for all oc.
cnsions Is. Keep as close to the inside
IF the curve as you can when on the
right-hand side of the road" Many a
good driver II taking a curve at over
twenty miles per hour will cut into the
grass on the inside of the curve In order
to prevent n skid or to keep the car
from getting beyond the center line OF
the road. Curves are very deceptive AMI
the fatal accidents occur on the appar-
emily easiest curves. Such accidents
have happened on curves Of i%0 degrees
angle. and others on curves Of 160 de-
GrecE ansl'. The accidents We're due
to the drived keeping on the outer
slorc OF the road when making the
| curve. The curves were invariably to
the left, when It was the drivers duty
to keep to that side Of the road. but
the fault lay In too much speed Tor
such a position in the road. In many
sunch accidents the danger was accensu-
ated by throwing out the clutch when
the speed was seen to be too great.
While this apparently seemed right IT
| was diametrlcaly wrong, because with
the clutch out the car was more or less
! live a ship without a rudder. With the
clutch In and a moderate application oil
| the brake 1t Is possible to control the
car through the engine instead Of letting
| 1t roll to its own certain destruction.
The Bridge Approach.
Approaching bridges without slacken-
| ing speed Is a familiar example OF TAX
| ing chances" 1t is a dangerous one,
too. The most experienced driver when
tnu urir haa IA fyria nc
cause. The reasons are many. Cen
, orally the road narrows when approach
| ing a bridge nda not infrequently there
| are a few rough spots within five or ten
| feet OF the entrance to the bridge. The
car striking one of these hidden rough
spots will invariably bound to the side;
IL the driver Is alleges to the occsaion
he may be quick enough with the wheel
! to avoid striking the railing of the
| bridge, but in nine cases out OF ten the
car will strike the side of the bridge
| is not the only guilty party in this work.
| In several of the tours within the last
| three years bad accidents have hap
| pened in nearly every run at bridge en-
| two cars crashed through the railings
| of high bridges when approaching them
! by curve. In each case experienced
road drivers were handling the cars and
in the bridge approach that threw the
| car out of it's course and the driver had
not time to work the wheel and avoid
| striking the railing.
| Every motorist who passes horse
vehicles at speed on narrow roads Is
| catering to the accident that comes
from taking chances, This is especially
| true in country sections where womer
| drive single-horse vehicles. and where
the horses are not all experienced with
| the car. The motorist should invariably
have his car under perfect control al
| such times, so controlled that he car
stop in fifteen or twenty feet, II neces
sary. Many cases are on record where
the inexperienced horse has wheeled
around In the road just as the car was
passing; a two-horse team has beer
known to do this on many occasions
and the end of the wagon tongue has
| swept the side of the car from from
to rear, destroying the body and in {
few cases striking the passengers or
that side.