Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-05-23
AUTO DRIVING
REQUIRES SKILL
Besides Mechanical knowledge
One Must Have AIertness,
Foresight, ThoughtfuIness.

The successful driving of even the
modern motor car is not quite the
easy matter it appears, according to
Mitchell May, secretary of state in
New York. Apart from the mechan-
ical knowledge, not only is skill re-
CURED, but also alertness, foresight
and constant thought of and consid-
GRAFTON for other road users as we'll
as for the machine itself. 1t has b. en-
said that the passengers in a we'll
driven car should not be aware that
the car is being driven at all-that is
to say, the passage of the car should
be one of gentle movements, without
jerks and sudden stops. If the car IS
properly driven the attitude of mind
on the part of the passengers should
not be one of continual apprehension
of fear, as is too Otter the case, but
one of complete confidence and en-
jcyment.
To understand what this means,
take the common case of the New
York taxicab driver, whose method
differ widely in the handling of the
vehicle. One driver may go from
place to place in a few seconds less
time than another, but at far great
er cost of tires, wheels, frame, gear
and engine, causing far more nervous
tension on the part of the passengers
and irritating other drivers of vehi-
cles on the road.
1t is this style of driving which
has brought such odium upon motor
ing in the past, and whether the
driver has charge of a public car
rage or private car he is an
enemy of automobilism in general.
iS driU a
more complete negation of what
really constitutes good driving could
not possibly be imagined.
To begin with, the driver should
start away as gently as possible, not
only from the point of view of the
comfort of the passengers, but in
order to lessen the wear and tear
on the tires and the strain on the
engine. The more imperceptibly a
start is made, the longer will the car
and tires last. Then, with regard to
the turning of corners, a quite un-
necessary and undue strain is thrown
upon the wheels, tires, springs and
frame generally, by rushing around
them-apart from the danger which
IS always present
Thirdly, as to speed, although, as
the facts show, there has been a
and more commol sense and con-
sideration are manifest among the
ranks of the motor car drivers, yet
there are one or two good points
which many might bear in mind with
advantage. A good or bad impress
sion is quickly created by the man
ner in which the driver stops his car
The two great qualities which
should predominant when driving on
the public highways are alertness
and consideration.
The necessity for alertness also is
particularly desirable in driving b.
night, when every object is distorted,
and in the case of overtaking a
cyclist, when nothing but dim patch
of light is seen in the road ahead. If
this small patch of light is moving,
the presence of a cyclist must be an
ticipated and watched for.
Consideration for other users of the
road should be most strongly insisted
upon, for it is an all-important
factor to the standing of a motorist
in the eyes of the public Every mo-
torist should remember that he want
the public with, not against, him in
future years. 3