The Washington times., 1916-01-29
SEIDDING IS GREATEST
PERIL TO MOTORIST
Chains as a PreCaution in Slip
perry Weather Recognized by
| Insurance Companies.
nv n w. MULLER.

nGk. the average motorist what he
feaks most in the daily handling OF his
machine ana the answer will be, skid
mng," for. IL there be one thing more
eAhn ali others that the motorist fears
It y that siclSiy sinking OF ones interior
tlnk comes with the sudden and entire
loss OF control inevitably accompanying
= bed skid. The reckless, the foolish,
ana the incompetent pedestrian can be
guarded against; even the man VINO
loses himself in a brown study in the
miadlS OF q busy street. and the old
LADY who hutters back and forth in
the path OF q car like a befuddled hen
can Be taken care of with the brakes.
But, with q skid 'once started. only
Providence and the sAiliful hand at the
wheel are OF any avail. Like the pedes-
TRAN who. apparently, drops from no
where in particular plumb in front OF
your car, the side slip Is almost al
ways entirely unexpected. but, unlike
the former, 1t is not always unayoid-
able. The case is distinctly one for
preventives. and not for remedies.
There is no remedy for a bad skid but
to patch up the damage and gather to-
gether your shaken nerves as best you
may.
AZ an absolute preventive Of skidding
non-skid chains will naturally suggest
themselves at once to the reader. and IL
may be added that two Of the insurance
companies that write automobi!e-acci-
dent policies have taken cognisance OF
the frequency Of accidents caused by
skiddinE. and recommend the use OF
chains. In truth, II the chains are in
their proper place on the tires. our
''ever-present danger has been exor-
cised. so that the remarks which follow
may be taken merely as advice for. that
day when somebody forgot, and left his
chains in the locker at home. And right
here we can offer the hest anti-skid
rule Of ALL make It an invariable rule
to keep the chains in the car. and not
trust TO remembering to put them there
Just before you start out.
A slow pace will also obViate the ne
ekssity Of using the brakes in the ma
jority of instances, for braking is one
of the things that should be avoided by
all means when attempting to regain
control during a skid, as, II the rear
wheels can be made to resume their
usual function Of rolling after the front
ones, the slide will be over. The aver
age motorists first impulse is to jam
on the brakes hard, with the result that
the driving wheels Immediately lock-
and continue to travel sidewise on the
small section of the tire that lost its
traction and caused the skid in the
fret place.
II 1t be possible to avoid the use OF
the brakes and the front wheels be
thrown Immediately in the same direc-
AZ - af N ~ at q ~
slide, the tendency to keep up this pro-
cess until the car lands UP against the
curb or some other equally unpleasant
obstruction will be counteracted. and Its
progreaG crabWlse arrested. For eX'
ample, II In attempting to pass another
vehicle to the left, the rear wheels re-
fuse to take part in the maneuver, but
start on 4 swing for the curb at the
right, the steering wheel should be i'm
thus presenting the four wheels of thu
machine as a broad "V" against thu
sliding action. The latter then has tC
overcome the friction of four wheels
instead of being aggravated by snap
the steering wheels are turned in thu
direction opposite to that of the skid
Once the rear wheels refuse to follow
the front ones, they must take a patl
of their own, and they are natural!
restricted to the arc of circle having
the middle Of the front axle as its cen
ter and the wheel base of the car al
its radius. Hence that unpleasant anC
sudden swing which 30 often results In
"sideswiping' the nearest obstruction
or causes the car to face back In the
opposite direction when the road hap
pens to be clear. Both of these car
usually be counteracted effectively by
letting the brakes alone and using the
steering wheel, in the right direction
which Is always that of the skid itself.
Granted, Of course, that the speed
was sufficiently moderate to keep things