Norwich bulletin., 1918-05-20
Campaign for Better Brakes-Do Your Speeding on Smooth Road-Condi-
 ton of Southern New England Roads


 The safety of the road and of the l street is the object of new nation wide movement among prominent traf- fic officials, automobile experts and organizations with the object of call- ing motorists attention to the inn portance of the brakes, and decreasing due to imperfectly adjusted or de- fective brakes. An official of the Mo- tor Truck club of America says that SO per cent. of the accidents caused by brake trouble could be averted if motorists would only pay more atten- tion to their brakes and have them in- spected regularly. The fact that brake bands are out of sight is one reason assigned to the common neglect of car owners in assuring themselves that if they wish to stop their brakes will respond.
 Glaring headlights, it is pointed out, have been forbidden under penalty of the law in many states and cities. The ultimate object of the brake inspec tion movement is to bring about com pulsory inspection of brakes. In ad- dition to traffic officials, the movement has the endorsement of such men as Raymond W. Pullman, head of the police of the nations capital; Francis M. Hugo, secretary of state of New York; Arthur Woods, former police commissioner of New York city; T. D.. Pratt, of the Motor Truck club of America, and numerous officials of accident insurance companies.
 Another important object of the campaign is to inform motorists as to fay- ia1e 0f ola ,ai- l-A Things are made and of the difference between effective Things and make shifts. Asbestos, mined principally in the province of Quebec, Canada, is the basis of all good brake Things on ac- count of it's heat-resisting qualities. Many Things are made of woven strips of tape which wear into holes and absorb moisture, oil and dust 1 Tests of brake Things have been car ried on not only by government ex- | perts at work on choosing the best | lining for the war cars and trucks but by professors in Cornell university and in other laboratories. The lining generally regarded as the best with which many of the American war cars 1 and trucks have been equipped is commonly known as thermoid hydrau- | lie compressed. u is made of asbestos fabric, strung on brass wires, then 1 folded several times, grapnalized and l made into practically a solid piece by the application of a hydraulic pressure 1 of 1000 pounds to the square inch al a temperature of 320 degrees. It is with this kind of lining that many ot Americas s war cars have been equipped | for service in France.
 | You have been bounced off your seat of course, and heard the cries of pas. sengers in the rear seats to "cut hel down little.' Just because you strucl | a. hole or rocky, uneven spot in tht
 road. Then you wondered if an, damage was done. You slowed up fo
 a short space and the old boat seemed
 to go along all right, and you speedeC
 her up again.
 Perhaps day or two later you ar
 forced to change tire Upon show
 ing it to the repair man, who tell
 you that the carcass of the tire is il
 need of repairs because of a bruise
 commonly called stone bruise," yo
 remark: Rather strange! I have n
 recollection of hitting a stone I hay l traveled only on improved state road and city streets. But you fail t
 recall the severe shock your car an it's occupants experienced when yo
 hit the bump or hole in the road.
 One rarely stops to consider tn
 force of such stroke when delivere to the tire upon meeting such an ob struction or road irregularity
 Back to school days for a momen
 if you will. and recall that old law c
 physics: The energy of a moving bod
 varies as the square of it's velocity
 Apply this to your car and you wi
 note that by doubling the speed tn
 energy is increased four times. Tripl
 your speed and the violence of tn