White Pine news. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1920-1923, 1923-05-13
DRIVING CAR ON
SLIPPERY ROADS
Main Cause of Skidding Is Due to
Action of Brakes Operating
on Rear Wheels.
PLAN To PREVENT MOVEMENT
Rough Tread Tires and Chains Are De
signed to Avoid Slips and Are
Generally Considered Abso-
lutely Essential.

Why an automobile skids Is OF inter-
est to the motorist. but what to do to
prevent skldding and what to do when
the car is skidding are equally impor-
tant topics.
The main cause of skiddlng of rear
wheels of motorcars Is due TO the ac-
ton OF the brakes operating through
the rear wheels. Skidding, of course.
normally occurs only when the roads
are slippery.
An automobile wheel -otates and
progresses over the highway In but one
direction or plane. This direction for
the rear wheels is determined by the
front wheels under control of the
driver.
Rear Wheels Control Direction.
While the real wheels grip the
ground and rotate they control the d.
rectlon of the car. However, as oon
as the real wheels are locked by the
brakes they begin to slide. and as they
slide sldewise practically as easily as
forward, they lose the power TO direct
the car
II takes comparatively little brake
friction to lock and slide e a wheels
on slippery roads. because there Is lit
tie friction between the tires and
the road surface. When nce the driy-
ing wheels begin to slip the car is
kept In motion by the force of in
ertia acting at the cars center of
gravity or mass. This forward mo-
tlon is opposed by the resistance of all
four wheels on the ground. a resist
ance that Is greater In the rotating
front wheels than in the sliding rear
wheels. Unless the combined ground
resistance Of all the wheels tending to
stop the car, acts on the same point as
the force Of inertia tending to carry
the car forward, there results what Is
called a force couple" which causes
the car TO skid or spin around,
After the wheels once start to slip
a very small "force couple will pro-
duce skldding. and the skid distance Is
dependent upon the magnitude of the
"force couple which, in turn. depends
on car speed and weight. Turning the
front wheels In the direction of the
rear wheel skid helps to reduce skid
ding, because II reduces the magnitude
of the "force couple" Also periodically
releasing and %reapplying the brake so
the rear wheels car get a grip Offsets
forward slip and consequently side
skid.
Means to Prevent skidding.
Two means are employed to prevent
sk.ddlng In motor vehicles. The use
of non-skld or rough tread tires and of
anti-skid chains. Non-skid tires are
designed to give forward traction and
TO prevent side slip. As long as there
is traction the real wheels will turn,
and as long as the rear wheels turn
there viii be no serious side slip. n
less the front wheels are blocked.
Non-skid tires furnish reliability and
safety in driving-reliability, In per
hitting the vehicle to operate success
fully over almost any kind Of road and
during all seasons of the year. and
safety by permitting the vehicle to hold
the road at all speeds and allowing the
brakes to be most effective.
Non-skid treads on tires were first
used on real wheels and are now con-
sidered absolutely essential for such
uses. Later non-skid tires were placed
on front wheels because the treads
prevented front wheel skiddlng, as
well as permitted the rotation or ex-
change Of the front and rear tires.
Non-skid chains accomplish the same