Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-10-25
FEW ACCIDENTS RESULT
FROM CHANGING BRAKES
Double Standard Following Transition
From Two to Four Wheel Variety
Has Proved Prophets Wrong.
by WILLIAM UIIMAN.

by WILLIAM ULLMAN.
Motordom is confronted today by a
double standard of stopping, for this
Is the transition period in braking
Just a few years ago the car with
four-wheel brakes was novelty; now
the tWO-wheel-brake car is far behind
the trend of automotive progress. Be.
cause of the popularity of the four
wheel system as well as the recent
Improvement in both two-wheel and
propeller shaft brakes, there is a
marked lack of uniformity in stopping
ability. Consequently, this situation
has given rise TO the question of the
relation of brakes to accidents.
1t is roughly estimated that there
are three million cars on the streets
with improved brakes, including four
wheel brakes. which leaves fifteen
million cars operating with brakes of
older design. Excluding the Fords.
which are famous for their stopping
ahility-hut a certain percentage of
them are not kept in safe condition
1t is conservatively estimated that
there are ten million automobiles in
the country which cannot be depended
upon to stop as quickly or as effec-
lively as the other eight million.
Cause Few Mishaps.
Experts on traffic and safety have
worried over faulty brakes and their
relation to rcar-end collisions. They
have ruled and regulated against
them. having in mind that a double
standard OF stopping is a highly dan
gerous state of affairs Yet in the
number of traffic mishaps in our large
cities unimproVed brakes are report
ed to be the cause of few.
This patiently is a motor paradox.
The explanation, however, lies more
tn the minds Of The drivers than in
the rear ends of the car. 1t is a fact
that cars with improved brakes are
pressed into. service in greater num-
bers at those points where perfect de-
celeration is in greatest demand. This,
undoubtedly. is the reason why there
is little teleSCUping of cars on such
1EoroushfareS as Fifth avenue, New
York. and Michigan avenue. Chicago
Then, too, cars with unimproved
brakes, being unimprOved in other re-
speCts as well, appear to sravitate to
rural districts where the matter of
rate of declaration is secondary to
reliability of braking. The rural mo-
stopping just so long as he can depend
upon his brakes to hold the car safely
He has fewer occasions for quick stop
ping, and light traffic usually permits
him to rely upon steering if the brakes
are unequal to the emergency.
Another factor tending to lessen
The number Of collisions is the motor
lists realization OF the danger that
turks in a diIapidated car. Such a car
usually signifies careless. irrespon-
sible owner who has little to lose in
q collision and who cares not at all
for the rights of his fellow. motorists
Avoiding such d driver means avoid
sng trouble.
Depend on Car Behind.
Few drivers use their brakes to their
fullest capacity because there is little
occasion to do so. When they are
obliged to call upon the brakes to per-
form at their best, they often escape
At rear-end collision because the driver
behind has just as good brakes. The
danger of having a car behind with
poor facilities for stopping is growing
less daily. General use Of rear-view
mirrors and greater familiarity with
makes Of cars also are helping the
driver to know when he is being fol-
lowed closely by a car with poor
brakes.
Another factor in safety as related
to brakes is the fact that the double
standard of stopping has been render
ed harmless by reason of the stimuli
ianeOus double standard of speed.
Drivers who now so fastest on the
highways are at the wheels of cars
with the best brakes. The man who
is driving fastest is usually ahead
If he stops suddenly, the man behind
with poorer brakes has the advantage
of less speed to kill. In the event the
speedy driver is forced to stop quickly
in order to avoid hitting a car he has
overtaken and that stops suddenly, he
has his super-brakes to help him avoid
Il collision.
What is to prevent drivers with
poor brakes from driving as fast as
those driving cars with improved
brakes?' asks the conscientious mo-
torist.
The answer here lies in the mechan.
ism of the car rather than in the yo-
lition of the driver. In a majority of