Evening star., 1927-05-01

eHI, Incfe IS very HltiC XIII
ship between The modern traf-
fic regulations and the old traffic
control systems, and modern ideas
of safety arc far from those that
prevailed in the dawn of motordom.
There is, however, a surprise await
ing the motorist who cares to look
back and find how many important
rules of earlier days have not
changed at all.
Take driving, for instance. While
the operator of the modern automo-
bile can take greater liberties than
formerly, he still meets several re-
strictive factors which are identica1ly
the same as they were 10, IS or 70
years ago. The same sort of pre-
caution is necessary at grade cross
ingS. to cite one instance.
Turning corners presents novel
situation. Modern drivers with their
modern cars have found they can
travel at least 20 miles an hour faster
than they could with safety 20 years
ago. Curves on modern highways
are taken at 80 miles an hour-some-
times at higher speeds. This is be-
cause brakes have been perfected,
roads have been smoothed out,
curves have been widened and
banked and tires afford more trac-
ton But, despite all these changes,
it still is hazardous to make right
turn at an intersection at speed OF
more than 10 miles an hour.
To make a right-angle turn at
more than this speed still forces the
driver to swing over to the far side
of the street, where he is in danger
of striking the curb or colliding with
other vehicles. 1t is true that with
the lowcr-hung cars of the day the
danger OF topping over has been
minimized. but nothing has been
gained in the way of safety, since the
strain simply is transferred to the
tires.
There have been a number of in
stances lately where drivers of cars
with balloon tires have taken chances
on higher speeds for turns at inter
sections. only to discover that the
tires were strained beyond their
anti-skid capacity, with the result
that safety was jeopardized by the
same old-fashioned sort of skidding
which was constant source of
worry in the days of old.
X x y X
A safety advocate, anaIyzing causes
of accidents. reached a conclusion
which should help many drivers
avoid trouble. He simply reminds
the automobile operator that, ire
Spective of four-wheel brakes and
non-skid balloon tires, bumpers and
every known safety device on a mod
ern car, 3,000-pound 1927 model will
do just as much damage when strik-
ing a stone wall or a railroad train
at so miles an hour as 3,000-pound
1910 model would travelling at the
same speed.
There have been some unique COM
pensations which have served to rem
der conditions unchanged for the
motorist, so far as results go. This
IS illustrated i'll the case of the auto
mobile horn. There are some drivers
who feel that they do not need to
sound their horns WREN about to
overtake another car, because, as
they reason, the other fellows en-
gine is so quiet he will hear the en-
gine which is being accelerated for
passing and which naturally makes
more noise
Such drivers overlook the fact
that since the adoption of the closed
type of car it is more difficult for
the other fellow to hear what is COM
ing from behind. Despite the COM
parative silence under the hood,
there often are many other noises
from the chassis which are amplified
by the body of the car acting as a
sort of sounding box.
Putting the situation another way,
it readily is seen that, though there
have been changes, conditions with
regard TO sounding the horn are no
different than they were years ago.
AT one time in the history OF driving
many drivers did not sound their
horns when about to overtake an
other car because they assumed the
other fellow would hear their noisy
engines. They did not figure that
the noise from his engine made any
such acute detection OF the car be-
hind impossible
Now many drivers figure that be-
cause the other fellows engine is so
quiet he will be bound to hear their
motors as they are about to pass,
never realizing that their motors may
be even quieter than his. It all ap-
pears like a considerable amount of
change in motoring, but in the final
analysis it means simply that one
still has to sound the horn for
Safety's sake when about to overtake
another car, changes and major i'm
provementsJo the contrary notwith-
standing.
y y 4 X
Several evidences Of the non
change theory have been brought to
light in the matter of handling the
car and attending to its wants. A
list of the more important ones has
been made and is reproduced, as fol-
lows:
Riding the clutch pedal-keeping
the foot poised on it while driving
still is one Of the most prominent
causes of clutch trouble.
The safest way to stop car on
wet pavements, and the most logical
way to stop under any conditions, is
to apply the brakes while the clutch
still is engaged, pressing the brake
pedal down TO the floor and disen-
gaging the clutch only at the last
minute as a precaution against STALL
ing the motor