Evening star., 1927-09-18
Getting Out of Danger.

Smith had been reading about a
tragedy at railroad crossing when l
happened to come along and began
talking with him about subject that
is much too seldom discussed. Few
automobile drivers know that there are
certain things which can be done in a
pinch and that knowing these largely
is a matter of being a little better
acquainted with the general principles
of the automobile.
"Those people could have removed
the car to safety and saved their lives
had they used the self to pull
the car out of danger instead of try
ing to recrank the engine with it" L
suggested. whenever an engine
stalls in a hazardous position, the
first thing to do is to move the car
to a place of safety. So long as there
is a battery in the car and it is fairly
we'll charged, driver should have
no trouble in doing this, the process
being merely a matter of placing the
on the starter.
IF there is danger approaching ]
would strongly recommend placing
the gears in high, since in this com:
bination the starter and battery will
impart to the car the greatest amount
of speed. In high gear. however, there
is greater strain on battery, starter
and fywheel.
Time to Use Reverse.
There may be times when the start.
er may not seem equal to pulling the
car, as for instance If it must be moved
tnt
would be to use the reverse, since that
is the lowest gear combination and the
one which gives the battery and start
er motor. the greatest amount Of me.
chanical advantage.
Many cars have been wrecked and
their drivers seriously injured by rea.
son of losing control going downhill.
Not everybody win remember to drop
into second gear when descending par
ticularly steep hills. This, of course.
often is a matter of carelessness. But
there Is no reason why YOU or any
other driver should feel helpless going
downhill in high gear If the brakes
refuse to hold"
Smith was rather surprised at this.
particularly when / told him that I
did not mean that the driver could
depend on his emergency brake.
Emergency brakes may not be in very
good condition. Smith always had fig
ured that if the car got going of its
own free will and the brakes failed,
there was absolutely nothing to do but
trust to luck and steer as intelligently
as possible.
Now he was to learn that even with.
out conventional brakes every driver
has at his disposal one of the most
powerful brakes ever devised for a
car, but one which requires so much
skill in handling that it is often use.
less to the average person at the
wheel. I was referring, Of course, to
the engine.
Making Shift to Second.
eff you are in high gear" told him,
cit is possible to shift to second even
ii the car is gaining headwaY. This
should be done quickly and as soon as
there is any suggestion that the car is
running away or that the brakes have
failed. Simply push out the clutch and
slip the gears to neutral. Then let in
the clutch for q brief instant and
race the motor. Again press out the
clutch and push the gear shift lever
through to second Then let In the
clutch again so that the engine is
coupled with the car. 1t sounds com.
plicated when you try to tell it, but il
YOU will practice it little, you will
find it very simple. In fact. you can
do it in less time than l would take to
tell it.
Now the instant you are in second
gear, and take your foot off the gas
the engine starts to act as an efficient
brake. Ii the car has been Slipping
along at more than 25 miles an hour
it will keep from accelerating to any
higher speed. / am talking Of average
steep hills, of course, and not of un
usually steep descents. Once you are
in second gear. you are ready for
dropping back to low, This is an even
more difficult job, but it can and should
be done in an emergency. Even if you
fail, and jam the gears, you will be
making headway.
ITO shift to low, you simply repeat