The Washington times., 1928-12-05


not universally true but, they
stances to make it definitely :
Furthermore, there seems to be
sufficient evidence to prove, It is
said. that the latest car is as safe
In the hands of the inexperienced as
the earlier cars were in the hands
Of experts.
Much effort has been expended BY
psychologists and statisticians to pop
ularize the theory that the operation
Of meteor cars would be limited to
people of quick action and accurate
Judgment, and many who have been
most enthusiastic and openminded
over the future of the automobile
have shared this view. But, true tC
ats nature. the automobile has again
upset precedent.
NIinimizes Skill
Everything in the way Of contTol
of motor cars is approaching the
point Of being automatic, q process s,s
which minin1izes the degree OF skin
needed to operate a car properly ana
safely. In addition, the highways are
being made safer, not merely Tor IN
creased motor travel, but for the IN
exnerienced driver as well. This is
graphically Illustrated in the case OF
the highways in their relations 70
skill in steering q car.
Time was when steering was not
only difficult because of mechanical
shortcomings in design, but also
because roads were so narrow thal
it required the ability of an expert
to pass another car and not go INTO
the ditch. The driver had to be skill
full enough to overcome the disad-
vantages of crude steering appa-
ratus and awkwardly controlled car
as well as the narrowness and treach-
erousness Of the average road.
Contrast this with conditions that
are becoming universal today. Even
the cheapest cars can be steered
accurately and with very little
physical and mental effort The
poker pcsS plants are SO flexible, and
the controls so easy to operate.
that the driver can successfully
extricafe himself from a trying
situation for the simple reason that
he has little but the matter Of
steering to consider.
Hard to Ditch Car
Furthermore. when he passes an.
other car on a modern highway,
or overtakes one, there can be a
considerable error in his steering
without in any way producing
disastrous results. The possibility
of being ditehed Is virtually elifn1-
mated on all trunk lines, while the
banking Of highways at curves and
the greater visibility at turns elm.
mate hazard after hazard. A driver
can get along satisfactorily even
though he is unskillful.
Al large proportion of the cars
on the market today can be oper
ated exclusively in high gear. even
under some Of the most difficult
circumstances. That the practice
OF this sort of thing would run up
repair bills does not enter into the
subject. The point is that mex
perience Is becoming less and less
an obstacle to the actual work of
driving a car. and therefore must
of necessity be of less importance
in considerations OF safety.
Just because a motorist is a dub
with the gears is no reason to as
sumo that he is unsafe on the
road. for the facts show that he
can get along without knowing
ne Se9 aa
1t was once contended that even
If driver did not need to know
how to shift gears successfully for
ordinary driving, he was to be con.
sidered a menace, because he would
be unsafe trying to shift into second
gear when descending steep hills.
The situation, however, has been so
radically changed that with most
cars braking power is so excessive
that the services of the engine and
gears are not essential to insure
safety. and in one case new
transmission development makes it
possible for anyone to drop into a
lower gear easily and at any speed.
Brakes That Work
1t is not many years ago when
an experienced driver would h :
difficulty stopping his car il another
driver suddenly darted across his
path from side street without
sounding a horn warning. That
was because there was so much
effort required to stop a car to
avoid skidding and to warn the
man behind that the driver had
little surplus attention to direct to
details of his problem. Now he has
so little to do in the way of oper-
ating his car that he can have any
driver endanger him and yet avoid
trouble with but slight effort.
Brakes take hold positively, and.
because the car is balanced. the
tire sections wide. and the brake
bands uniformly operated, there is
no skidding. Even the man behind
gets his cue to stop automatically.
To the conscientious motorists Of