Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-12-14

intent to pounce upon and seize any
metallic object from the payements ii
The magnettzed jaws of the machine
these machines keep the streets clean
put there are none Of them in Wash
lngton. To the street cleaners, the Pc.
lice Department and the street clean.
ing agencies Of the Three AS" falls
the task OF keeping the pavement free
OF metallic objects so your car and mine
may go on and on without puncture.
Not many people are aware of the
work done along this line by the Amer
lean Automobile Association. But the
fact is that their agencies are con-
Stantiy at work, day and night, TO keer
the streets free Of puncture producing
objects OF all kinds. Scattered through
out the city and nearby points are
scores of official "a A. A." garages
which are authorized by the American
Automobile Association to represent
1t In cases Of tire puncture, acct
dents. gas failure, engine failure, or
what have you.
Operators Of these official garages are
instructed to remove glass, nails and SO
1orth from the streets whenever they
see 1t, and 1t is also understood that
they are TO remove all glass and debris
resulting from wrecks where they rem
der emergency road service. This puts
quite dent in the volume of puncture
producing material left on the high
ways.
Service for All.
But in addition to this service any
citizen, whether or not he is q member
Of the Three AS" is at liberty to call
the association, asking for the removal
CT litter from the streets. How far such
service goes Is shown by the fact that
Tor the first 10 months Of the year
garages of the American Automobile
Association responded to 3l2 such calls.
When November am December calls are
tota,ed the total for the year will
probably run over 400 such errands of
mercy for ailing tires. SO that you and
your neighbor are indebted to the
American Automobile Association for
the pIncture you missed. March
marked the high spot in calls from
citizens for removal of litter from the
streets, with 40 such requests The
number runs steadily along month after
month. averaging somewhere between
IS and IS.
Have you ever pondered on why there
are so many rear-wheel punctureS? The
scientists tell us 1t occurs something
like this: Picture a tire iron or nail
lying on the smooth pavement. Along
comes the front tire running at some
speed, with some suction. 1t turns over
the nall or screw, or broken spring
or what not; leaves 1t sticking upright
Tor moment, and then comes the
rear tire, running along smoothly to
meet this perpendicular object, and the
rear tire, being a soft-hearted chap,
takes the nail or whatever it is right
to its bosom. The reSult-a rear-tire
puncture, and sometimes a blowout
Almost anything that is hard enough
and contrary enough can cause a pune
ture, and If the object is big enough to
tear a hole in the casing it can ruin
the tire completely. Old tires respond
more feelingly TO the cares of pune
ture producing objects, while new cas-
ings with tough treads frequently take
the object in stride and toss it off with
disdain. But nearly all tires, old and
new. can be punctured, and the ubiuui-
tous nail is more often than not the
aggreSsor.
The only way TO avoid them-and
that is not so goods to keep a weather
eye on the roadway. And that Is hard
to do at any speed. The best way is
to have the streets kept clear of any,
thing that might cause a puncture.
And that is also hard to do. But it can
be done.