Evening star., 1930-12-07
Milady's Motoring

II you don't believe all you hear, bet
ter not try TO drive over railroad
crossings.
How to attract attention If you are
stranded on the road with q balky
engine may or may not be q problem
1t all depends on how reSourceful YOU
are In an emergency. One woman sim
ply removes her hat to uncover a crop
OF gray hair. If that doesn't play on
the sympathies of passing motorists
she donS the hat again, cocks it down
over one ear and lights a cigarette.
The news Of the drowning of woman
and her two companions in q relatively
shallow. stream that parallels a well
travelled parkway Is food for thought
do not happen to know the details
Of the fatality, but 1t suggests the risk
OF driving with some of the cars
doors locked. We are all bit care
less OF this. Why handicap those who
are trying to effect a rescue?
Insurers are calling attention to the
pnfering Of some of the inside acces-
sof1es such as rear-view mirrors with
clocks attached. cigarette holders, spe-
cial driving pillows and the like These
are easily disposed of by thieves who
find no difficulty picking them from
unlocked cars.
And speaking of locking the car, It
has always seemed to me that a woman
especially owes 1t to herself to lock all
the doors whenever parking her car at
night. Perhaps che has it we'll insured
and Is just irresponsible enough not to
worry If it is stolen, but what of her
own safety? What of the possibility
that some one will hide in the tonneau
and hold her UP when she Is on the
way home?
Here's q note for the beginner, al
though 1t came to me from a woman
who Is experienced in driving. It
seems that q friend Of hers was having
trouble in cranking. Each time she
stepped on the starter there was a
groan and then silence. Her experi-
enced friend diagnosed the situation as
being the result of q stuck starter gear
and volunteered to walk to the nearest
garage for help.
When the mechanic looked over the
situation, he found that the beginner
was trying to crank with the car in
gear!
When the accommodating attendant
at the 1lling station rubs OF the out
side Of the windshield, ask him to clean
the inside as well. Much Of the glare
that troubles woman drivers at night is
due to an accumulation Of dust on the
inside Of the glass.
If coasting were legal everywhere
and II it were entirely safe to instruct
drivers in running along without en-
gine power, 1t might be considerably
easier for women to master the rudi-
mentS of operating an automobile. In
aviation, the handling of a motorless
glider often serves as q valuable pre-
lude to genuine flying.
With the car given some momentum,
ana the gears in neutral, driving isn't
much more than handling juniors
miniature automobile. You steer
straight to keep the machine on the
road and apply the brakes to slow it
up. II there are other vehicles IN your
way you either steer around them or
slow down. Like gliding in the air, YOU
are chiefly concerned with keeping
what might be termed balance. You
give no thought to the matter of power,
and find that you can concentrate on
two Of the three fundamentals In driv-
1ng-steering and braking.
!. Applying power, however, introduces
the joker. But 1t Is my belief that If
you have taste Of the other two first
you can learn to feed gas, shift gears
and control the motor much more
easily.
If the instructors car is Of the dual
control type, 1t Is q good plan to have
him give you Q little practice in steer