Evening star., 1936-01-05
Speed and Brakes
of Automobiles
By Frederic J. Haskin.

i ~ - - AAuSH"ss /
When, recently, President Roosevelt
voiced the idea that it may be necessary,
by legislative enactment, to limit the
speed Of automobiles at the source, he
reflected the thought Of great many
Americans. In spite Of stringent traf-
fic regulations and Of increasing efforts
at enforcement, the automobile death
rate continues distressingly high, and,
while other elements often enter, speed
seems to be an outstanding reason.
The idea expressed by the President
is that any factory producing an auto
mobile capable Of exceeding a h4ed
speed limit shall be denied the right to
sell such a car in interstate commerce,
and, perhaps, penalized for its action.
This is what is meant by stopping speed
at the source. Nearly every one is ia
niliar with the statement of Speeders
which has passed into joke, the state
ment made to the arresting officer that
this car cannot make the pace you
claim" Stopping speed at the source
would make such usually unsound state
mentS true in fact.
On Thursday before Christmas Sem
ator Schall of Minnesota was struck
down by an automobile on the outskirts
of Washington and injured so severely
that he died the following Sunday. SEN
ator Schall was blind and was being
guided by a clerk from his office. The
clerk, too, was taken to the hospital with
painful injuries. In this, as in SO many
other accidents. it was observed that the
thoroughfare on which these persons
fell was thronged with speeding auto
mobiles.
The suggestion has been made that
pressure be brought to bear upon auto
mobile manufacturers to stop streSsing
speed in their advertising OF course.
it is true that great many people seek
to attain high speeds. regardless Of
everything because there seems to be
some latent instinct for speed in man
kind. The American is said to be espe-
cially prone to see how fast he can go.
But it also has been pointed out that the
suggestion of high speed is constantly
being impressed upon the American pub
lie by automobile advertising. Display
announcements, radio broadcasts. every
advertising means is used to tell John
American that some particular car will
go just little faster than any other.
AS they all say practically the same
thing. there develops the mass sugges-
ton that speed is the thing.
r X ~
Not only do the automobile manufac-
turers stress speed in this manner, but
the motor fuel companies do the same
thing. There seems to be a sort of con-
Spiracy among all branches of the motor
and motor fuel industry to emphasize
the idea Of speed. One fuel company
capitalizes on the tearing speed Of fire
engines, which every one knows travel
at a pace no one else is supposed to
strike Another talks about pickup.
the celerity with which a car propelled
by a given fuel can leap at pedestrian
or another car. Each company tries to
outdo all others with the speed mania
permeating the whole fabric.
It is not any wonder that so man
Americans are obsesSed with the idea O.
speed. Americans are noted for bein@
influenced by their public prints. When
large advertisements in brilliant color3
and seductive language urge speed, the
ouieter admonitions Of the editorial
pages and of the tragedies recorded in
the news columns are not calculated to
have much effect. The more elaborate
appeal is to drive like the wind: the less
elaborate is to drive carefully. This
struggle Of propaganda is somewhat un-
equal and it is little wonder that the ia
talities continue in appalling numbers.
Much advertising has been devoted to
brakes, and there Is no doubt that mod
ern American automobile brakes repre-
sent a triumph in engineering. but in
view of the speed fatalities, an incom-
plete triumph George L. Smith, an au-
tomotive engineer of the National Capt.
tai. has made a study Of the brake situa-
tion in relation to speed fatalities and IS
far from being content.
He points out that 10 years ago the
usual stock passenger automobile sold
to the general public rarely had speed
capacity in excess of so miles an hour.
That. of course, is high rate OF speed,
and the great weight of a motor car,
striking at such speed, creates an i'm
pact which is bound to cause severe re-
suits. But Mr.. Smith asserts that while
today the speed of stock motor cars has
been stepped up to 70 miles an hour,
there has not been comparable advance
in braking power The destructive power
of a car going 10 miles an hour is almost
twice that of the same car going so
miles.
Some years ago very high-powered and
fast cars were built for and sold to only
racing drivers who confined their speed
ing to speedways or, in case Of speed
trials on open roads, to roads usually
especially protected for the occasion.
Now fast cars, cars as fast as the racing
cars used to be, are in the hands Of sew
eral million persons. and, Mr.. Smith
AYERS, the average intelligence and skill
of the driver is, to say the least, not
high"
As an engineer Mr.. Smith points out
that, in abstract theory, the most power
ful braking system would be one which
would lock all wheels simultaneously.
He adds, however, in contrast to the most
powerful system, that the safest system
would be one which exerted a retarding
force on the road surface automatically
balanced. The most reliable system
would include automatic adjustment to
maintain the proper clearance at all
times.
The powerful system which would lock
all wheels might cause injury to passen-
gers by creating stops too sudden; in
deed in many cases, with present-day
brakes, injuries are caused by sudden
stops.
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