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BRITISH MOTOR TRANSPORT,
i
The annals of history and Setion contain many instances of the pioneering work successfully ear ried out in every part of the world by members of the British race, often in lace of trendsallous difficul- ties and against overwhelming. odds. Many stirring tales have
ARE MOTORISTS
FAIR?
OR ARE PEDESTRIANS GREEDY?
"
There are some motorists (fortu- nately, they are in the minority) who regard, pedestrians na a hind rance and a mnace, indeed that really they should
THE HONG KONG DAILY PRESS, WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 1929.
MOTOR NOTES.
ADDITION TO THE CROSS-
LEY RANGE.
Seen wayen round the exploits of the roads at 9; be allowed on made an interesting addition to thei
turn like Captain Cook and David Livingstone and the world has time and time again on thrilled in learning of the intrepid manner which the sons of Britain have won through.
wonder (ays a writer in a London papers how many of those people realise that a large pereen Fage of pedestrians to-day are motorists, although their ears are resting. while many of the rest, wing to their constant use of omni- buses and charabanes, are becoming motor-mizuled.
All of which is leading up to the fact that I was discussing this werk with some motoring friends the
Crossley Motors, Ltd, have just ange of 13.7 h.p. six-cylinder models. This is a "popular" Coachbuilt Saloon very much on the lines of the de Luxe Saloon. Exactly the same outstanding per- formance for which the 15. CrossS- ley Six is justly famous. The only difference, externally, is the fact that steel wheels are hitted in place
MOTORING LAWS.
"ENFORCED IN ARBITRARY MANNER.
ROAD MARKING SYSTEM REQUIRED.
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remarkable nation, writes Admiral We are in some respects a must Sir Reginald Bacon in the Erening
Standard. We are ultra conserva. of the wire, wheels which are auch so that we even pride standard on the de Luxe model.
our failures. Take. ourselves on This "popular" model will be for instance, war. It is our pront finished in Crossley blue or maroon. English leather. There is ample
TWO HANDS ARE NOT ENOUGH!
THE SIGNALLING PROBLEM.
Hand Signalling would meet every requirement of the motorist if he had three hands and if it never grew dark.
It is when you have to steer, wish ate hand, change gear with the other, and at the same time in- diente to the policemar which way you want to go, that you realise that two hands are not enough.
And after dark you realise how futile it is to thrust out a hand which cannot be seen.
.
Again it is often inconvenient to
problem of the pedestrian on conn- celiulcse. The interior is in best boast that we muddls every war at open windows and thruss out hands"; the start, but in the end we pull wet weather it is neither con- through.
There are some who would believe that with the advent of the later centuries this spiriċ of adventure no longer exists, but there is not Incking abundant proof to show that this is by no means the case, v
Something attempted.
sometry rond where there is no feet- thing done is ne descriptive a path. British motto now ca it ever was, Two of my friends said it was and in every avocation there are immaterial whether people walked those who are striking fresh trails with the trattle, i.e., on the left-hand i and reaching heights of achievement side of the road: "is is up to them hitherto undrenmed of. In foriner to keep their eyes open for both times the intrepid adventurer set lines of traffic. But is it really out on a prancing steed, now the up to the unfortunate, pedestrian? no less intrepid pioneer chooses as Can he be expected to knowyol a hismount" the motor vehicle. car overtaking him round a bead
or overtaking another vehicle, and then swerving in to avoid encoming traffic?
British Lorries.,
Among the amenities of civilisa tion Motor Transport hus in a com; paratively sho"; time become of vital necessity. The value of the motor vehicle as an essential factor
the economic and social life and progress of the world in general is constantly being proved.
room for five. Four wide doors. One-piece screen with wide range of adjustment. Floor covered with carpet. Roof ventilator. Drop windows. One-piece front sent with adjustment for leg mom and also an adjustable back for individual requirements,
The interior finish leaves nothing to be desired and the whole job is of the highest quality in every way and in conformity with the usual Crossley practice.
Equipaient includes: headäght reflectors, petrol gauge Dipping on dash, electric horn, carpets, shock absorbers, illuminated instru mens board, luggage carrier, spare wheel with tyre, ete,
It seems to me that the only safe way to walk along a country road is on the extreme right: then one can see all traffic approaching one and be clear of any that is over taking. It has long been the custom to lead horses on that side, and I Despite almost insuperable obean vec nothing against people stacles the British-made car. Iorry i following suit. Now, then, you and passenger carrying vehicle has motoring pedestrians, keep to the wide public desiring a cheaper through its sterling qualities secur-right and made the motorists' task ed a foremost place in the motor a little less hazardous, markets of the world, but perhaps the most convincing proof of the supremacy of British design and workmanship is to be found in the ability of machines to undertake- journey's amongst surroundings, and under conditions for which no
special provision could be made when the vehicles were designed and
manufactured.
After all it is a matter for little congratulation for any motor vehicle to give service where ade- "quate roads exist, but the test comes when vähicles designed for ordniary service are required to undertake excursions into areas where former
y no transport facilities existed or where at the best animal transport formed the only means of com- munication..
i
This rather startling departure on the part of Crossleys is due to the fact that they believe there is quality six and they are determis ed to market a car to fill the bill Cities and the larger, towns pre- without sacrificing any of the sent "far different problem; fortu. nately cases of people being knock-pality for which Crossley ears are
noted. dil down while walking along the
A de Luxe Conchbuilt Saloon pavement are comparatively few, will Le sold alongside the but in every town (especially in the north of England) there is the menace of the dawdler. But until it is made compulsory to cross the road only at certain poials the diffuzure for it. ficulty cannot be overcome.
they
i think one aspect of American traffic conditions would put an end to dawdling-" jay walking call it over there. In America these! people are arrested for dawdling in the road, or crossing streets other than at the appointed places.
Popular" model, and the increas ng demand for this particular car indicates a still more successful
**STILL GOING STRONG.'
Leyland Motors, Ltd.. are well known for their wonderful service system by means of which users of their vehicles can be supplied with new parto at a moment's notice for any type of vehicle.
I have been driving recently in the North, and I have never seen 30 many people wandering aimlessly in It was demonstrated in the War the streets, neither looking nor car-
In the commercial vehicle world that British vehicles could undering what vehicles were coming.
it is generally recognised that such take any difficulties sucessfully, I always crawl through towns, but service means exceptionally long and could be relied upon to go any in places like Burnley, Manchester, life and the universally high second where in face of whatever obstacles Bary, Middlesbrough, Thirsk, Stockt hand value of Leyland vehicles is ton. I had to drive at walking pace, generally attributed to this service No longer can it he urged that and in the first named I had to stop almost as much as to the high British motor vehicles are unsuited than once for men who refused standard set ip manufacturing
to get out of the way until I pulled this connection
might exist."
да
for Oversens requirements, in view
interesting of the proof from every part of the up, and hurled epithets at me when photograph appeared recently in Empire that ordinary standard Tsounded my horn.
one of the motor trade journals of British production vehicles can un It was in Middlesbrough, too, a Leyland machine over 17 years dertake, without any mechanical that a policeman had to take two old with 340,000 miles to its credit, trouble, journeys that in many dawdlers by the arm and push them and still doing its 300 miles per cases have never before been at- on the pavement so that I could week, which is truly a very good tempted.
continue my crawl!
performance.
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i
So it is with the problem of motor truffe True it is that no longer cars, are preceded. by a man with a red fag, but they are still ob structed by the twenty-mile speed limit. Not only is this obstruction wanton it leads to neeidents, and incidentally, to contempt for the
nw of the lard
Let us visit a County Bench. Here you will find 'as many s ferty summanses for exceeding the with and fines of from two to five sweaty-mile speed limit being dealt pounds being inflicted. The court is over, the magistrates depart, and those who live at any distance drive their cars, ar are driven, at any speed From thirty to fifty miles an hour.
Should you ask one of the Jus tices how he can reconcile his conscience to fining people for com mitting the same offence that he commits daily, he will say: "Oh, a But I only drive fast at Places which are not dangerous.
Untested Traps.
חי
venient for the driver nor passengers-especially in saloons.
the
Hand signalling certainly does not meet évery case—motorists need something more, something definite
they need a simple, reliable dire tion indicator, which wit function
the instant and never give cause for complaint,
The B. & S. Everyway Indicator is definite in action, simple' anú durable in construction, and sold
Hong Kong police, who have warn at a price consistent with common sense. It has been approved by the
owners of near-side-drive cars that some form of mechanical signal
must be fitted.
The first essential is to abolish all speed limits, then have
A Road Marking
Board of practical motorists. The Government must of course, be represented on it, also the A.A or R.A.C.. and the County, Council of the particular district in which they may operate.
It should be a committee, say, o six.
How many magistrates take the trouble to drive over the trap and
Haring settled on a system of trae for themselves whether it is marking which wi convey the dangerous at the speeds the police maximum amount of information summon for Very few. When to motorista iz ample time for them tackled they say: "The offence to profit by it, they should then summoned for is exceeding the visit every band and corner in the speed limit, nos dangerous, driv-Kingdom ash with the assistance ing."
of the local County Council mem- To remind them, that they punisher, mark them, and forward to the foz dangerous driving is merely to provoke a shrug of the shoulders. Oh, we are a wonderful nation! The swenty mile speed limit is dicing for us what the Volstead Act is doing for America, namely, on- couraging contempt of the law. Just as ten-guile speed notices teach drivers to regard all road signs, the twenty-mile limit teaches the nation to disregard, its laws.
County Council any recommen-da- tions that they may consider neces- sary to render them as safe as reasonably possible.
The markings of corners and cross roads should be at least three hundred yards each side of the corner. They might well be marked with the maximum safe speed that the average weight car, should ap preach at. This will give all cars
valuable information which will be of use to them
At cross-roads, one road should be selected as the main road, and the other marked with a special caution, making the car using it responsible that the other road was clear before turning into it.
fact of having a legal speed limit This, however, is not all. The prevents a rational system of road marking being adopted. It is im- possible now to mark a corner, say, being safe for the average car a speed of thirty miles an hour,
All dangerous cross-ronde should because to do so would be to en- courage lawbreaking. The net re-have the junction enlarged, and sult, therefore, is that the motorist marked with white curves, and be is left to find out what that speed ni sufficient size for two cars to is by experiment; the result, pass down the centre while a car especially with a corner of increas
is turning into the road from the ing twist, may be extremely un-
side. There would, of course, be satisfactory.
other markings which it is needless here to go into.
What is really wanted, is a system of road marking which will give to a motorist the information he re- quires, and which he will have saffcient confidence in to pay at tention to and profit by.
“Cutting-in" will always be a danger.
The Wobbling Driver..
One of the curses of the road is
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BOAT.
The following extracts are from
& letter received by the Albion
Motor Car Co. from Mr. Roy Cortez Island P.O., Morris, of British Columbia.
the timid driver who wobbles and FROM LORRY TO MOTOR-- I have driven a good deal in continually grouses after a drive. Scotland and passed through a To him, every one who passes his large number of villages with the car is a “ road hog," and every ten-mile speed limit. In hardly one who passes him with a car in any case would a speed of twenty sight ahead is guilty of cutting- miles be dangerous at any part of in." It is the feeble, nervous the village. The result was that I driver that makes reports of dan pasaed no motor vehicle which was gerous driving by drivers of other going less than twenty miles as cars always a matter of doubt to a hour, very few less than twenty-five Bench. miles per hour and some going thirty and over. The motor buses.. which presumably passed through daily all were going at a speed close on twenty-five miles per hour.
Maximum Safe Speeds. Obviously no attention was being paid to the enforcement of the limit. Why, then, have it?
The Home Secretary has said that the objection to abolishing the twenty mile peed limit is that motorists would feel themselves at liberty to run at any speed they liked. This statement shows that this usually alert Minister is entire
y out of touch with motoring. There are only four speeds for the motorist.
(1) A caution speed of anything from twenty miles, down to stop ped, according to the traffic and dangerous nature of the locality.
(2) A country lane and cross-road speed. This speed should not ex yeed that at which the car can be brought up within the distance that the road can be seen ahead; or, in the case of cross-roade, the distance along the crossroads that can be
seen.
.
་
LI
A word as regards penalties.
A report by a driver of repute of cutting-in" should be good mat ter for a fine. But the inherent dis- like of Englishmen to peach will lead to very few of such reports.
Corners should be watched, and any car driving over the white line should, without the slightest doubt, be fined. This is much better than any arbitrary speed limit.
Every summons should be for dangerous driving, and the magni- tude of the offence should govern the penalty. Suspension of licences for bad or careless driving, say, for periods of three months or 80, and ratil the offender has obtained
certificate from
"I have a 18 h.p. Albion engine, No. 108D, installed in ☐ 32-ft. gill-netting salmon trolling and general work boat. The success of its performance is unequalled event by, the best of marine engines on this coast..
A
Anyone living on this cont
a good boat, needs besides reliable engine, which I bave found in the Albion, even under marine conditions. There was a good deal" of scoffing from many at first, but this, as time goes on has given place to open praise, and new uses are being found for supposedly worn-out Albiona.
There are several features which are outstanding and specially adap- table to marine uses, namely, strong recognized and heavily built timing gears (a School or garage that he has been fault with most engines); perfect instructed, "examined and passed, oiling system, (another fault with should do. away with mud bad 00 per cent. of meat engines); no driving, and at the same time, chance of water getting into the weed out, the blind, deaf and con-cylinders in case of gasket blowing stitutionally incompetent
through (a general failing with
Where should I be able to get minor parts should, the occasion occur? How old is my engine?
We have & Minister of Transport most marine engines out here); who possesses the quality, rare compact, yet excellent material; among Government administrators, well balanced inferanks, will slow of common acase. Now is the time down to trolling speed and pick up for him to develop another great instantaneously. In fact, if I was quality that of imagination. If getting another engine to-morrow, he will only grasp this nettle firm it would be the Albion. ly, abolish speed limita, institute an advisory Road Marking Board, (3) A spoed at corners at which and put road marking on a proper the ear can comfortably be kept basis, not only will be reduce ac The fact that the engine referred between the white line and the kerb. cidents, but, incidentally, be will to was fitted to a 1910 Albion 25- (4) Any speed along a straight earn the gratitude of hundreds of ewt chassis, shipped to Vancouver road that does not overdrive the thousands of motorists, strengthen is further remarkable proof of the the law-abiding instincts of the high quality of Albion products. community, and, in addition, at The Albion Company are, of course, tain the main object of four-fifths in a position to supply, spare parts of our annual egislation, namely for the engine in question, as it the bringing in of a good erop of is their policy to maintain a spare votes to the Unionist Party at the parts service for even their oldest General Election.
ear.
Now, assuming these speeds, how can the motorist be helped? For it is by helping the motorist, and not by fining him, that accidents will be reduced.
(Continued on next Oplumn).
vehicles.
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THEATRE.
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At 9.15 p.m.”
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DIRECT FROM MILAN
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