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GROWTH OF MOTOR
TRAFFIC
BRITAIN'S CROWDED "ROADS-COMPOSITION OF THE TRANS. PORT ADVISORY COUNCIL-REAR" LIGHTING OF
CARS AND
TYRES SAFE—A MISSING NUMBER-
CYCLES-MAKING SMOOTH ' NEW MOTURING CONUNDRUM
In the course of a speech in the House of Commons recently, Cap- tain G.. S. H. Watts, members for Keighley, stated that Britishi roads. were more, crowded than those of any country in the world, consi- dering the number of vehicles in use in relation to road mileage. In France, it was calculated, there are only 3.9 motor vehicles per mile of "road, in Germany there are 8.3, and in the United States 8.8 per mille, while in this country we have no fewer than 13 motor Vehicles per mile of road.
If the foregoing be correct it is rather surprising, for one has al- ways believed-of late years, at all events-that American roads were the most congested
Possibly this misapprehension has been due is the fact that ob-
in "servations developed areas s.one have been used as a basis of opinion in regard to American, traffic conditions, whereas the number of vehicles per mile quot- ed above tɗfies account, presüm- ably, of the immense mileage in U. S. A that consists mainly of dirt tracks as distinct from
metalled highways.
Traffic Advisory Counell
Some dissatisfaction has been expressed at the composition of the Transport Advisory Council. Sir James Adam, as a vice-presi- dent of the Royal Scottish Auto- mobile Club, is the only direct re- presentative of the private mo- torist against four members in- terested in road transport, but even this five are, in very much of a minority compared with repre- sentatives of other transport 10- terests.
ņ
It may be argued that this Council. Is more concerned with goods
and passenger transport than private motoring, but private transport as represented by the private car cannot be altogether excluded, and it would seem to deserve more than the single re- presentative allotted. which is the
sime
as the representation ac- corded to pedestrains and cyclists whose interests, while deserving of recognition, are not quite par- allel.
11
The "co-ordination of transport is not the same problem as that of road safety. but the interests of the car owner need to be guard- ed in the former no less than the latter. Even the road transport interests are not quite those of the motorist who views with al- arm the various suggestions made from time to time for the" restric-`' tions of cor, use for the be neft of heavier transport.
As regards the balance of road and rail interests, the representa- tion of the former would seem very much stronger and more cap- able than in the case of the comm- mittee which produced the un- fortunate Salter Réport.
Rear Lights
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The rear lighting of both cars and cycles is receiving consider- able attention those days. In the case of the motor vehicle the lighting of the rear number plate is of more unportance than the red warning and in view of the. keenness of the police in this matter it is strange that makers have not provided us with some form of rear-light indicator.
"
It would only be necessary `to wire the dashboard Ught in series with the rear lamp to provide an indication to the driver whether
this tail light, was in order.
As regards the bicycle, there is an increasing demand for a rear lamp instead of a reflex light:" Many are not convinced that this is really necessary, but if the change is enforced by law, then cyclists will have themselves to blame to a large extent."
Many apparenly do not ascer tain whether their reflex Ught is falling its purpose, and an ap- -preciable proportion of such lights are either inefficient in themsel ves or imporperly atted Certain- ly all do not give adequate warn- ing and some none at all.
Given a good reflex properly fit:ed.
more and it is probably effective than a lamp, which in- volves some trouble to keep in proper condition and which could easily go out without the rider. knowing. Those motorists whose experience goes back to rear oil lamps will recall what a nuisance they could be at times, and would hesitate to inflict them cyclists.
прод
It might be suggested, however, that those cyclists who are now using electric head-lights should realise that it is an offence, and also a grave risk to switch them on, only, when they need the light or they are meeting another vehi- cle.
Making Tyres Safe'
The need for some method of making smooth treads safe so that advantage might be taken. of the life left in the tyre seeins to have been very efficiently met by the Fneugrippa process intro- duced by Tecalemit, Ltd.
This consists of a series of shal- low crosscuts around the tread to produce which a special machine has been designed which com- pletes the process very quickly and cheaply. At the London and Parts service stations of Fecalemit. Ltd.. this treatment is in great demand and the first machine has now been installed in Scot- land.
This is at the garage of James Henderson, Ltd., Cambridge Street, Glasgow, one of the oldest hiring concerns in the country, who at their premises here have installed much modern service plans,
Although the process la obvious- ly excellent for tyres from which the tread pattern is worn, many owners are having their new tyres treated also, and I hear of some cars notoriously addicted to skidd- ing, which have been quite chang- ed in character by the process.
The commonest criticism is that there can be no protection from side-slip with a series of cross cuts.
Side-slips, however, occur while the car is moving forward, hence the resultant, side-slip really re- presents an angle, and one has only to rub a finger across the tread cuts at a slight angle to realise, the resistance offered.
The cost varies from 3 to 4s per tyre according to power of car, and as the average tyre still has several thousands of miles of use- " ful life left after the tread patt- ern is worn off. this Pneugrippa process offers a practical and safe
(Continued on Page 3).
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MOTOR SUPPLEMENT
WHEN YOU BUY MOTORING AND MOTORS
A NEW CAR
Run It Hard And ·
Not Gently
The old klea that when you buy A new car you should be care- ful to run it in" gently appears to be wrong,
Millions of motorists have tun the engines of new cars slowly But three while warming up." years tests have shown that takes place "when greater wear cold engines are idling" than when they are
run briskly to warm up
The research has been carried out by the Institution of Automo- bile Engineers, in collaboration with one of the largest motor manufacturing concerns.
This moto: company will. from this week onwards, revise all the precautionary labels on new cars sent from the works.
Mr. F. A., L. Wright, an official of Vauxhall Motors, Ltd., sald to
"Sunday. Express" representa- tlva: "The results of these ex- haustive tests will come as a sur- prise to most motorists, but we are convinced that the old 'go- slow method for the first 500 miles covered by a new car is entirely wrong."
FIRST 500 MILES
Investigations, he said, have revealed that:-.
The greatest wear on moving parts takes place before the engine is thoroughly warmed up.
Slow engine running takes a Lone time to warm up an englue stid with cold:
Oll, when cold, is sluggish in passing through tight bearings and "reaching the cylinders;
This causes unfair wear and ⚫ strain,
and abrasions take
place. Present-day lubricants eliminate the necessity for slow starting: therefore the engine should be run briskly to warm it up.
"Motorists should not fear. to drive away almost immediately after starting up," Mr. Wright
said.
The maximum speeds, in top gear, for the Arst five hundred miles, should be:-
First 300 miles 35 mph. Next 100 miles 45 m.p.h. Next 100 miles 55 m.p.h. "Never attempt high speed in low gears during this period.
"These ideas have been formu- lated after road tests totalling 24.000 miles."
In Lighter Vein
MONEY'S WORTH
A Cockney riding on.
a bus tendered sixpence for 2 five- penny-halfpenny fare. but the conductor "could not give him his halfpenny change at the time..
As the journey went on and still no · ha'penny WAS forth- coming, he started to mutter and grumbla about it. At last one of his pals turned round and said: "Never mind. BII, kick his bus as you get orf.”....
BANDITS
A London policeman was lead- ing two very tiny tots, each about. three years of age and both obviously lost. towards an' East End police-station. One of the: kiddies held, his hand, while the other held on to her tiny com- panion. The three made their way slowly along the pavement.
Noticing my look of interest as I passed on the opposite side of the narrow road, the bobby jerked his free hand towards his dimi- nutive charges, and called out to.. me: "Pinched a motor-lorry!"
POINTED
About a week ago I was travel- ling on the upper deck of a bus from Woolwich to Eltham one of the other passengers was fan Army sergeant-major who Was wearing his sword,
The conductor came 10 to collect fares, and, noting the sword, remarked "Hello. major, what are we, op-winkles for tea.!!
PERSONAL
Mr. A. F. Bidgreaves, managing
Official Brake Tests Needed
By J. P."
The Arst fine days of the year, when there was neither fog nor frost, cold winds nor driving rain, were a sharp reminder to experienced drivers of the annus crop of difficulties before them.
sudden the numbers of cars out over the week-end and in the late
increased by afternoons thousands, and where but a week before the dangerous driver pro- blem had only a shadowy exis- tence, there were signs in plenty that before the month is out we shall once more be driving, near towns, in constant ill-ease, grimly aware that with certain types of driver on the road safety les only in being able to see all round us at the same instant-
It is not that the standard .of driving is getting worse. On the contrary, believe it to be impro- ing-slowly, if you like, but un- mistakably. When you get an un- usually lengthy series of shocks and scares owing to ignorant or stup- id behaviour it can fairly be put down to the fact that every year
brings us more new drivers, and that it is just about now that they make their first appearance In full force. It does not mean that the average..driver is worse than he was. Even if the general level of drivng is not improving, the proportion of dangerous drivers is certainly decreasing. None the less, the tale of fatal accidents reads as grimly, as ever and the need for educating the novice public in their duty as road-users grows dally more acute..
Highway Code "Pass." Excellent work is done in this direction by the booklets Issued by the National Safety First As
sociation and by the Highway Code. a common with most peo- "ple who have a fairly long experi- ence of motoring at home and abroad, I have the greatest possi- ble objection to any attempt to enforce decent behaviour by law. partly because it is nearly always futile, partly because it brings the law tato contempt; but I would certainly like to see the issue of driving Licences depend upon the appli- cant's success in passing an ex- amination in either or both of these pamphlets. If a.." pass V did not actually teach every ap plicant how to behave on the road so that they instinetively put the rules into practice, the mere fact that they had got them par- rotwise would be of considerable help to magistrates in distinguish- ing between the temporarily un- lucky driver and the driver who ought to have his licence cancell- ed.
as
use
Sonner or later we shall get some such procedure adopted, but in the meantime there are several ways in which conditions could be improved. At present we have no offical brake-test, which is one of the first essentials of safety on roads BL5 crowded ours. Every Car should be compelled by law to report at regular intervals for the purpose of having the efficiency and condition of its brakes veilfed. For, general con- venience this might be done on a specified date, such as the first, of the month. On its being pass- ed as sale the owner of the car would be given a slip to paste in a prominent position on his wind- screen with a distinctive colours for each month. A heavy the would be imposed for driving without a brake-licencé.
A Useful Gauge,"
In this connection "I am glad to draw attention to an excellent gadget recently sent to me for trail by Ferodo, Ltd., the makers of brake-lininga. It is an efficiency- indicator a neat instrument 21 rhesing by 11 inches wide, clamped in any convenient place on the dash. It has three win- dows in which appear signals de- noting the condition of the car's brakes. K your car stops dead in twenty-seven feet from a speed of twenty miles an hour, the green or "good" signal comes up in the right-hand window; if it stops. in forty-five feet, the orange "or "safe" - signal comes up in the centre window; and if it stops in sixty-seven feet the red, or dan- gerous,"" signal shows in the left- -hand window... It is an admirable of what you can expect of your brakes in an emergency. It is well
director of Bentley Motors, Ltd,worth the 18s. 6d. charged for it.
states that Capt. Woolf Barnato, the famous racing motorist, has been elected a director of the company. Capt;" Barnato · was chairman of the old Bentley Company, and was a member of the great team which made the Bentley name famous, but Mr. Sidgreaves is careful to point out that the appointment does not indicate any change in the known policy" of the company, not to engage in motor racing.
I belleve that much of the risky driving from which we suffer is due to the lack of a sealed patterri horn. The infinite variety and, particularly, the infinite offen- siveness of some of the newest types of electric buzzers combine. to produce. dangerous conditions. They lead to the trick known as -"driving on, the horn,” which is nearly as deadly as “driving on the brakes." The driver knows that the buzzer has a carry of
several hundred yards, and that only the stone-deaf can fall to be aggressively startled into a state that in iselt is a factor of danger, that of acute nervousness, and, in nine cases out or ten, quite innocent" of caddish intention, he trades on. It. With him, it is a case of safety first. He regrets having to make auch a disgusting noise, but he would rather do that than run an avoidable risk.
A. Noise Standard.
1:
MANCHUKUO MOTOR INDUSTRY
Japanese Manufacturers to be the Backbone
Convinced of the advisability of co-operation between Manchukuo and Japan in the motor car, in- dustry. not only from the econo- mic point of view, but from the standpoint of national defence, a special committee of oficial and private leaders of the two coun- tries was appointed fast autumn. This committee, headed by Mr. Chang, the Manchukuo Commerce. Minister, has ́ since, elaborated a plan featuring the establishment
of a joint stock company.
ردگیر
the Tobat Imono, the Nippon: Sharyo and the Nippon Jidosha.
2-Its authorised capital-will be Y6,200,000; Y200,000 subscribed by the Manchukuo Covernment, X2,-- 900,000 by the B.M.R. Company and Y3,100,000 by the seven Japa- nese companies.
3--The Company is to have its head offices and works in Mukden, on the site formerly occupied by the Mukden Arsenal.
1s
The Dowa Motor Company is to make assembling, repairing and sales its main business for the present. Parts for assembling The new company, called the
are to be supplied by the above Dowa Motor Company will be
seven Japanese motor car manu- formally established on the 27th
facturers. Standard designs and! "Instant. The following is the gist
patterns for trucks and bus of the plan, released by the Japa-
chassis are to be established. It nese Government:-
hoped that the Company 1-The Dowa Motor Company "wik later expand its activity to will be a special Manchukuo cor- passenger cars. For smooth- poration controlled by the Man-working between the Company" chukuo.Government. It will be and Japanese manufacturers, subscribed to by the Manchukuo Government, the South Man- churia Rallway Company and facturers viz. the Mitsubishi, the seven Japanese motor car manu-
Kawasaki Sharyo, the Tokyo Gasu-Denkl, the Jidosha Kogyo,
I should like to see a standard of noise-volume imposed on all cars as is being done in France. and that standard low enough to make it dangerous for a driver to overake "another" car or pass erass-roads at high speed. It would be agreeable to have a seal- ed pattern note, thereby ruling" out the more strident and nerve- wracking noises, but I suppose it would amount; in towris, to the same thing as allowing no horns to be used at all. In trade it I would soon become unnoticed. I should re to see the bulb-horn adopted as the official hooter, for the comparative gentleness of its tone, but Lsuppose it would be ean- fer (and cheaper for the maker) to Hit the power of the electric horn, as it was at one time pro- posed to limit the voltage of lamp- bulbs. A low toned, weak signal would be a most efficient deter- rent to the incorrigible road-hog. whether in" town or country.
Finally, for the moment I should like to see a standard size of driving mirror imposed, standard position for it, and a standard size of rear window. Quite half the mirrors provided in the cars I regularly try for The Observer are nearly useless on crowded roads. either because they are too small or because they are wrongly placed, or because the rear-window is too small. A 1934 driver should be able to see as much of the road behind him as in front of him. Proper rear-" vision would, incidentally, help to render the long-distance hooter superfluous.
В
יך
*
.co-operative sales guild máy be
established.
General Tanida will be ap pointed president of the Dowa Motor Company. The Board of Directors will embrace Japanese and Manchukuo representatives.
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