1926-07-21 — Page 8

THE HONGKONG DAILY PRESS, WEDNESDAY, JULY 1st, 1928

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SOCONY

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Motoring Notes:

A Weekly

Review dealing with matters of interest to all local motorists. Causes of Accidents-The Storm and the

[BY AN OWNER-DRIVER.]

THE DAMAGED-ROADS.

It will be some time before motor-cars will be able to move about the Colony freely, although some of the older roads stood the effect of the torrential down pour much better than might have been expected.

On Monday evening it was possible to motor from the central districts out to Repulse Bay. As the water cut o from many houses no doubt motorists will appreciate bathing at Répuise Day more than usual during the next few days.

Various estimates, or guesses, have been made about the time that will elapse before Stubbs Road is again open to motor traffic. "They say it will take at least one week, but it may be longer.

It is inevitable that these landslides will take place on new roads. The dis integrated granite behaves in a manner that cannot be foreseen.

Even if it were possible to build local roads that could be guaranteed to be free from the effect of landslides-it. would be an expensive guarantee the

Koads.

It is a good rule that a new car should not be driven at a speed exceeding twenty-dve miles an hour for the first district during, or soon aftery very heavy 500 miles. That is to ensure the smooth -rains-

running of the working parts. ⠀

One of the engineers, of the P.W.D. estimated that the boulder contained about 72,000 cubic feet of granito. He anid that the dimensions of it are (roughly) 60 feet by 40 feet by 30 feet.

10 pounds. If the above dimensions are A cubic foot of granite weighs about

correct the weight of the boulder is more than 8,000 tons."

Assuming that the engineer had grest- over-estimated the dimensions of the boulder it lies like a huge pebble in its present position-it must certainly be more than 2,000 tons in weight.

It finally fell on to the concrete founda tion of the engine bed, completely smash- ing the large engine that was used for pumping water up to the Peak

That concrete engine bed was just about the right sort of stuff for the boulder to fall on; moving at the speed it had gained during its wild rush down the hill-side. It hit with terrific force.

THE EFFECT OF RAIN,

It is a good rule for new drivers not to exceed a speed of twenty-five miles an hour for the first three thousand miles. Of course, that is a counsel of perfection that no new driver will ever

heed.

The inexperienced driver likes to step on the gas" and the exhilaration of moving fast is a great temptation,

SUDDEN OBSTACLES. Carelessness is the cause of many ac. cidents. The good driver is one who is

never eareless.

It is much more difficult to drive a car in this Colony than in London or other parts of Great Britain.

The Chinesa pedestrian is less dange rous than was the case four or five years ago but even to-day there are many who walk on the roads and who behave in a most unexpected manner.

It is by no means, unusual for a coolie to dare right across the radiator. There

is a theory that this is done with a

My friend Tooked at bĩa Packard with the same queer mixture of pride and affection that a mother shows when she is looking at a pretty and well dressed daughter.

Talking about lubrication? said my friend, "what do you think of this!"

He pulled a handle that was just under thondashboard. It looked By tha-top of a syringe,

"Oil goes at once to forty-five points. on the chassis," he said.

I think it way. "forty-five but it might have been more or less, but that does not matter..

What is really important is that every part of the chassis that needed lubrica tion got it whenever he pulled the hardle just below the dashboard.

„EVERYTHING AUTOMATIO. For those of us who are very keen motorists, but who must look hard, as

every dollar before we spend it, the Packard is a dream of the distant future." It is a high grade car and if you want In high grade car you have to pay more than $2,000 and perhaps more than that again. Of course, it is worth it in the long run to get high grade machinery, but it requires aither a good bank. balance or a winning way with anyone who will advance money.

The motorist af to-day seems to have nothing to worry about. What with auto- matic engine lubrication and the perfec tion of automatic chassis lubrication and Butomatic advance and retard of the spark-why, nearly everything now-a-days

is automatic I

Of course, there are still grease capa to be found on CET. About four years definite purpose in view. The idea is age some ingenious fellow introduced r If it had fallen on to the road it must that everyone is followed by devils and grease gun. That was a step in the right cost would be enormousWe are forta do buried itself fairly deep even if it the coolie can dash across the front direction. It cannot, however, compare

had not carried away the road.

nate in that all of the roads have been made by engineers who knew what they were up against. They stand up well to the stresses put on them by the wea ther.

THE ADVENTURERS.

have

What is, the real cause of such a disaster 1

of the car then the car will run over the (invisible) devils,"

with the simplicity of the arrangement my friend showed to me.

It pays to watch the lubrication of the many joints. It also is as well to re- for every member that there is the correct lubricant of the car that requires

It is an ingenious theory but as it is It is an unfortunate fact that dotted related by Europeans it may be just an all over the hill sides of the Colony there imaginary solution of a peculiar pro-it. are many granite boulders of varying blem.

It is said that two residents at Shek sizes. They are more or less buried in There seems no other way of account O motored in to town on Monday morn the earth which mostly consists of dis-ing for the sudden dash right across the ing. It must have been a dangerous pro-integrated granite. The torrential rains car. Yet the devil theory seems too ceeding. They probably did not return wash away the earth that is around them absurd-to-be true that night

The fact that they were able to get in to town shows that the road was not entirely washed away at any place,

The most vulnerable portion of it is between the hair-pin bead and the club house.

SAFETY FIRST.

and, at some critical moment, the boulder It is the suddenness. of their actions topples over. It may immediately be that upsets the driver unaccustomed to brought to rest by the formation of the the peculiar behaviour of local pede. ground near to it. Or it may more down strians. towards the sea.

It is surprising that we do not hear. of more movements of boulders .eyen though many of them are "anchored The Feak residents had various ad-into a position that makes it impossible rentures. At least one party motored for them to move. out to Pokfulam and climbed up the road Old residents say that this is the first that leads to the Peak, commencing near time that they can remember any move the reservoir. It was generally believed that that route was the least dangerous en Tuesday night...

The road out to Pokfulam is now in

a fairly stable condition. There were no serious landslides.

A few years ago a motorist had a Darrow escape on the road just a little to the west of the Pumping Station where the big boulder now rest

There was a big landslide just below the new reservoirs, A most sturdy, re- tairing wall has been built since and there will be no more danger there.

THE GARAGES,

As the road between Happy Valley and the central district was impassable it was difficult to hire a car. At 6 p.m. and | again at 6.30 p.m. on Monday night, one Peak resident telephoned to three! garages for a car to take him out to Pokialam but the reply came in each case “No can do.”.

Motorists in Kowloon appear to have been much more fortunate than those on the island. The mainland roads are said to be fairly clear.

Accidents will happen, take we never so many-precautions-Nature-behaves-in tan unexpected manner in the tropics.

We must consola ourselves with the belief that we have had the one storm that comes, let us say, in each half century

We may hope that we have had all the landslides likely to take place this year.

Nearly all of them took place between 6.a... and 10 s.mc, so that & tremendous amount of rain was required before there was any movement in many places.

THE HUGE BOULDER,

A visit to the Pumping Station on the road to Pokfulam is worth while. The track of the falling boulder is clear enough It must have fallen from a height of something like two hundred feet above the engine foundations which finally brought it to rest.

A casual glance at that track is enough

THE USE OF THE HOOTER. It is difficult to know whether it is better to hoot continuously while passing through a crowded thoroughfare or to go along quietly,

As soon as the pedestrian hears a car coming he jumps! Lucky is the motorist

he does not jump the wrong way.

ment of a boulder of such big dimensions.if It usually happens that the boulders and

THE PASSENGERS, their way into nullahs. They choke up Accidenta are often caused by passen the nallahs and damage the sides. The gers who will carry on a conversation lesson of these recent storms is the need with the driver. Even the most experi of big nallahs to carry away the water enced drivers need to concentrate all and débris into the sea.

POLICE PROSECUTIONS.

During the year 1925 there were 3,338. prosecutions under the traffic regulations and the sum of $22,239.50 was collected in fines. The increase in the number

their attention on the car when it is passing through Wanchai or along Caine Rose or some other congested thorough fare-

One of the sources of wonder for the British motorist in this Colony is the number of Chinese passengers that are "crowded into a car

It says much for the strength of the of prosecutions, as compared with those modern chassis that there are practically of the previous year, was about eleven no accidents due to overcrowding........ per cent, but the increase in the value It is, of course, most unfair to the of the fines collected was about twenty-cat. We might get a broken axle, five per cent.

said one Chinese owner," but "maskée' we can get that spare part."

Overloading a car menus more trouble broken axle, but the Chinese thought for the morrow driver like the lily of the field-takes no

It seems clear that the magistrates have been imposing, heavier fines, or perhaps the police have been securing

more convictions.

than

There are some good Chinese drivers who have made a close study of the in this Colony-especially owner-drivere" mechanism of their car.

It would be of interest to know how many of the convictions were against motor-car drivers. Also how many were There are some good Chinese chauffeurs for trivial offences that usually carry average wage seems to be $50 a montb and there are some bad ones. An. Ane of $5 as the penalty.

Some of the prosecutions failed It, however, we assume that about ninety per cent, of the prosecutions were success fut then the average fine works out a about 35 a time. Of course, the magis trates sometimes deal leniently with a first offender. A caution is sufficient for the "

Since the chief magistrate has become an ardent motorist we may hope that he will remember the great difference be tween dangerous driving and the actual speed of the car.

THE GOOD DRIVER An amateur and nervous driver is more dangerous steering a car proceeding at fifteen miles an hour than is an experi- enced and reliable-driver who is speed. ing" at thirty miles sa hoar,

"E

In actual fact no driver can be con- sidered reliable until he has bad at least is year's experience. - When a case comes befire the magistrate, one of the ques

to convince any motorist of the danger tions that might well be asked is “How

of driving a car. outsid of the central long have you been driving regularly 1 "

for a chauffeur.

-SUPER-LUBRICATIONS

discussing with the writer the subject of A proud owner of a new Packard was

lubrication,

The vendors of oil will give you advice market lubricating oil know all about on the subject. The big companies that every car on the market. Their engineers have decided what is the right grade of oil for engine, chassis and other lubri "cation.

.FOUR WHEEL BRAKES.

Not all of the new 1828 cars are fitted with four wheel brakes. There is at least one popular make that is well- represented in this Colony that has not ard equipment. this latest fitting-as part of the stand-

The use of these brakes requires care.

It is a temptation to press down the pedal suddenly, but the result is apt to be alarming. In emergency it is excuseable, even if the car is so suddenly brought to a standstill that the passen gers are frightened

There may be trouble, however, with the fellow just behind. If he has no four- wheel brakes he will be wise to keep a good distance between his front wheels and the car in front of them

There is the story of the car

a small notice on the back buyin

ran If you can read this you damned sight too close."

4

It cannot be accepted, that four wheel brakes have no disadvantages, but it is certain that the present design will be improved upon.

It is probable that in the 1927 models we shall see that more attention has been paid to this problem.

Like everything else connected with machinery you have to get used to four- wheeled brakes to them properly.

INSURE

YOUR

MOTOR

CAR

WITH

GILMANS.

“Come and look at my car,” he said.. We walked a few yards. There it was, in splendid condition. The owner took a real and a just pride in its appearance, rotor cars for many years. He is an Ha is a man who has lived amongst

up-to-date edition of Kipling's marine engineer who had an affection for the OCEAN COMPREHENSIVE POLICY machinery he tended. He loves his ear.

CARS

SINGER 1026 H.P.

CARS

BRITISH THROUGHOUT.

AGENTS

GILMAN & Co., Ltd.

Des Voeux Road,