1929-01-16 — Page 9

LL

THE MOTOR-CAR ÎN COURT.

POWER EFFICIENCY OF 'PETROL.

(Contiward from Page 3.)

present in any large proportion, as is sometimes the case, then it is a substantial advantage to have a high specific gravity. The power: efficiency of petrol is therefore sole-

THE HONG KONG

TAKING OVER A

NEW CAR.

DAILY PRESS. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16th, 1929.

HINTS TO THE INEXPERI- ENCED OWNER-DRIVER MANAGING HIS FIRST VEHICLE.

[UY A LONDON BARRISTER.)

The pedestrian who runs fartively Beross the road, to which, in theory, he has as good a right as the motor car, hang time to consider the

·legal consequences of the accidently governed by its chemical com-motorist, before starting out on his

position. The revolutionary nature of these discoveries may be appre- ciated from the fact that the petrol which one of the big oil companies

"It may be assumed that the new

car, has had lessons in driving The new car has probably been de livered by the agent from whom it was purchased, and the owner has

MOTORISTS AT FOX HUNTS.

CONTROLLING A "NUISANCE."

Steps to prevent over-enthusiastic motorists from spoiling the fun of fox-hunting at Melton Mowbray, the Prince of Wales' favourite hunting district, have been taken by the masters of the Belvoir hounds. A motor field master" whose duty will be to keep motorists following the hunts from getting in the way been appointed of the fox, dogs, and hunters, has

For some years past there has been 30. increasing number of motorists who drive to the starting and then follow the progress of the and capabilities than he has been hunt by driving along roads run- able to gain in an all too brief running" parallel to the crossfelds course taken by the mounted hunt- beside the professional exponent.

ers. In some recent hunts this pro- cession of hotor-cars has been as much as a mile long,

to which he must inevitably prove a victim some day. Yet they are sufficiently important, as is shown by the fact that 189 out of the 260 Common and 50 out of the 100 was selling ten years ago as a "No. no greater experience of its white Place of the lox hunts in their cars, Special Jury actions in this term's 3 was found to be the best petrol list are claims for personal injuries it had so far produced for running suffered for the most part in trafican aeroplane or a motor-ear. accidents. Added to this, there are But the petrol must not always a certain number of non-jury ac tions, besides the thousands of minor accidents which only furnish business to the County Court, There are also some claims under Lord Campbell's Act for fatal no cidents, but there are of less im pariance. It has always been cheaper to kill a man than to injure him.

เท

The Arst time he stands before his glistening possession, with the object of driving it alone, is quite a tonne moment, fraught with dramatic possibilities. The car should be looked over carefully for any sign of looseness in the fittings. Wings, head-lamp brackets, ruu- ning boards and the like should not show any trace of movement or rattle. If they survive the first two hundred miles in silence they will probably be in order for the next several thousand.

be blamed for the knock." The motorist is very often careless of the fact that the fault may lie with the condition of his engine or even with his engine design. Mr. Ricardo makes the surprising state ment that the combustion chambers in many engines are designed so as to encourage "knocking." The position of the sparking plag and It will be seen, therefore, that of the exhaust valve may each al- in the present slump of litigation low a portion of the mixture to there is some truth in the jest that become stagnant or entrapped, and the Bar, so far as it does not lives liable to be self-ignited. Fur- on the Bar Benevolent Society, is ther. Mr. Ricardo makes the still supported by insurance companies. more surprising statement that For the defendants are almost in must "of the commercial engines to- variably insured; if they are 'Eonday have already too high a com- poor to day the premiums it is propression to enable them to run eff-device of the detachable wheels (or bably not worth proceeding against ciently on many or-even most of them. It is said—and would be the brands of petrol now on the readily believed by anyone who market. If that be so, most cars listens in a common jury court-are running with the ignition too that third-party insurance is constar retarded and the mixture too ing to pay but the profits from rich.

signer of the motor engine needs to collaborate more closely in future with the producers of the motër fuels.

odour of the exhaust of the cars deadens the sensitiveness of the noses of the bounds and maker them lose the scent of the fox. They also complain that frequent-

The hunters complain that the

the wily fox suddenly cuts across roads through the stream, of motor traffic with the result the pursuing hounds and hunters get all tangled up in the traffic, endangering the lives of the riders. Nearly always this manœuvre-enables the fox to

escape.

With the appointment of a motor- feld master, however, it is expect.

It is the first few hundred milesjed nl this will be changed. His which are most critical in the life duty will be to keep the motorists herded in lines back of the hounds of any car. Nuts on newly assem- bled parts are apt to slack back and hunters, and prevent them ab times, and they should be tight from getting on to roads that the ened again promptly. The locking fox is likely to cut across once the

hounds bave started him "cover." should also be tried, occasionally. nuts on steelspoked or dise wheels)

and tightened where necessary,

:

Making The New Car's Acquaintance.

from

NEW UGANDA RAILWAY.

Just looking" over the car in this FROM THE NILE TO KAMPALA, way on the morning of your first real acquaintanceship with it will be beneficial. It will soothe the nerves; become a familiar object, and take the mind off the previous. arrived at conviction that it will never be possible to reverse out of the motor house without scraping the wings.

and

Kampala, December. 15th.-At 11 o'clock this morning the Kabaka of Buganda (Sir Daudi Chwa, K.C.M.G.), in the presence of a large and representative gathering of Europeans, Indians, natives, performed the ceremony of cutting the first sod of the Kam- Starting up is the next problem. pala-Jiaja railway at mile 2 on Set about it by continuing the the Kampala-Jinja road. Mr. J. examination of the car. See that R. P. Postlethwaite, Provincial the full amount of water is in the Commissioner of Buganda Pro- radiator, fuel in the "tank, and oil vince, referred to the occasion as in the sump. (The makers in-being of great importance to the struction book will tell you how to Uganda Protectorate generally and verify this.) Next wake quite cer particularly to the Buganda Pro- But law is one thing, actually tain that the fuel is turned on. vince The Governor, Sir William getting one's money is another. Flood the carburetter. partially Gowers, and Brigadier-General G. Three unlocked for misfortunes may retard the ignition, and switch it. D. Rhodes, Acting General Mana befall the plaintiff. First, the de-off. Place the gear lever in neu-ger of the Kenya and Uganda rail- fendant's insurance company may tral, and apply the hand brake way, also spoke. Before turning be insolvent, but this has seldomarmly. happened save in the case of the Lancashire and General, which made it a settled principle never to pay a claim till served with

other forms are large enough to The two important factors, thep, provide a fund from which the deer whith the whole pleasure of fendant's costs are invariably paid, motoring depends, are the chemical and in about seven en out of ten composition of the fuel and the the plaintiff's also-for that is the pressure of compression in the accepted proportion of wins-and engine, It is, obvious that the de- the plaintiff's solicitors are always ready to present a bill of costs, with every possible item, pressed down and ruining over, so that even the plaintiff's counsel may expect a measonable fec. Anyone suing, as a poor person gets negligible coats, but this lessening of the risk may be discounted, for no one with any chance of success against a solvent defendant need ever consult the Poor Persons Department, Mem hers of the legal profession will always be forthcoming to do the work as a speculation; indeed, it has oredibly stated that their re- presentatives ride on the ambulances and administer the bandage with one hand and the retainer with the Speculative Solicitors.

other.

ance company lose. Thirdly, it may be that the defendant has failed to insure, and in this case a claim against him is almost certainly abortive.

D

and unfamiliar car move under its own power; as a matter of fact, the average modern car is so docile that the process is in the nature of an anti-climax.

the first sod the Kabaka said:-

It gives me the greatest pleasure of turning first the sod of the rail- to be able to perform this ceremony way line to connect Baganda with Uganda railway. It is unnecessary the main line of the Kenya and for me to emphasize the importance of the joining up of Buganda with the main line. I heartily hope my people will come forward and volunteer to build this line them- selves, as the line will undoubtedly prove most beneficial to the people of Buganda.

After speaking in English, the Kabaka

addressed the gather.

guage of the Baganda is called).

lowly for three or four revolutions Now turn the starting handle not more. If young, vigorous, or winding-up petition. Secondly, handle one sharp rull up and the curious, switch on and give the though the insurance company is

engine should start. If it fails, or solvent, the defendants themselves if none of the above three virtues may not be. The average reader is present, take the seat and oper- might suppose that anyone who gotate the electric starter. No new his insurance company to pay a So far no one but Judge Parry large sum ia respect of a third- engine should fail to respond to a "has dared to say a good word in party's claim and then kept it would ave, seconds' application of the the speculative solicitors. But pro- come perilously near fraudulent arter motor with batteries fully

charged. vided they do not too grossly over-conversion; but the Court of Appeal

Now comes the moment. To an charge their clients, and provided has decided that this is not in inexperienced driver it seems a the case of liquidation, and-so both they do not as the best solicitors are tempted to do accept inad the injured person and the insurighty proposition to let a strange in in Luganda (as the lan- quate settlements which include

The Last Extension.. Large sums for costs, it is difficult to see what harm they do, save to

Less than a year ago-in Janu- the amour propre of the legal pro-

ary last the main line of the fession. Even if their charges are

Before actually driving out of the Kenya and Uganda railway was ex- high they are bringing actions for Third-Party Insurance.

motor house, it is well to make tended to the Nile at a point on nothing, possibly even putting up. Earl Russell and others have a quite sure that one knows the the Busoga railway 43 miles north money, on behalf of people with remedy for this, suggesting that movements of the gear lever in its of Jinja, and on the right or perfectly genuine claims. for the third-party insurance should be gate (although the intter may be eastern side of the Nile, which very fact, that it is their own moneymadecompulsory and parliamentary

an imaginary one it a central ball issues, full grown, from the Vic- whch they risk prevent them going candidates are asked to pledge their control is fitted). If the budding toria Nyanza at the Ripon Falls, on with cases that are too thin. support of such a measure. But it driver is at all worried as to re close to Jinja. The building of a The same thing cannot be said of has its disadvantages. That people membering the gear positions, (which is the commercial capital of railway from Jinja to Kampala the Poor Persons Department when once they were insured would simple diagram pasted on the in- The brieftess barristers who appear become careless is not a serious strument board is all that is neces- the Uganda Protectorate) was au- the solicitors - usunily

thorized in August of this year. clerks doing it for practice-have argument, for nothing could exceed sary to refresh the memory.

or increase the carelessness of a To familiarise oneself with the The new railway will be approxi no desire for their clients to die- taan who forgeta to insure. And "feel" of the gear lever (ie, the mately 60 miles long. To connect continue, their clients are at any though theoretically it is wrong to

amount of resistance the locks of with the main line the Nile will rate never out of pocket, and under compel a man who is capable of pay- the gear selectors offer its move have to be bridged. the regis of the Department there ing any claim to shift his risk, bement), go through all the gears in are frequently bought nations would not be prejudiced, for such order, with the clutch well out and which have been started and then persons in practice always do in- the engine running gently. II dropped as hopeless by discredited sure, if only for the advantage of firms of solicitors, The fact that a having skilled persons to resist the poor person suldom recovers any plaintiff's solicitors. Parenthetical thing is no reflection on the barris- ters who appear. In a case in which it may be femarked of running down actions that if the plaintiff's the present writer was engaged, the witnesses did not see the accident, insurance company's solicitors ac

the defendant's frequently were not tually rang up to ask if the plain there. But the implications of Earl tiff-whose inflated claim for special Russell's scheme have never been damage was £300-would take £90, worked out. Who is to prevent the the pressure from the clutch pedal, for, said they somewhat naively, insurance companies forming a ring We should have to mark Mr's against the unfortunate public, who brief 20 guineas, and we may as well pay the money to your clicat as to our counsel, though, of course, you haven't a chance."

ay

Collecting Damages.

articled

everything feels "happy" set the hand-throttle control so that the engine runs not quite dead slow. Disengage the clutch and, as the case may be, push or pull the gear lever into first speed for reverse it one has to back out of the motor house), release the band brake, and at the same time gently withdraw

£100,000 CLUB FOR LONDON.

NEW HEADQUARTERS FOR ROTARIANS.

It is proposed to build a £100,000 club for Rotarians in London.

There are forty-five Rotarian branches in London, with a buri aess headquarters in Norfolk-street, and a secretarial department in the will have to take their terms or atop there is only one road rule: "Don't club.

To a beginner with a new car Hotel Cecil, but there is no central driving? What is to happen to the chance it."

The Best Of All Advies.

Never take a risk. It is proposed to set up an inter- motorist who really is unusually Regulate the speed so that it will national committee to deal with the careless; will some company be co-

be unnecessary to use the brakes matter.

pelled to take the risk, or will he at a except for an actual stop. The club which will provide re-

A perusal of the cause lists is a be driven from the road? And Look ahead and control the throttlesidential and other accommodation, Warning to anyone whom Fate what will happen to the man who,

so that the car merely rolls up to will be run

on the lines of the

dooms to be a pedestrian, but graat-in spite of the law, does not insure a potential danger zone. If there Royal Automobile Club-Daily Ex-

is likely to be a difficulty ahead, press. change down early. Don't go round

a blind uphill corner on the, high

ed the accidents and no one is pre-Can a penalty be imposed suficient pared with any scheme for proventiy serious to intimidate himf ing them-it is difficult to see how All these problems remain to the method of collecting the damages be solved." Meanwhile, intelligent gear and then have to change down If all the little routine jobs of could be made more efficient. It pedestriana' will do well to avoid in response to obvious engine dis-lubrication replenishments, tighten- is sometimes said that the law a side-cars and similar amall vehicles, trea. Change first and let the ing up fittings, adjusting brakes, to negligence is needlessly pedantic which are not always insured and engine think you know something etc., is the parts bed in, are faith- and complicated, but it has been only possessed by their drivers on Make no movement without first fully carried out for the first half. Considerably simplified by the epoch the hire-purchase system, so that the having.

in your mind.

thousand miles, any modern car making judgment of Lord Birken plaintiff will have nothing on which A new car should be driven will more or less "look after it head in the Volute" and by the in lery execution. And a word of gently for the first five hundred self" thereafter for a very long general good sense of county court special caution should be added re-miles. The oil should then be let period. judges, who disregarding the sub-garding Post-Office delivery vans, out of the sump and replaced by To put it briefly, then, the best tleties of the law, put to juries the for. the Crown is not amenable in simple question: "Whose fault do #tort," and where an accident is -you think it was 7. "

obviously not the pedestrian's fault (Continued on nezt Dölums.) it will probably refuse to pay.

,,

fresh supply, which should last advice that can be offered to the from one to two thousand miles new owner-driver may be summed with occasional replenishments. up in he two words: Be deliber. (Continued at foot of next cölumn.) [ate,"

Sure

Safe

Slipless

Traction Is Assured On Any Road With All-Weather Tread Tyres.

More People Ride On Goodyear Tyres Than On Any Other Make

GOOD YEAR

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ECO [OMICAL LIFE