| Show Tips on How to Avoid Crashes at Sharp Curves Methods of Combating Skids Given by Jenkins Jenkin i By AB JENKINS Watch out for the other fellow fellow fel fellow low Is as much of an axiom on the race track as it itis Is on the pub public lie lic highway A big share of our speedway crashes involve two or more cars because the innocent pilot couldn't avoid avold the other fellow Even on my solo speed peed trials trIals- recently on the Bonneville salt flats in which I drove miles mUel in 24 2 hours I was constantly in dread of what would happen should a R spectator drive his car into th the path of my racer which was moving at a mile hour clip I Every motorist should remember remember ber that when he doubles the speed of his car say from 20 to 40 miles mUes an hour its momentum increases f fourfold That is is it will take four times longer to stop It it and it will be four times harder to stop At 40 miles an hour it will wiil m I do the potential damage of a a car driven off a story four building Add 20 miles mlles more more and your car caris carIs caris is a juggernaut that strikes a 8 ablow ablow blow nine times gre greater ter than if it were traveling 20 20 and requires nine nin times the space and time to bring it to toa a halt Wear and teas tear on brakes tires and engine parts go up in similar proportion Gasoline and oil consumption consumption con con- are increased and the additional risk becomes become tremendous tremendous dous if ones one's car is not In perfect ct trim Speed is ismy my business but people peo peo people pie must remember that a a whole crew crew of mechanics is iSI working constantly to keep my racers in trim and thereby cut the danger of ot mechanical failures allures down to a I minimum It may be perfectly safe mechanically me me- I ally speaking to hit 70 in I Continued on Pate Two 1 J L JENKINS GIVES TIPS ON CURVES Famous ramous Utah Speed King Also Tolls TG Me Methods h s of Combating Corn Com bating Skids Continued from toni Pate Face One n a new car and criminal Insanity to attempt 30 In Irs a rickety ark arl with four lour wheels and no bral brakes e And unfortunately 75 per cent cento o of the cars now In operation are technically obsolete or in defective defective tive mechanical condition I must point out moreover that many abnormally slow drivers drivers ers are arc downright Incompetent arid it Is their theft pokiness ts that Invites in invites invites in- in vites the average driver to take chances and pass them I am invariably glad when I am safely around the car which is barely moving along the highway I Its driver frequently thinks because he Is going slow alow that there is no no danger He lIe loses his alertness alertness alert alert- ness and because he is going so ro slow ho can turn sharply without signal or th the warning of having to slow down My tip to tOI slow I poke drivers rs Is IJ this Dont burden the road with your car unless it can do 40 withe with e ease se and safety safely when traffic conditions con conditions require It it Sharp curves are breeding places plates for accidents l Drivers going going go go- ing along at a mile hour clip can cant canH l neI negotiate liate the curve and run smack into a tree ditch or approaching car I Going too fast for you murmur as you pass the wreck I might startle you by saying Perhaps he wasn't going fast enough When you round a curve centrifugal force pulls your car outward The ordinary driver feeling this pull thinks to overcome it by reducing educing speed I What he should do Is increase power and simultaneously twist his wheel into a sharper curve making the engine drive the car carin carin carin in the right direction If you are traveling too loo fast to negotiate a curve the sensible way to maneuver it is to sloWdown slow slowdown slowdown down momentarily before going into the curve and then advance the accelerator again to keep driving traction which is another er wa way of letting the engine do dothe dothe dothe the work One thing to avoid Is skidding but perhaps the worst thing about skid skidding din Ii is the feeling oCI of oC I helplessness it arouses in most drivers Actually you ou arent aren't helpless at all To come com out of ofa a skid throw out your our clutch unless you OU arc are in free wheeling and maneuver the steering wheel Until the wheels regain traction In other words go into the skid Braking of ot course is Your main concern is b to equalize traction on all four wheels which you ou do b by throwIng throwIng throw- throw Ing lag out the clutch your our next move is to get all an your wheels in line As soon as you feel the skid weakening let in the clutch gun Un the motor and resume forward forward forward for for- ward progress I have purposely thrown my car into thousands ot of skids and this is the most effective way I know of or coming out of or them Motorists constantly have to be reminded that the amber light is not a 8 ago go signal in any state in inthe inthe inthe the Union it always designates an interval of preparation for starting or stopping To attempt to beat it is the social ocial equivalent of knocking everyone else down as you enter the din dining in room Nearly 40 per cent of all aU fatal accidents occurred at street intersections inter inter- sections last year persons were killed and injured chiefly because motorists showed so little common courtesy to pedestrians pedestrians pedestrians pe pe- pe- pe and each other And the greatest number of accidents occurred while the amber light was showing I have no brief for the road hog or the Individual who figures fig ures urea its it's his express duty duly to show the other driver his place by trying to beat him to an on opening in traffic or crowd him off oft the road because of or lack of courtesy Such drivers who do these things or 01 speed up like they want to torace torace torace race when another auto starts around them need lessons all aU allright allright right but the indignant motorist only courts trouble and nd possibly a fatal accident by trying to deliver deliver de de- de- de liver Ii It himself Uniformity of or traffic laws and signals is of course the great need The traffic light suspended over the m middle of the street such as Salt Lake ke City has is Li much more practical than the lights over on the side of ot the streets The latter latter- are often screened by traffic i Yellow v should be used on onslow onslow slow or school zone signs only All stop signs should be painted red and it if lI lighted ones are too expensive the signs should be made to reflect the glare of approaching headlights Highway commissions cannot exercise too much caution is isdes des designating des designating the difference nce between sharp turns and ordinary curves which may be neg negotiated at high speed sliced Finally the motorist should hould remember that after arter all the he maJor major part of ot the obligation Ls IS Ins his that state and federal governments governments governments gov gov- ar are doing a lot lo to make driving conditions better for him but that they cant can't steer hiscar his hiscar hiscar car or cut off the throttle for him You'd think that hat mature perSons persons per per- sons would know all these tl things wouldn't you M My experience however with the great American American Amer Amer- ican river driver has ta taught me that until licensing authorities insist on giving a sterner examination n he will continue to be a menace menace to himself and cV everyone ry ne else |
