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Show COLLISIONS CAN DE PREVENTED Motorists Should Be Positive That Brakes Are in Good Repair. A great many collisions between automobiles and other vehicles, collisions col-lisions which frequently have caused serious injuries and even deaths, would have been averted If brakes were kept In proper condition, according accord-ing to Charles M. Hayes, president of the Chicago Motor club. "Many motorists mo-torists drive from one end of the year to the other without paying the slightest slight-est attention to their brakes. Suddenly the brakes wear out, and In some emergency they fail to function," says Mr. Hayes. The accident prevention department of the Chicago Motor club makes the following suggestions, paicularly to motorlits contemplating long tours: Test Brakes Monthly. They should be sure that their brakes are in good repair. At least once a month the rear wheels of the car should be Jacked up and the brakes tried to see If they grip evenly. When the lining wears down to the rivet heads, brakes should be rellned. The motorist will find It much more economical to have the brakes relined than to have to pay for damage to his own or some one else's car. Attention should be given to the emergency brake pawl to see that it does not become be-come worn so that it will release accidentally. ac-cidentally. When a car Is left in gear on a hill the front wheels should be cramped against the curb. The careful care-ful motorist will make certain that all cotter pins are replaced, especially those located in out-of-the-way places. One little pin out of place might cause a bad accident. Stopping on Wet Pavement. When stopping on a wet pavement, the skillful driver will be sure to close the throttle and apply the brake, leaving leav-ing the clutch engaged, until just before be-fore the car Is brought to a standstill. This will prevent locking of wheels, which is likely to cause skidding. The clutch should be left engaged when descending de-scending an ordinary hill, and if the hill Is steep the driver should shift to second or even first gear, leaving the clutch engaged and the throttle closed. Keeping a car In low gear helps to keep It under control. On long hills the foot and emergency brakes should be used alternately to keep the car at a low rate of speed find to prevent burning out of the , brake linings. Coasting down hill with the transmission gear 1n neutral Is a dangerous practice, not indulged In by good drivers. "But. above all," concludes Mr. Hayes, "brakes should be kept in perfect per-fect order." |