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Show GOOD ADVICE ON DRIVING MOTORS Proficient Pilot Soon Learns to Watch Road Some Distance in Advance of Car. ALWAYS ALERT FOR DANGER Some Drivers Dodge Every Little Hole, Stone, Horseshoe and Broken Bottle With Short Turn of the Steering Wheel. Some motorcar drivers run their cars along the road at nearly uniform speed, preserve an almost straight course, with scarcely perceptible deviations devi-ations when the road is straight, avoiding avoid-ing small obstructions on the surface as if by good luck more than Intention, Inten-tion, and never getting Into tight places In traffic that require sudden dexterous movements to prevent collision col-lision or other accident. On the other hand, there are drivers who dodge every little hole, stone, horseshoe and broken bottle with a short turn of the steering wheel that results in an unpleasant swaying of the car body ; who slow up and start ahead with annoying frequency and are repeatedly treating their companions compan-ions in the car to thrilling moments of suspense as they narrowly avert the running down of a slower moving pedestrian pe-destrian or a cyclist. Looking Ahead. These differences are noticeable alike on city streets and country roads, and are amply sufficient to make It a delight to ride with one friend at the wheel and almost torture tor-ture to sit in the car behind another. You may be unconscious of the precise pre-cise reasons that give you confidence in the one and make you apprehensive with the other, yet the feeling is there. In all probability the secret lies In this fine point In driving an automobile the distance ahead of the car at which the driver focusses his gaze. The proficient driver has early learned to watch the road far in advance ad-vance of his car as far, in fact, as the road is visible. On a straight, level road this may be several miles, on a winding course as far as the next turn ; on a hilly road the crest of the next rise, and on city streets as far as the state of the traffic permits the way to be seen clearly. Following this practice, all bad places and small objects on the surface Df the road are seen long before the car comes to them, and almost unconsciously uncon-sciously he car Is steered to avoid them. The action begins so early that I he movement is practically imperceptible impercep-tible to other passengers, and the driver driv-er does not find it necessary to keep his eyes fixed upon the spot or object until it has passed; he has early insured in-sured that It will not be struck by the wheels, and so continues to keep liis eyes focused away ahead. Thus he avoids dropping his eyes to watch all such near objects and raising them again to the focussing point, a practice prac-tice that becamcs wearisome to the Iriver and gives rise to unexpected emergencies. Indifferent Drivers. The novice or indifferent driver who concentrates much of his attention on "he road directly in front of liis wheels loes not see impedimenta far enough In advance to begin a gradual movement move-ment in avoidance of them, but must ! make quick turns to swine: out around the holes, stones ami other ohstruc-1 ohstruc-1 tions. Then, with his attention fixed I upon the particular thing or place he i Is avoiding, he is unprepared fur the next one. whlrh he has not seen. I The human eye Is like a camera In I this respect that when focussed upon the distance the immediate foreground Is also in f;iirly good focus, but when focussed only a few yards or two or three rods ahead, the background Is very indistinct. .Consequently the motorcar mo-torcar driver who watches the road at the point of disappearance finds that the foreground takes care of itself that is, he subconsciously directs the movements of the car without any distraction of his attention from what is coming farther on. So his car follows fol-lows a straighter course, with long, easy sinuosities that do not cause any swaying of the body, and his companion compan-ion motorists scarcely realize that there are any bad places in the road over which they are traveling. Similarly in city traffic the proficient driver watches the movements of all the vehicles, well In advance and, by judging their speed and noting their direction of motion, is on the alert for the slightest sign of an intention to slow down or turn into a side street or pass around a wagon or car going in the same direction. He governs his own movements accordingly, and easily eas-ily avoids liability of running into another an-other vehicle. |