SEPTF MBER 2 1ST 1907 .

THE A.UTOCAR B 3ournal publtobeb in tbe tntereot!J of the mecbnntcall~ propelleb roab carriage ..

EDITED 8'( H. WALTER STANER.

No. 622. VoL. X I X . SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER zrsT, 1907 . [ P RICE 3D.

TlfE AUTOCAR.

(P ublished Weekly. )

Registe:-ed as a n~w!='paper for tnnsmis~ion in the United Kin~dom~

Entered as second-class matter in the New York {N.Y.) Post Offic-e.

EDITORIAL OFFICE :

COVENTRY.

PUBLISHING OFFICES :

20, TUDOR STREET, LONDON, E.C., ENGLAND.

CONTENTS.

NOTES: THE BROOKLANDS A CCIDENT-A DtSHONEST PRACTICE USEFUL HINTS ANO TIPS .. THE D ENTAN CARBURETTFR ( ILLUSTRA TED) .. RACING AT BROOKLANDS (lLLUSTRATED) THE FIRST OPEN H tLL- CL lMB IN \ >VALES ILLUSTRATED) .. RUBBER IN RoAD DusT .. THF. M EDICA L M OTORIST (I LLUST RATED) A NEW DUNLOP SECURITY BOLT (ILLUSTRATED) . . CONTINENTAL NOTES AND NEWS ( ILLUSTRATED ) , . ENGINE SIZES AND SPEED CORRESPONDENCE . , TYRE P RESSURE TESTS {ILLUSTRATED) A NEW VARIABLE GEAR (ILLUSTRATED) A SPARE TYRE CARRIER (ILLUSTRATED) \ VESTERN I NDIA REL IA BILI TY T RIALS . . FLASHES t\'[ OTOR UNION MEET AT L EICESTER l lLLUSTRATED) CLUB DOINGS (ILLUSTRATED) .. THE STEVENS P ETROL ELECTRIC CAR .. BE~ZOL FUE L TESTS . . . THE MAKERS OF THE M ERCEDES SIDE LIGHTS ON POLICE M ETHO DS INSTITUTE OF BRITISH CARRIA GE BUILDERS . .

447-448

44 9 450 · , 451 - 457 . . 458 -460

461 461 461 .. 462 463 , . 463-464 , , 465 -469 . ·. 470-471 . , 472-473

4,3 473 , , 474-476 · · 477-478 . . 479-480

481 48 1 481 481 {82

"THE AUTOCAR" SUBSCRIPTION' RATES : British I s les, I6s . Abroad (thin parer edition) , 22~. Sd; pe r annum.

Th,( kland otes.

As 1Ye rec·ord elsewhere. on Saturday last, at th e ye ry successful meet in g at Brooklands, the first fatal accident occurred . We deal in the report with the principal causes of the accident, but the re are one o r two lessons t o be learned fr om it which should not be fo rgotte n. or the re will be othe r, and pe rhaps wors e, accide nts. Several of the drivers seem in cl ined to continu e racing after they have crossed th e finishing line . They are quite right no t to pull up suddenly after crossing _ th e line, as that in itself is very da ngero us ; but there is a di ff erence between do 111 ,; this allrl racincr up th e fini shin g straight almost into the track proper before attempting to slacken speed.

It should not be fo rgotte n that th e accident occurred in a race whi ch was restricted to ca rs o f

60 h.p . The finishing speed was probably about eighty miles an hour , and more th a n ten miles an hour slower than the speeds attai ned in the class for larger ca rs. In the first race for cars of 26 h . p. or less there was a narrow escape from a smash a-wi ng t o two of the unplaced men racing after they had crossed the li ne, while in the race in which the fatal accident occurred the re was a narr ow escape fr om collision just by the finishing point, apparently because the drivers. in their exciteme nt fo rgot that the straight was not of unlimited length. The n, aga in , there is no doubt that before the race so me of the brakes are released or lightly adjusted to make sure the re shall be no rubbin g. and consequently th ey cannot be us ed with full power. Although it is madness t o suddenly check a racing ca r a t full speed, any lack of power in the brakes is dangerous. There should be rigid instructi t ins that every driver shall close his throttl e immediately on crossing the finishing line and apply his b ra kes. It is imposs ible to make regulations on these matters, as the offi cials ca n scarcely be expected to test the brakes, but the competitors, if they do not va lue their own necks, should conside r those of the ot her d rivers and their mechanics, as everyone is imperilled by the slightest error or la ck of judgment.

Incidentally. too, the sad accident provides a lesson for others besides racing drive rs. The race was the second in which Mr. H erman , the unfortun at e victim, had taken part. So far as we ca n gather, he had never before t aken part in any first-class race, although he had practised on the track. Practice is r:ecessary and va luable, but it is yery d iffe rent from driving in a rnce with nine fast cars . Those who asoire to race at Brooklands shou ld undoubtedly serv; a sort of app rent iceship to the sport. They should take part in the races for smaller ca rs fir st , and grad ua lly work their way up. This sa me remark app lies in great measure to ordinary driving on the road. A man should not commence his motorin g experience. as some do . on a really powerful -ca r. H e should beg in with one of moderate powe r, and gradually accustom himself to the handling of more pmrerful cars as hi s ability, his means, or his inclinations warrant. The re have been manv accidents at different ti mes tracea b le to the fact that the drivers lacked e xperience or had commenoed moto-ring on a ca r which was too fast and pmrerful. Little errors of judgme nt which sca rceh· matter on -cars of moderate power may be fatal on high-powe red cars ; this is the point we should like to urge upon ambiti ous novices. Practica ll y all the best drivers of la rge cars are men \\ hohave grad ually worke d their way up from 6 h.p. or even less. and who can trust themselves to drive with that re strain t which is S8 necessary . One of the great charms of motoring is to have a large reserve o f power. not necessarily with the idea of usin g it , but because of the p1easure of con tro llin g a machine which has. such a reserve that it is practically never necessary tofully extend it. It is just the difference between drivin~ a mett lesome horse and nne -which has li tera lly to ce d riven . To return to Brookl ands for a moment. Already