A UGUST :? .::iTH, 1909.

THE AUTOCAR B Journal publtsbeb tn tbe tnterests of tbe mecbantcall\? propelleb roab carriage.

EDITED BY H. WALTER STANEq.

No. 723. VOL. XXIII.] SATURDAY, AUGUST 28TH, 1909.

[PRICE JD.

The Autocar.

(Published Weekly.)

RP'!istered as a Newt.paper for transmis,;ion in 1 he Gnited Kingdom.

Entered ac., second-class ma1ter in the New York (N .Y. ) Post Office.

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CONTENTS.

NOTES USEFUi. 1-IINTS AND TIPS ( ILLUSTRATED) AN l NTERESTING ( ARBURETTER {ILLUSTRATED) '' The Autocar League" ROAD \VARNINGS. How A MAGNETO l'VfAKES ELECTR1CITY {l LLUSTRATED) THE PROPOSED TAXES ON l\JOTOR CARS 80D\' DESIGN AND (ONSTRUCTIO~ ( f LLUSTRATED) NON-SKIDS ON FRONT \ \iHEEl.,S SMALL CAR TALK • . MOTOR UNION NOTES THE R.A.C. HEADLIGHT TEST . . THE BALANCING OF FLYWHEELS (lLLt.:STRATED) H UMBER's ?\Ew l\lANAGER-(ERTIFIED R A.C. T RIALS-R.A.C.

TOURING DEPARTMENT--THE PRUSSlAN POLICE AND l\'[OTORISTS- ~lOTOR TRAFFlC AND R OAD MAINTENANCE CORRESPONDENCE (J LLUSTRATED) \VARWICK!-.lllRE POLICE TRAPS FLASHES • . CLUB DOINGS-REVIEWS

3II 312-315

31'5 316-317 318-324 325 -327

327 32~-329

329 330 331

332 333

334 339-344

345 346-347

348

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British Isles-Home Edition, r6s. ; penny (thin paper edi tion), 6s. 6d.

Abroad (thin pape:- editionL 22s. 8d. per annum. Index to Advertisements appears on page 4 0.

Notes. Motor Roads. It is indeed e::-..1:raordinary that no organisation or combination of organisations should have had sufficient public spirit to arrange a demonstration, which has so long been needed, and which has been suggested from time to time from the very beginning of the outcry, against the alleged damage of roads by motor traffic. Directly this outcry was raised it was suggested that the simplest and best reply to it was that a section of road should be made in some traffic- frequented district running parallel with the main road, and that on this special piece of road only motor traffi c should he permitted. The idea was beautifully simple, and the only thing which stopped its immediate execution was its cost , and there the matter has stood from that day to this.

On all the county councils, and even on many parish councils, throughout the country there is a sprinkling of motorists. So fa r as we know they are in the minority in almost all cases, but th ey have quite a strong representation on a few county councils. Now the great handicap these motoring county councillors suffer from is that they cannot produce any direct evidence to controvert the constantly reiterated assertion that the roads are being ruined by motor traffic. They may assert that it is impossible; they may demonstrate that it is out of the question; they may point out the horribly damaging effect of the pick-axe and corkscrew-like action of the horseshoe, but w·hatever people may say does not carry conviction in many cases for the s.imple reason that they are unable to offer a single proof of the correctness of their assertions; or, rather, we should say, the proofs they can offer are not of a nature to convince those who are opposed to them. Had a motor loop been built it would have provided the lacking evidence.

A Comparison. It is in many ways unquestionably to the advantage of a large number of people to spread this idea far and wide, and nothing would have gone further to correct the impression than a carefully carried out experiment of the nature to which we have referred. True, it ought to have been done some years ago, when assuredly we should have heard a great deal less about motor taxation for road improvement. Such an experiment would have shown that motor traffic has not the bad effect on the roads that it is popularly believed to have; it would have conclusively demonstrated that most of the damage is done by heavy rib-wheeled road locomotives, iron-shod horses, and the iron-tyred wheels of the vehicles they drag.

However, it is not too late even now to carry out an experiment on the lines we have suggested. In fact, the sooner it is carried out the better. Though it would be costly, it is one of those works in which all the motoring societies should co-operate, for the reason that it vitally affects all their interests. There is no doubt that until some positive evidence is provided which will prove that private motor cars do not unduly damage the roads, all costly road making, all badly wearing roads, whether due to improper methods of making or unsuitable materials, and every other road defect will be put down to the motor car, and the majority of those who hear the indictment will continue to believe it, false though it be.

With the gradual disappearance of horses and the more general introduction of motor cars there will, of course, exist some sort of comparison. That is to say, the roads under the new fmm of traffic may be compared with what they were before motor cars made their appearance, but this would not be so striking nor so convincing as a means of direct comparison of two roads !-ide by side, each carrying its own form of traffic.