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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH, 1909.

THE AUTOCAR a Journal publtsbeb tn tbe interests of tbe mecbantcall\? propelleb roab carriage.

EDITED BY H. WALTER STANEq,

No. 726 VOL. XXIII.] SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH , 1909.

[PRICE 3D.

The Autocar.

(Published Weekly.)

Registered as a Newspaper for t ran smission in the Unit ed Kingdom.

Entered as second-class matter in the New York (N.Y.) Post Office.

Three Editions every Friday,

The THREEPENNY EDITION, printed on Art paper. The PENNY EDITION, printed upon t hinner paper. The FOREIGN EDITION, price 3d., printed on thin paper fo r t ransmission abroad. ~

Editorial Office :

COVENTRY.

Publishing Offices :

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

CONTENTS. NOTES A RECKLESS M ISSTATEMENT USEFUL HtNTS AND TIPS

" The Autccar League" . . PROGRESS Dl CAR DESIGN ( ILLUSTRATED) CELEBRATING THE MAJORITY OF THE PNEUMATIC TYRE • . M OTOR UNION NOTES • • Boov DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTIO:i (ILLUSTRATED) THE F ULLER H .T. MAGNETO (I LLUSTRATED) \.VHITE S TEAMERS IS MILITARY MANCEUVRES THE LANCASHIRE POLICE TRAPS ON THE R OAD THE HORSE POWER OF PETROL ENGINES A NEW R EAR SCREEN (ILLUSTRATED) THE EFFECT OF A RIGIDLY ENFORCED TEN MrLE LtMIT CORRESPONDENCE (ILLUSTRATED) FLASHES • .

CLUB DOINGS

PAGE,

429 430 431 432-436 , , 437-440

440 44 1

. . 442 -443 · · 444-445

446-447

447 H E 449-450

45 1

452 , , 4;7-462 · · 463-464 . , 465-466

Subscription Rates :

British I sles-Home Edition, 16s. ; penny (thin paper edition). 6s. 6d.

Abroad tthin paper edition), 2 2s. Bd. per annum.

Index to Advertisements appears on page 38.

Notes. Clean- Counties. · The other day the Stoke Stipendiary, Mr. Bertram C. Brough, made some remarks concerning the absence of police traps on the open road in his county of Staffordshire. We published his comments on page 31 last week, and should like to refer further to them, as they were excellent in every way. He pointed out that there had been no prosecutions in the county for merely exceedinR the speed limit on the open road , but he feared there might be one disadvantage in this, as The .Au-toca.r had included Staffordshire in its list of clean counties, and he was afraid that motorists might get the impression that they could therefore go as fast as they liked, and at speeds which in a p.::. rticul ar district might be dangerous. This last remark as to local danger referred specially to the Trentham trap, \\·hich is one of the \·illages in which motorists are specially cautioned to reduce spe d. \r e should like to make it quite clear to Mr. Brough, a.nd to all our readers who do not already realise it, that our list of clean counties and of black counties is not published with. any idea of encouraging motorists into the belief that in untrapped counties they ·hoold dri\·e with any lack .of restraint or consideration. R athe r would we urge that in t1ie courrtie~ where motorists are fairly treated, -such as Staffordshire, extra Yigilance should be exercised and special comideration giYen. As an administrator of the la\\·, Mr. Brough could draw no invidious comparisons, but we :ire not hampered in this way, and may point out that in the counties in which trapping is vigorously pr..)3ecuted ther-~ is no discrimination between the consider·1te and the inconsiderate dri\·er, and that is why we are so strenuously. opposed to tJ1e pernicious system. If police traps merely resulted in the inconsiderate dri\·er being caught and fined we, and the great majority of motorists, 1rnuld uphold them. As it is, the innocent are more often caught than the guilty , because the considerate dri1·e r pays no particular attention to speed as such, but dri1·es all the tim,s with. the one idea of ensuring the fu llest safety and convenience of other road users. T ake, for instance, a ten-mile limit. At one part of the limit it might be perfectly safe to drive at 15 or even 20 m.p.h., whi le at another part it might be dangerous or inconvenient to exceed a walking speed or e ven to crawl at all for a few moments. The curse of motoring is the inconsiderate "bounder. " F01tunately he is in the minority, but there is no general rule, as some people eem to imagine. Inconsiderate driving is not confined to paid drivers. There are owner-d1iver<; who are e\·ery whit as inconsiderate, and we hope that all drivers, whether amateur or paid , will take Mr. Brough's admonitions to heart, and wi ll remember that our list of police traps is not compiled to assist the guilty, but to inform the innocent where they may go without fear of injustice or persecution.

A British Aviation Week. This event is intended to be held in Blackpool next

" 0 rrronth, unaer the auspices · of the rec<ontly-formed

Lancashire Aero Club. The estimateo cost of the meeting will be about £ 17 ,ooo, a sum . tated to be beyond Blackpool's own resources, but in Yiew of the importance which this projected meeting has attained, motorists are asked to subscribe to the guarantee fund or to contribute cash prizes , so that the Blackpool F lying \\'eek shall be worth~· of the country' best sporting traditions. The Mayor of Bia kpool will be pleased to receiYe promises of cash prizes and names of SLtbscri bers to the guarantee fund, but we cannot consistent! y urge motorists to assist in contributinv, ,o the prosperity of a place which has police traps of its own and is surrounded by many others.