THE AUTOCAR n Journal publtsbeb in tbe interests of tbe mecbantcall~ propelleb roab carriage.
EDI TED BY H. WALTER STANER.
No. 683. VoL. XXI.] SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2 1ST, 1908. LPRICE 3D.
The Autocar.
(Published Weekly.)
Registered as a newspaper for transmission in the United K ingdom. 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 thinner paper. The FO~E IGN EDITIO .~, price 3d., printed on specially light bank paper lo circulation abroad.
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CONTENTS. NoTFS USEFUL HI NTS AND T1Ps:: BY i\!ARCUS \V. BOURDON FROM MY PASS.CNGERS' DIARY ( l LLUSTRATED) THE ROYAL A.C. SCHEME OF ASSOCIATION • • SMALL C AR TALK • . [LLUSJOSS OF' A PASSING (AR (ILLUSTRATED)
791 792-/9 4
i!H 797 . . 798- 199
THE STATE AKD TnE RoAos-Trn: < \ ERO CLUBS OF TllE \\
0
0RLD
BonoEAUX TO PARIS BY AEROPL'\~E-H1c RACE 1x SYDNEYSm \V. S. G1Ls1• R1 1i-.- TIIF. T o 1Ls . .
MOTOR Ur,.10N NOTES
800
801
CORRESI'O~DE~CE..
u THE AuTOCAR" LECTURES
FLASHES • . The Olympia Show:
lNTRODUCTIO~, . MccHANICALLY- PROPELLED C AR RIAGES (hLUSTR.\TE.D) CARRIAGE BODIES ( ILLUSTRATED) • • T YRES, PARTS, AND A CCESSORIES (lLLUSrRAn,o). FROM Rt0\DE JA NEIRO TO SAO PAULO BY RO .\D REVIEWS .. SOME QUERIES AND REPLIES • ,
So2- 8v5
806
~07-808 809-873
8r,9-812 813.~57 858-860 ,nr -873 874 -S75
875 876
Subacription Rates :
British Isles-Home edition, 16s.; M.U. pen ny (thin paper) edition, 6s 6d.
Abroad (thin Jlaper editioR), 22s. 8d. per annum.
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N7!es. So-called Motor Car Accidents. Last week in our Parliamentarv notes reference was made to a que tion which a mern'ber put to the Home Secretary. It was evident that the questioner did not know that the accident statistics to 1rhich he referred included tram accidents in the so-called motor accidents, which in the eyes of the general public 1rnuld be equivalent to motor ca r accidents. The matter is dealt with _at some length in our contemporary, Motor Tractwn, and we cannot do better than quote its remarks in full:
" It is not very long ago since we were impelled to call attention to the methods of certain anti-motor agitators, who by representations to tho e in authority and misrepresentations to the public were doing their utmost to throw every obstacle in the way of the development of a ll forms of self-propelled traffi c. During the last week or so our attention has been ca lled to a fin e example with which to illustrate our a rgument, and this is to be found in a lette r addressed to the press by the chairman of the Highways Protection League. This letter is so misleading in its purport as to all for notice. Admittedly its chief object is to adduce statistics that were compiled at the request of cert ai n participators in the recent Mansion House Conference, 1rith a view to proving the case against the motor, and showing that the wish of the originators for more stringent motor regulations was justified . Thus at the outset we have a-perhaps somewhat unintention aladmission that the statistics we re compiled from a prejudiced standpoint, and with the purpose of shmring certain result . The cause is seen in its effect , for these same figures were quoted by 1Ir. Harold Cox in a question asked in Parliament, and it then came out in the Home Secretary's reply that the figures purpo rt ing to rep resent the accidents due to n:otors in T ,ondon ( 1 23 fatal and 5,362 non-fatal) included 22 fatal and 2, r 19 non-fatal accidents ca used by selfpropel led trams. Now, as the stat istics given in the Highway League chairman's lette r are differenti~ted under tlro eparate hea ds- namely, accidents by moto rs ' and accident due to 'other vehicles 01' by horses ' (the itali cs are ours)- we can on ly say that they are compiled in such way a. to be mischievously misl t >ad ing , and that they ha,·e a lready been so seems likeh· from the P arliamenta ry question to whi ch al lu sion ·has alreadv been made. · Tt is not for a moment to be supposed tl1at the figures 11·ere intent:onally meant to misrepresent matters , but that says littl e to pall iate th em, fo r 11·here la rge and important i sues a ff ecting an honourable industry maintaining thousands are in question the moral responsibility is well nigh as great 1rhether their misleading teno r be due to ca relessness . ignorance, or intention, and it is a ltogether surprisinµ; that these utterly mislead ing statistic; should have been published o lighthearted ly. " J,,
The Motor Superseding the Horse. On the same subject our contemporary continues: " Of cou rse, as is only to be expected, these statistics, though attempting to exploit the increase of motor accidents to the utmost, make no mention or hint at the corresponding enormous increase in the number of motors, so it ca n hardly be expected that the letter under criticism would ooint to the tremendous recent growth in the number of motor omnibuses and other such vehicles that daily perform a mil eage equal to that of at least three similar horsed vehicles, let a lone the fact that the ordinary private car usually travels very many more miles than a horsed carriage in a given space of time. Statements of this sort, however, prepare one for the further suggestion th at we imitate Germany in motor legislation , because there are fewer motor accidents in the entire German Empire than there are in the Metropolitan district alone. The chairman of the Highways Protection League omits the
