Page:Motoring Magazine and Motor Life November 1913.djvu/19

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"Those mostly interested sometimes show the least consideration," says B. N. Pratt, Pacific Coast manager of the Fisk Rubber Company, in speaking about the use of highways by automobile owners. "What I mean by this is that automobile owners sometimes show a wonderful lack of appreciation of the value of saving of a bad road in their driving.

"Nothing shows the carelessness of a driver more than a bad piece of road. Not long ago, I traveled over what is known as the middle road from Redwood City to Palo Alto. The traffic had been diverted from the main highway to this road on account of the State road improvement. Before this road had to bear the whole traffic, it was a fair oiled road, in passable condition, and at times was better than the main county road.

"Just as soon as it had to bear the whole county road traffic it commenced to show its poor construction. It had been well oil soaked, and during the hot spells was exceedingly soft. A few heavy teams or other vehicles had passed over it, and made a track from practically one end to the other.

"These tracks from constant usage, that is one driver following the other, soon became as distinct as the rails of a railroad. The result was that the drivers of horse-drawn vehicles, following also in these tracks, cut up the middle section, and made it impossible before long for any one to drive except in these tracks.

"Finally they became so deep that they cut through the oiled surface into the road beneath. Every one knows that as soon as the oil crust is punctured, then comes a general breaking of the road. The oiled surface breaks off, making dust holes, chuck holes, which are practically almost impossible to navigate. This is the condition at the present time of the middle road. If the drivers of vehicles had used a little forethought before driving over this road, and had not tracked and driven in the ruts made by other vehicles or started by them, the road to-day would be fair, instead of practically almost impassable.

"This same condition exists on the new State Highway. One has but to observe the smooth, tracking of vehicles to show that practically every driver is following the one before. This means that this particular section of the road has to bear the whole of the traffic instead of the whole road itself. If owners of motor cars would only bear this in mind, they will be able to enjoy the best condition of any road almost indefinitely. It will pay the owners of motor cars who employ chauffeurs to watch their driving, and to insist that they do not track after other vehicles."

Perched on the end of one leaf of a Chicago bascule bridge after a dash up the steep incline as the bridge opened, a heavy automobile not long ago hung by its front wheels until the bridge could be lowered. One of its occupants was thrown from his seat by the sudden stop high in the air, and was thrown into the river. The driver had not noticed the warning bell and red lights as he approached the bridge at a high rate of speed at night, and did not realize that the bridge was opening until his machine had started to climb the rising incline. While he struggled with the brakes, the car mounted to the end, thirty feet above the river, and stopped with its front wheels hanging over the edge. The bridge tenders reversed the machinery and lowered the bridge slowly, so that the car kept its position until it was brought down with its front wheels on one leaf and its rear wheels on the other.

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