Page:Motors and motor-driving (1902).djvu/374

338 When driving on greasy roads it is always well to keep as far away as possible from any vehicle in front, whether it be a motor-car, a horse-drawn vehicle, or a cycle, as this allows plenty of time to pull up slowly and gradually.

In regard to the various accidents which may happen to the car itself through outside causes, one thing to be remembered is that the fly-wheel or front axle of the car is probably not more than seven or eight inches above the ground; therefore if very rutty roads are being used, it is well to direct the wheels out of the cart ruts and keep one rut in the centre of the vehicle. It is also well to keep a good look-out when entering park gates or stable yards where high centre stones are often placed, for if anything is struck by the fly-wheel it is almost certain to break or bend the crank-shaft of the engine, and a costly repair is necessitated.

A Punctured Tyre.—There is another little difficulty in regard to steering, and that is if a front-wheel tyre bursts or punctures, that side of the car is immediately somewhat lower, and owing to the tyre being flat, it exerts a severe retarding tendency to that side of the vehicle, with the result that if the right-hand tyre punctures, it tries hard to run to the right. This must be resisted and the car kept firmly on its course, the brakes being applied gently but firmly, and the car pulled up as quickly as possible without a sudden jerk. To give one some idea in an exaggerated form of the power exerted by a deflated tyre we will give a personal experience. When travelling on a big racing carriage over seventy miles per hour, the front tyre was cut by a broken piece of bottle, and in a second the tyre burst. The whole tyre and tube were torn off the wheel by the centrifugal force exercised and the car was running on the iron rim. In holding the steering straight against this tremendous pull, the steering-wheel steel shaft was twisted a quarter of a turn. Of course, if the car had been allowed to deflect for one moment from a straight line at this speed, a most frightful accident would have followed.