Popular Science Monthly 



385 



The anchored car is raised from the ground, heavy castings take the place of the rubber tires 

 on the rear wheel to give momentum to the gear-shift, and a special mechanism gives warnings 



Learning to Drive an Automobile 

 in a Stationary Car 



LEARNING to drive an automobile on 

 a crowded city street is a rather nerve- 

 racking experience. A better way is to sit 

 in an anchored car like the one illustrated 

 above, which is an invention of Mr. C. M. 

 Bishop, and imbibe instructions. The first 

 lesson is devoted to familiarizing yourself 

 with the controlling devices of the car, and 

 on this imaginary^ trip, you are "accom- 

 panied" by the instructor. 



After that you must go it alone, while the 

 instructor stands on the left side of the car 

 and operates a special mechanism by which 



factory to be treated for the extraction of 

 oil and other marketable whale products 



he can throw up various precaution signals 

 and produce an effect on the engine such 

 as would be occasioned under certain con- 

 ditions on the road. The signal post, which 

 is placed near the left front wheel is similar 

 in plan to those used in traflfic police 

 regulations, except that they indicate 

 "danger," "steep hill," "downhill," "road 

 closed" and more difficult warnings as the 

 pupil advances in the work. 



The instructor, standing beside the car 

 but out of view of the amateur motorist, 

 operates these signals at wheel by means of 

 strings supported by a secondary post. At 

 the same time, he keeps his hand on the 

 principal part of the mechanism, which 

 consists of a lever controlling a strong band- 

 brake attached to the rear wheels. The 

 car is raised clear of the ground so that it 

 cannot move. The rubber tires have been 

 removed from the rear wheels and heavy 

 castings put in their place. This weight 

 gives the same momentum to the gear-shift 

 as would be obtained on the road, while the 

 band-brakes controlled by^ the instructor 

 operate against the entire surface of the 

 iron tires. 



The instructor can stall the motor in any 

 speed, and the pupil learns by actual ex- 

 perience what to do in every contingency. 

 It seems reasonable to suppose that the 

 student will absorb the instructions more 

 quickly on account of the elimination of 

 the things that cause nervousness. There 

 are no pedestrians to get under the wheels; 

 no plate-glass windows to loom suddenly 

 up in close proximity; no hills to slide down 

 at breakneck speed and no relentless blue- 

 coat on guard with stop-watch in hand, 

 should the speeds get mixed. 



