MOTORING 



By WILLARD NIXON 



Automobile photographs are always welcomed by the Editor of this depart- 

 ment. They should be sent on approval to Willard Nixon. 



RULES OF THE ROAD. 



J. Scott Montagu, a very prominent Eng- 

 lisn automobilist, has been promoting an or- 

 ganization called the Considerate Driving 

 League, the obiect being of course to compel 

 automobilists to refrain from outraging the 

 feelings of others using the highways. It is 

 very easy for an automobilist to keep well 

 within the law and yet at the same time to be 

 a public nuisance. Following are the rules 

 of the league : 



DRIVE SLOWLY 



i. Through towns and villages. 



2. When approaching cross roads or turning 

 corners. 



3. When passing schools, cottages and churches. 



4. On dusty or muddy roads when passing 

 cyclists or pedestrians. 



5. When meeting or overtaking lady cyclists; 

 and do not steer too close to them. 



6. When entering a main road from a side road. 



7. When you see a drunken man on the road. 



8. When passing any live animals on the road, 

 cows, sheep, dogs, etc. 



STOP 



1. When an accident of any kind occurs, whether 

 your fault or not. Render all the assistance in 

 your power, and, as a safeguard against future 

 proceedings, ascertain the names and addresses of 

 a few witnesses. 



2. When you see any likelihood of a horse be- 

 coming restive. If necessary, do this even before 

 the driver holds up a warning hand. 



ALWAYS ASSUME 



1. That other road users may do the wrong thing, 

 i.e. , a driver may pull the wrong rein, or a pedes- 

 trian hesitate and try several courses. 



2. That it is your business, not the other man's, 

 to avoid danger. The road is free for all; there- 

 fore be courteous and considerate, and ahviys drive 

 like a gentleman. 



A writer to one of the English papers crit- 

 icizing the organization, objected to the clos- 

 ing lines italicized, and wanted to know if 

 Mr. Montagu thought automobilists were 

 gentlemen or not. I think most readers of 

 Recreation who have seen much of auto- 

 mobiling, will appreciate that a great many 

 drivers of automobiles do not always give 

 the impression that they are gentlemen, or 

 anything approximate to that class. I think 

 I am not putting it too strong when I say 

 that the average automobilist sins too much 

 and too often. This is not due to any in- 



herent meanness or arrogance, but to thought- 

 lessness or preoccupation. The average auto- 

 mobilist is not too skilful and has to watch 

 his machine pretty carefully, and consequent- 

 ly, often without knowing it, he throws dust 

 all over pedestrians and horse-ow'ners, steers 

 perilously close to cyclists and other users of 

 the highway, and commits numberless little 

 acts which annoy and irritate others. As- 

 suming that every automobilist is keeping 

 within the speed limit, the above stated rules 

 express exactly the spirit in which every au- 

 tomobilist should drive his car, and form as 

 perfect a set of rules of the road as might be 

 devised. 



THE GORDON-BENNETT RACE 



The fact that the American team did not 

 bring back with them the envied trophy 

 should not give occasion for any gloomy re- 

 grets. To my mind the difficulties in the 

 way of an American car winning the Gordon- 

 Bennett Race have not and are not properly 

 appreciated by most automobilists. I did not 

 expect that the American team would win, 

 only hoped they would make a good show- 

 ing, which they certainly did. Lyttle in his 

 Pope-Toledo car finished the race, being 

 placed twelfth, and though this may not seem 

 to the casual reader any special cause for sat- 

 isfaction, it is really so, for the course was 

 an unusually difficult one, even for a Gordon- 

 Bennett course — by far the most difficult one 

 ever held, and yet this year was the first 

 time the American car has ever won a place. 

 Although Dingley, in the other Pope-Toledo, 

 owned by Mr. Muir, of Kentucky, was com- 

 pelled to retire in the first round, Track in 

 the Locomobile, who started last , finished 

 nearly three out of four rounds, and would 

 have done a great deal better than this had 

 he had an opportuniy to drive his racing car 

 over the course, so as to familiarize himself 

 with the turns and grades. He also had the 

 misfortune to break a gear before the race, 

 thus starting crippled, yet his car did not 

 break down during the contest and he was 

 still running when the race was over. I con- 



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