“CAN’T-SLIP HEELS” LESSEN SKIDDING
If your auto is not equipped with “Can’t-Slip Heels,” the green or pink
plugged shock absorbers, the same as you wear on your own heels to keep
from skidding over the sidewalk, perhaps it were well to look into it
a little. Autos as well as men take to skidding quite easily, and not
infrequently come to grief.
We use rubber heels to absorb shocks and jars just as we use rubber
tires on the auto to absorb road shocks. We find in both instances
that in wet weather the pavement becomes lubricated and a slip or skid
is likely to result in damage to person or car. In the case of rubber
heels it was found desirable to provide some means to prevent slipping,
and plugs were inserted which grip the ice or slippery surface and hold
fast. Tire manufacturers have developed all sorts of devices, such
as projections and recesses, vacuum cups, etc., in the tread of the
tire, to keep them from slipping. In one case the device has been very
successful, where the manufacturer has inserted strips of cotton fabric
in the tread of the tire, on the same principle as the plug in the
rubber heels.
The fabric, really a thick canvas, projects a very little beyond the
rubber surface, and gives the tire a better traction than plain rubber
would have on a slippery pavement, and makes one of the best non-skid
combinations. You doubtless will remember that rubbers worn smooth are
more slippery than the leather heels with their nails; or that the
rubber heels which have no plugs get very “slick” and are worse than
nothing. It is exactly the same with rubber tires.
No matter with what non-skid device tires are equipped, there is always
the danger of slipping when the pavements are wet or slushy, and the
fact that such equipment is used should not make the driver think that
he can drive at high speed with safety. On ordinary wet pavements very
satisfactory results are obtained with most of the regular non-skid
types of tires. Where ice or packed snow or surface mud is encountered,
chains are better. In very deep mud, loose sand, or loose snow, heavy
rope wrapped around the tire between the spokes will probably be found
best. In an emergency, when caught out in the country, it might be
necessary to cut up a blanket or find some other substitute for the
rope.
When there is a telephone pole or post near at hand when the car
becomes stuck in loose snow, sand, or deep mud, often the car may be
pulled out if a tow rope long enough is handy. Fasten one end of the
rope to the pole and the other to the forward part of the rear wheel.
Then start the engine and if the rope is strong enough and it is
stretched tight enough, as the wheel revolves it will start the car
forward. Take a fresh hitch on the pole and try it again. A few inches
at a time it will pull the car forward, a distance equal to about the
diameter of the wheel, and in time get the wheel out of the rut or hole
so that it may grip the solid earth again.
The flat steel stud tires are absolutely worthless on ice; they are
good skates, but for gripping the ice they are failures.
The great majority of skids are due to excessive speed. The author
has been told by a driver who drifted into another car and broke both
headlights that he was only going ten miles an hour. This was probably
true, but unquestionably he was going too fast for the condition of the
streets and his tires. It is quite necessary that the driver should
know how his car is going to behave under all conditions and drive
accordingly.
Occasionally the crown of the road will cause a slip of front or rear
wheels to the side that cannot be prevented by a reduction in speed;
but the careful driver will at least drive slow enough under such
conditions to make whatever damage might occur from this cause as light
as possible. Wherever a road has a crown there is always increased
danger of skidding, but often these roads that have a hard slippery
section in the middle have a narrow strip of gravel or dirt on each
side. Where this is the case it would be better to drive with one pair
of wheels in the dirt rather than to keep in the middle, where slipping
is almost unavoidable.
In other cases, where there is no dirt strip, it is perhaps better
to keep right in the middle of the road and to use great caution in
turning out for other vehicles.
Rounding a corner at high speed is, of course, a direct invitation
for a very serious skid. Making sharp turns of the steering wheel on
straightaway is also dangerous. When driving in traffic on slippery
pavements, care should be taken not to follow another vehicle too close
and to judge stops far enough in advance so that the car may be brought
to a standstill, if necessary, several feet before the desired point
is reached. In other words, the brakes should be applied very carefully.
In extreme cases it may be found impossible to apply the brakes at all
without skidding, and it will be necessary to practically allow the
car to drift to a standstill. Brakes which are adjusted so that one
takes hold a little stronger than the other will also cause a skid, by
permitting one wheel to turn and twist the car about.
When skidding does occur, about the only thing the driver can do is
to turn the steering wheel in the direction of the skidding, with no
pressure on the brake. This will correct the skid before damage is
done, provided the speed is not too great. Another help in preventing
skidding is to leave the clutch engaged and the engine pulling slightly
when the brake is applied. Of course, before the car is actually
brought to a standstill the clutch must be released, or the engine will
stall. The slight pull of the engine when the brake is applied prevents
the locking of the rear wheels, and in that way prevents skidding in a
large measure.
On any stormy day a short tour of any of the much used avenues in any
city will disclose a variety of machines which have had their skid and
are against the curb with broken wheels, if nothing worse. It seems
as though no amount of advice will teach the driver to use care on
slippery pavements. He must have his own skid before he learns his
lesson.
The season for skidding is always with us, however, and every patch of
ice, or a frozen or wet street surface, or a muddy country road gives
the warning “Drive Carefully.” It behooves the owner, therefore, to
provide his car with the best safety devices to be had, whether it be
chains, rope, tires with plugs which encircle the tread, or whatever
may be necessary. He will do this if he has had his skid; if he hasn’t,
probably no amount of advice will have the slightest effect upon him.