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NEAR OR OFF-SIDE STEERING.

20th January 1920
Page 15
Page 15, 20th January 1920 — NEAR OR OFF-SIDE STEERING.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

In Which the Author Expresses the Opinion That There is Little or Nothing to Choose Between Them. By Henry Sturmey.

W'

• HEARD much HAVE HEA much lately. on the subject of right or left hand steering, but I prefer le consider it from the aspect of the road,

rather than from that of the Car, and., anyway, "off" ia,, "near side '7 are more correct terms. than " right.hand " and " left-hand;" bebause these latter terms imply_ that the steering is done respectively vVith the right or left hand, rather than that the:cent-eels, inchiding the steering gear, • are fitted••onthe right or

left side of the vehicle. _ • . . ..

The views which are expressed on. this matter by drivers vary, not unnaturally, with their experienee, and we all know that, with. any manual .operation, the style or method by which we first aCcomplish it and have continued to accomplish it, appears to us to be right, largely because we have been :accustomed to and skilled in it, and any other Way of driving seems strange and, anyway, means a certain amount of unlearning and relearning before we can be equally -proficient But, becausethis is. so, it does not follow that the first employed method is necessarily " right " and the new method .`.` wrong." Nor does it follow, in this particular connection, that the method which is followed in any one country, where one rote of the road prevails, is necessarily " wrong " if employed in another country where the opPosite pertairia.

Off and Near-side in France and America.

As in most other matters, there are-two sides to ci cry question, and the method is .best which provides the balance of advantages, considered from the point of view of conditions of use. When the matter is studied, it will be seen that both systems of construction have their pros and cons, aceording to the road conditions at the moment, and neither one of them has all the advantages. The position to-day is this: in Great Britain and Amerioa.we drive on op-. posite sides. of the road—in other words,. the rule of the road is reversed—and in both countries 'we build our oars in the main with the steering placed on the oh-side. But in France, where the same driving rule pa tains as in America, more cars are built and used with steering OIL the near side than on the off, and the French do not consider it ' wrong." Why, therefore, because a number of American cars and lorries are being increasingly used here, the steering of which -whilst en -the off-side in the States, being unaltered, becomes the near side here, we should cry out for parliamentary action to prevent such cars being used, seems to me to be absurd and illogical. Of course, there is not the remotest chance of any such action being taken, because, probably, half the ears in uSe in the. States are fitted With near-side steering, and we do not hear of accidents' aoiriling from this cause; whilst, as above, said, France. probably has mote near-side steered ears than off-side; including all the fastest and most powerful Machines. If the advocates of this policy did have their way,' .I wonder what our builders of steam wagons, who have always fitted near-side steering gears, Would say about it? Doubtless the writers of these letlers.forpt this fact.

But, looking at it from; a 'practical driving and handling Point of view, I am inclined to the opinion that for commercial-vehicle *ark the advantages are rather more on the side of the near than of the off position. To examine the points pro and eon, we find that, with off-side steering, as is standard prac

tice with us, the driver Of one wagon, when overtaking another, the More quickly' gets a view of the road 'he is proposing to take, whilst, if himself being overtaken, or, being about to make a turn down an off-side -read; Or to er.O:ss to the off-side kerb, he can see what is Coming up behind by looking into his mirror, and . can Lilac) indicate his intention by holding out his Aland. This,however, is theoretical; or, rather, I should say, it is a condition of perfection which does not pertain in. practice, as, whilst all cars, and espe-cially.covereal vans, should he provided with mirrors, amore are without than with them, and, in meat covered yaris, the driver is so far enclosed—as is the driver, indeed, of a limousine; or other enclosed b6dy car— that he' cannot hold out his hand; or else the body, to the rear of his seat, sticks out so much at the side that his hand could not be seen from behind if he did put it out.

Near-side for Dodging the Ditches!

In such vehicles, therefore, it does not seem to rile, from this point of view, to matter much which side the driver Sits and, in either case, the difficulty may be met by fitting one of the many rear warning signals which are sold to-day and a prism, instead of a mirror,

• would probably meet the point of rear view visibility.

Another point' is safety in driving when meeting other vehicles and, from this point of view, both systems have their advantages. Thus, with the driver on the off-side, he can see ..his wheels, or rather the edge of his mudguard, and has a closer and better view of the onooming vehicle, so can drive closer to it and still miss hitting it, which is an advantage in close traffic. But, on the ether hand, he cannot miss a ditch so easily, being unable-to see so well the position of the sound edge of the road. Thiawould appear to point to the fact that when meeting other uare on open roads and when driving along country roads at night, especially if the lights are not brilliant, the drivercan hug the side of the road with the greater safety if .sitting on the near aide of his car. This position, too, certainly has an advantage from the lorry driver's point of view which, from that of the pleasure-ear chauffeur, is otherwise, and it is this:— With solid tyres there is no spare wheel blocking up the driver's entrance, and with a reasonable amount of -clearance in the control levers, if the driver is seated on the near side of his vehicle, he can step straight down from his seat to the pavement and has not to sidle along to the other end of the seat before getting out, a point which, with a, van making a large number of stops in the course of the day, Would mean the saving of quite an appreciable amount of time in the aggregate, as well ak a saving of a fair amount of energy on the part of the driver. . I cannot, theiefere, see that either position is fundamentally. " wrorig,".or that One method is more dangerous than the Other, although hasty surface reasoning-might lead to the conclusion. I have talked with drivers who have tried both Systems, and find that as many prefer the nearas the off-side position, whilst others tell me the differenceis so slight they have not been able to establisha preference in their minds for either. Although I have not recently driven near-side :steered ears, in the early days of motoringI frequently did so and found no more difficulty in driving from one side than ni driving from the other.

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