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Police Officer Who (IN our way to visit the wonBelieved in Safety \--Iderful new showrooms and
First offices of Rootes, Ltd., at Maidstone, last week, we noted an incident which appealed strongly to our sense of humour. This was the sight of a policeman running at some speed on a pedestrian crossing. There was a great deal of traffic about at the time, and he was certainly not prepared to accept more risk than he could help.
A Scheme to Preserve f 1NTOUCHABLES is the the Beauty of Country ‘../ name suggested for a new Roads class in road classification. The
idea, which strikes us as a good one, is part of the scheme for preserving the beauties of the countryside, and the proposition is to prevent widening and ribbon building, which means tree felling and spoliation, from the picturesque point of view, of such roads as have special scenic charm and are not really needed as through routes. Upon the rural beauties of the British Isles, and the public interest in them, depends, in a measure, the popularity of passenger road transport. Our industry, there
* fore, should support those whose concern is the pre servation of such amenities. The proposal is discussed in a broad-minded way in an attractive booklet, dealing with one such road in the Chilterns, entitled " Studies of a Country Road," by R. N. Goodman, published by Messrs. Hague and Gill, High Wycombe (price is.).
QUESTIONS are sometimes asked why dual ignition is not employed more frequently in motor vehicles, whilst being compulsory on aero engines. According to a Lodge expert, this is because the safety factor is less vital in the case of road transport. Dual ignition offers no appreciable increase in efficiency on small engines and an extra set of ignition equipment adds considerably to the expense. On larger engines, however, the advantages do become apparent, as, usually, the two plugs are placed in each cylinder in such a way as to obtain more perfect combustion of the mixture. The ideal arrangement is for them to fire simultaneously, but with certain designs of cylinder head it may be desirable for one to fire after the other in order to give simultaneous combustion over the whole piston top. Dual ignition Not Economical on Small
Engines
Loss on Rail Leads IT must have been embarrassto Slight Embarrassling to Mr. Gresham Cooke,
merit secretary of the British Road Federation, to have to confess at a recent association dinner that the reason why he attended in a lounge suit was that his suitcase containing the uniform appropriate to the occasion had been lost on rail. Most of those present condoled with him, and not a few realized the irony of the situation.
The New Theory of A SERIES of petrol tests Inaudible Engine r-"A with a new knock-detect
Knock ing instrument, carried out by the Anglo-American Oil Co., Ltd., indicates that pinking can occur in an engine without its being detectable by ear. This is for the reason that modern-engine design, particularly sound insulation and the use of less-resonant metals, subdues the sound, and whilst a driver may realize that his vehicle is running sluggishly and failing to accelerate satisfactorily, he may not suspect knock, because he does not hear it. The instrument referred to indicates electrically and measures the tendency of motor fuels to pink. It points to the advantage of using fuels, such. as those containing Ethyl, which obviate this tendency.
Although They Took S°MEpeople are always on
Their Uniforms to the duty. This applies particu Party larly to firemen. For instance, at the annual ball of the Birkenhead Fire Brigade, four pumps and two ambulances were stationed outside the Town Hall in case of emergency calls. The members wore evening dress, but although they took their uniforms to the party, no one asked them to "play."