Evening Star Newspaper, May 30, 1926, Page 33

LIGHTS GREATLY IMPROVE . TRAFFIC AT SCOTT CIRCLE ' Former Maze at Busy Meeting Place Now Called Much More Orderly, Although Not Yet Altogether Understood. BY W, J. VOSS. How the electrical signal traffic control lights have turned a weritable maze into an orderly meeting place for tributaries of the traffic stream is well demonstrated at Scott Circle. This opin- jon of traffic officials is shared al dound the change helpful. Before the installation of the lights at thi Iso by those motorists who have $ntersections many an out-of-town automdbilist and a goodly number of Washingtonians found themselves nonplussed. It was easy to get into the circle, but getting out was another matter. \When traffic was heavy this question was one on which a motorist had plenty of time to ponder whil waiting for the flow in the cross e sitting impatiently at the wheel -direction to cease for an insant. And now? It’s a case of watching the light and using good pense, without which the best of “The plan of handling the movement ©f vehicles at Scott Circle has shown ble improvement since the lights have Leen Installed there, authorities believe, although they realize, of course, that objection 15 to be expected from motorists who become impatient at being halted for ® few seconds while the other fellow ¥ = vay. i ormerly dere | case of “I with the prize Foing to the man who could keep on going with the greatest abandon. Trafic officials believe that the at Scott Circle best can serve r purpose if motorists will obey them promptly and move through the circle as quickly as the speed Jimit will permit. The practice of Fauntering along at a slow pace de- feats the purpose of the signal sys- £em on any thoroughtare, it is pointed out by Lieut. Col. I. C. Moller, as- Eistant director of traffic. The nove- ment of cars at a rate of speed great- er than the present legal limit never will become possible, he declares, until_motorists learn to avold block- dng their fellow drivers. Steady Improvement Shown. Keeping close to the right at all times except when one is about to pass the car ahead is as essential to the success of the control system ®t Scott Circle as it is at other points on Sixteenth strest or Massachusetts @venue, and traffic authorities insist that their observation of conditions | #hows that motorists still have some- thing to learn in this connection. The consensus, however, is that conditions @re showing steady 'mvrovement. The accompanying diagraras illus- trate the plan of traffice control at the intersection of the three streets erossing Scott Circle. Safety islands have been made to serve several pur- poses. They act as the dividing line Jor traffic having differing destina- tions. On them are placed the signal light standards, which are so situated that the light directly facing the mo- torist as he enters the circle is suffi- clent to determine all his movements thereafter. There are a few general rules Bbout edriving through Scott Circle are not difficult to remem- ularly after they have been practiced a few times. Briefly, they are: 1. North and south bound traffic moves inside the safety islands and cross traffic keeps to the right of these divisions. . No left turn may be made across the traffic stream at any time after traffic systems will go “flooey.” one enters the Inside lane for north and south bound tcaffic. 3. Cars entering from Massachu- setts or Rhode Island avenue keep to the outside of the safety island, no matter what s their destination. They may continue around the circle to the right of the island and leave at any intersection desired. It will be found that if one attempts to violate any of the driving rules at the circle, he will be confronted with a red light, so well placed are they. The lights have been located so as to show against the approaching cars, This was no easy matter, as the ap. proach is made in several instances at_peculiar angles, On the appended diagram No. 1 traf- fic is indicated as flowing north and south. If motorists who approach from Sixteenth street above or below the circle find the light directly facing them showing green, they should move on into the circle, keeping to the left of the safety islands. If the lights do not change after entering, they will find the light on the farthest end of elther island showing green, which permits them to drive into Sixteenth street. Meanwhile cross traffic is held up by red lights showing where the two avenues enter the circle and at two ends of the safety islands facing the cars which already have begun to drive around the circle. Cross-Town Traffic. Diagram No. 2 is the reverse and In- dicates the conditions under which traffic moves eastward or westward through the circle. Cars which have entered the Inside lane to pass again into Sixteenth street are halted by red lights showing at the extremities of the safety islands. The control sig- nals facing the two avenues and the cars walting inside the circle to cross Sixteenth street change to green and start thé flow of trafic around the outside of the gafety islands, as indi- cated by the arrows. The traffic streams at Scott Circle have been arranged so that at no time do they cross. Cars entering from Sixteenth street with the intention of continuing northward are never brought into conflict with vehicles coming from Rhode Island and M 3 chusetts avenues. The same state- ment holds for cars coming out of the four side entrances to the circle. All of which may be summed up into the single conclusion: That to drive through the circle may appear to be a bugaboo to the tyro, but if it is, the reason must be that he is color blind or the signal lights have ceased operating. THE OLD MECHANIC SAYS: New parts save old parts. New purts are often damaged by old parts. ‘et new parts and old parts can be made to get along together in a great many cases. | hese are a few of the things I have | @iscovered through experience. An | ©id water hose connection can cause | overheatin’ In the engine and damage | wital parts just because its saggin’| 4nsides block passage of the water. A | yew gear will not run well with an | wold one. Yet a new set of piston rings | ‘will prove a benefit in the oldest Ofl cylinders. It requires a little knack to figure wout what goes with what. There ave «cases where all new parts do not go s well together as new and old com- ‘\lned. Take a new cylinder block, it new pistons to it and the chances are that the results may not be as patisfactory as if one had used new E:n(l special piston rings with the old istons and cylinders. In fittin’ all ew pistons to the new block there s the risk of failin’ to obtain proper DOING THE BACKING FIRST BEST IN TURNING AROUND When Reverse Is Used at Outset| Traffic Is Often Inter- fered With. When trying to turn around in a arrow street it is better to do the cking part of the procedure at the bexinning rather than after having swung around. The usual method is to turn over the opposite curb and then back out into the middle of‘the Btreet again in order to cut the wheels enough to clear the curb on the sec- ond trial. This invariably interferes with traflic and is embarrassing, as well z 1y dangerous. The better way Is to start turning, then reverse to the curb again and cut the wheels. The r is then in such a position that it will turn around with- out running into the opposite curb. The big antage of this plan is that @ll during the procedure the driver Zaces the trafiic and the center of the her way he Turning Can Be Easy. Turning the wheels straight ahead or in toward the curb when parking plways can be simplified by allowing. the engine to move the car while Nash-Rinker Motor Co. SALES and SERVICE G years at the same address speaks for itself 1419 Irving St. N.W. Col. 4467, = o | reversing | balance. This hazard doesn't come with merely fitting’ new rings. It doesn’t pay to use new generator brushes if the armature is so worn the brushes can't be made to fit. The armature must be turned down until it's smooth. Then the new brushes will do the trick. Until then the chances are that the old brushes will deliver a higher output when used with the worn armature. They say it doesn't pay to use a new inner tube with an old shoe, but I would prefer this to an old inner tube with a new shoe. Let the old shoe cause the new tube to blow and the loss is the expense of vulcanizing the tube. Let the new shoe be damaged by the old, “blown” inner tube and the loss may run into money. Blendin’ old with new is quite a trick. Experience counts for a lot. but good judgment can- be a safe enough rule for the car owner who does not have an opportunity to study the subject from the angle of the re- pairma PARKING IN GEAR WRONG. Car May Be Struck, Thereby| Straining Engine and Gears. It is bad policy to leave a parked car.in gear on a main street or- thor- | oughfare. Here it may be struck by | another vehicle, and under such cir- cumstances the transmission and en- gine are in danger of being strained. Usually the main traveled street is level, so braking in gear.is not neces- ¢ sary. RIMS Rundlett Rim Co. 1336 14th St. N.W,. Get to know EBONITE and you’ll never use any other gear lubricant. It prevents noise, friction and delivers long, satisfactory service. At dealers’ Im:o‘-.uni _cans, and _service from the Checkerboard pump only. complex series of | No.1 NORTH ano South Diagrams illustrate the lights which surround the ci teenth street traffic is halted. “Z” Is Only Name Of New Czech Auto Of 18 Horsepower Nameless automobiles are a rarity. However, the Brunn Co. of Brunn, Czechoslovakia, has begun the manufacture of a machine that will be designated by the letter “Z.” Only one type of chassis is being produced, having a wheel base of 104 inches and equipped with a two-cylinder engine which develops 18 horsepower and a speed of approximately 80 kilometers an hour. Production for the year has been estimated at 250 cars. KEEP TIRE PRESSURE UP IN HOT WEATHER Experts Say Heat Does Not Make Important Difference, as Many Motorists Believe. Motorists who decrease air pressure in their automobile tires during warm weather are robbing themselves of many miles of service. This point is made by tire experts ‘who concede that it is true that heat does increase air pressure ‘The percentage of increase, however, is so slight that it is not even an im- portant factor in tire wear, they main tain. Alr pressure may be shown to gain several pounds by actual test, but it is not air pressure that causes rapid tire wear. Rather, it is the genera- tion of heat. ‘Take a tire which is underinflated on this theory and run it at a fairly high rate of speed over hot pave- ments. Side walls, cords and tread flex much more severely each minute than when pressure is normal. . Every flex or movement of the tire produces heat. After a time, this heat will cause the air pressure to increase to somewhere near normal. But this pressure has been generated by ter- rific effort on the part of the tire and it will show up in the tire’s much shorter life. On the other hand, the tire which starts out with normal pressure is not subjected to the extra strain and | stress and generates a minimum of heat. The pressure increase is so slight as te be unimportant. It is better to inflate a tire rather than to make the tire inflate itself under such eonditions. in tires. | No. 1 shows traffic flowing through the circle inside by red lights. No. 2 indicates east and west traffic flowing around the circle, to the righ No.2 EAST ANDWEST | | Entertainment for 'YOUR CAR and MINE A Weekly Department of Helpfulness, Information and By WILLIAM ULLMAN. Motor Car Owners. Experts discuss “density of les- trians” as an accident cause. Motor- ists blame it. | Both Cause and Remedy. | _Those who first popularized the idea that there is strength in union were not thinking of modern motoring, but their theory applies, nevertheless. Traffic, just one of motordom's prob- lems, is the result of the amazing in- crease in the number of automobile owners, vet it is this very increase that is certain to bring the solution as well. It is the new way of viewing motor- dom’s problems, and the optimistic way. If there were not so many peo- ple driving automobiles there wouldn't be so many problems. But it is also true that there would be less opportu- nity to effect proper solutions if there were less people driving. The more people there are interested in motoring, the quicker its many problems will be solved. It's just the old theory about strength in numbers and in the union of numbers brought down to date and applied to the pres- ent situation. = When everybody has had a taste at { driving cars there will be fewer jay { walkers, for instance. The people !who conduct themselves best when foot are thosé who know something about driving cars or who take an |actual part in vehicular traffic. | If the great number of motorists | fall to effect the solution to motor- dom’s various problems, then the theory of unionism is a failure. Judg- ing from the many new and logical plans that are being developed for the solution of these problems as a direct result of greater interest in motoring on the part of every one, there is little ground for such a fear. Valve Exhaust Test. One way to ‘test valve adjustment in a multi-cylinder engine is to drive up a steep hill and listen to the ex- haust after reaching the top. If the ! exhaust seems to be “mixing them {up” and does not give a rhythmic | | series of explosions. the chances are | that some of the exhaust valves are not seating tightly and that they do not have sufficient tappet cl Making Safety Complete. | While the automobile industry is | busy developing a safer type of auto- | mobile body it has been suggested that | the following points be considered: ‘It is our honest belief that Flint owners are among the best judges of automobile valuesin the country —and we are proud _ to say that they are our best salesmen. A Demonstration Will Convince You FLINT 1605 14th St. N.W. The completely safe body would be all steel with body posts narrow enough to provide proper visibility yet strong enough to allow a. car to stand on its top without collapsing. The top of the steel body would be completely insulated as a precaution against electrocution -of its occupants should a high tension electric wirg ifull upon it. { Inside, the car would be thickly padded =o in case of a bad spill oc- cupants would run as little risk as possible of being knocked unconscious. All safe closed cars seating more than two persons would have four doors to provide for quick exit. Completing the Job. It may be a kindness of motoring humanity to pick up stray nails .from the streets, but why toss them back on the eidewalk? They will only be swept into the street again and one's | thoughtfulness ‘will be in vain. Com- plete the job by tossing puncture equipment into the ash can. | Did You Know That— { If the engine does not seem to use | the usual amount of oil after valves | have been ground the chances are that the cylinder head gasket is leak- ing? Water is getting into the cylin- ders and down into the engine crak- case causing the oil level indicator to register full. Balloon tires go flat more slowly than the high-pressure type when a slow puncture has started? This is because pressure is lower. Balloons that look “low” should be tested at once. v It is not a requirement of an in- surance contract that a car must be found unlocked if destroyed .in a warage fire? The matter of looking is considered by the companies only in theft losses. As a matter of fact, theft is so much more lkely than pfire that most companies . consider locking the car in the garage an as- sistance, Gears Raise the Grease. gears of the [ ulpnrnlnn of cars going northward or southward from !):::e-:mhln( uda't. ",rrhl‘(e":l by T‘e‘n: :f thelnmhfi:n::ermll{::i dinadvantages, and motorists who ex- t of the safety islands, and emerging at all intersections while Six- Homes Less Safe Than Streets, U. S. Survey Indicates Streets may be unsafe in this period, but statistics of the; N tional Safety Council show the home is more so. Figures of the council for February show that an average of 60 persons were killed dally in home accidents. This toll, the council announces, is consid- erably greater than that taken by automoblles in the same period. Accidents in the home in Febru- ary, 1925, averaged 71 daily. The alarming feature of the home accident death reports for February of the present vear is the large number of fatalities caused by asphyxiation and suf- focation, 43 per cent being from that cause. Burns and scalds were next and falls the third leading cause of fatal accidents in the home. TN BREAKING IN OLD CAR HARDER THAN NEW Factory Precision Absent and Often Parts Have Been Recently Tightened. Used cars, too, require “breaking General recognition of this fact s creeping into motordom and with excellent results. As an illustration, suppose one has purchased a used car that has undergone repair work of major importance. Suppose the bear- ings have been tightened and new oversize pistons installed. Is it reasonable, under the circum- siances, to expect the car to give nor- mal performance the minute the new driver takes the wheel? Breaking in & car with a rebored block, larger pis- tons and tightened bearings is a more difficult task than breaking in a new engine because factory precision is not avaflable in the average run of re- pair shops. There may be a tight pis- ton, for instance, and if the new own- er assumes the car is ready for hard service he may find his car with a scored cylinder and ready for another reboring. This is but one case in point. There thousands of others to prove that it pays to “break in" any car, new or old, that is placed in new hands. WISE OWNER IS GIVING HIS AUTO SUMMER GARB Hot Weath't;r Calls for Special Type of Care Which Includes Full Change -of Lubricant. BY FREDERICK C. RUSSELL. If Summer comes—and it always has—many car owners will be better prepared for it than t years. hey have been for a number of This prediction is based upon the experience of large service stations, where thousands of cars already are receiving special grooming in preparation The modern motorist no lon calendar. ior hot weather driving. ger is guided exclusively by the He appreciates that the fag end of Spring is likely to produce a hot spell equal to anything throughout the regular sea- son for sweltering weather. ccordingly, he is prepared for the heat at times when the average car owner is thinking about doing it tomorrow. So much attention has been moderate tempergture. From 40 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit it gives ex- tremely efficient service. Above or helow these extremes it works under pect any <ind of service must give their cars special attention. More 0il Is Needed. | In cold_weather consideration is ziven to the condition of lubricant Lighter oils and ses are uses But why should a motorist :~sume that even the standard fubricants for normal temperatuxes will stand up under excessively hot weather? {In Summer a car needs fresh sup- plles of grease and ofl frequently to make up for what is burned off or thrown off or what leaks out. Universal joints are an excellent lustration. "On a real hot da 3 {of the lubricant that was serviceable | enough in Spring will be whirled out | with the rotation of the propeller | shaft. Such parts will go dry in no | time, and in this process much dam- Wheel be: |age may be done. - |are anothor example t | who does not fnsvect the condition of the Jubricant in such vital parts find that hot weather cavs wheel bearings to suffer. wheel brakes are usel the chances |are that the brake lining will become | greasy, causing the brakes to drop | off materially in their efliclency. The best thing a motorist can do {in the Spring is to get rid of the lubricant that was used during the cold weather. This he can do in some instances Dby removing plugs. such as draining the transmission case and the differential case. Where no drainage is offered another way to remove worn lubricant is to force into the bearing fresh lubricant under pressure. All the old grease in the universal joints and spring bolts can be removed in this way. To remove old grease from front wheel bearings it is best to remove the wheels. If front-wheel brakes are not used. of course the old grease can be forced out the inside by pac! ing the hubs with srease and screw ing them on. repeat the process until the fresh grease begins to ceme through. Rear wheel bearings ferent treatment because the wheels do not revolve on dead axles, but are bolted to and revolve with live axles. Grease is added through a plug hole cut through each extremity of the rear axle housing. It is neceseary however, for one to know whether the axles are of the floating type or the seml-floating variety. If grease is forced through the holes in sufficient quantity it will work out in various ways, depending upon the type of axle. If the axle is one of the several varieties of the floating type old grease will tend to work out toward the wheel hub. If the axle type is such that the wheel can be removed without difficulty a simple way will be bearing of the the wheel is not r gre: is forced qu i require Gif- If front- | given the matter of preparing cars for cold weather that the necessity for dressing them in Sum- mer garb, more or less, has been sidetracked. reason most persons regard the automobile as a hot animal, pitying it and coddling it during the cold season, but let- ting it stand on its own legs when hot weather comes An automobile performs best in a | some of the old grea: For somé strange weather will back up and out of the grease plug. The wheels should be removed in the case of the semi-floating type of axle, for here the wheel bearings are between the axles and the inside of the Housing. Old grease will be forced through the housing toward the differ- ential if it cannot work out toward | the wheel. In the differential it could { do no good. This sort of work should be done .+ during the Spring in order to have the our in_fit condition for Summer’ work. Next to lubrication in impo: tance <ome adequate cooling for the engine. XMoot careful car owners take great pains io cover their radi- ators in cold weather, but somehow eem to forget to uncover them when Summer comes. Sdme cooling sys tems are so delicately balanced that on an extremely hot day overheating will be caused by having a license plate on the crossbar in front of the radiator. When the hot day con- spires with the high hill to aggravate the motorist he may not be inclined to stop long enough to try placing the license tag somewhere else on the front of the car.; And so the engine suffers from his lack of foresight. | Owners who have followed wise |counsel by having the radiator jcleaned out with fresh water after having run off the antifreeze used during the Winter should not consider the cooling system ready for Summer just because it is in suitable condition for Spring. Before Summer comes the radiator should be washed out again, or as often as the owner can think to do it. Carbon Gets in System. With motorists using their cars so extensively carbon removal and valve grinding are no longer confined to the early Spring season. Many have this work done any time during the Spring, with the result that Summer comes with a lot' of carbon particles being circulated through the cooling system. These lower the system's efficiency and aid boiling. All the care that goes into tighten- ing the hose connections and the water pump packing nuts in prepara- tion for Winter should be duplicated for Summer, but most owners are con- tent to console themselves with the thought that water is cheap. This is not such agreeable information when the engine is getting hot on the up- grade some scorching afternoon in touring time. While the fan belt probably will need tightening, a good plan is to keep it from stretching and getting too loose by not tightening it as much as one is tempted to. Fan belts get en- tirely too much attention in hot weather. Time spent in tempting them to break might be better em- ployed enriching the carburetor mix- ture. A lean mixture will cause over- heating. Summer is coming. Be prepared: Just because it's still Spring is no ree- son to postpone this important work. Summer sometimes comes in Spring. time. TO THE MAN WHO— has secretly wished for a car with the speed of an express train—who has openly expressed a desire for an automobile with the power of a thousand giants—who has wished for a car that would brin; we offer the Locomobile Junior~Eight Coupe. Stop any driver of 'a Junior Eight—his enthusiasm will convince you. Come in and make your own demonstration, the result will make any printed statenents seem tame.. Your present car may be used as part payment. Sedan $2,435 Salesrooms 1517 Connecticut Avenue North 962 * Locdtobile Model 90 $5,500 to $7,500 With Custom Bilt Bodies 1. 0, b. Bridgevort THE * Roadster $2,265 Touring $1,925 All Prices Delivered at Washington. Terms if Desired. BEST THE LOCOMOBILE COMPANY g cities closer together and hills farther apart— Brougham $2,435 Service Station " 1123 18th St. N.W. Main 8029 >) Model 48, Series 10 $7,400 to $12,000 With Custom Bilt Bodies 1. 0. b. Bridgeport \ AMERICA