Abstract
REVISED regulations for the construction and use of motor vehicles in Great Britain have just been issued by the Ministry of Transport. They provide, among other matters, for the testing of brakes, steering gear, etc., of a vehicle on the road. In about a dozen of the States forming the U.S.A., it is compulsory for motorists to have their cars inspected to see that they comply with safety regulations. According to a recent note issued by Science Service, of Washington, D.C., it is an even chance whether the motorist will find that his car falls below the requirements for safety on the road or not. The most common fault is bad brakes, but it is not unusual to find that lights are out of focus and wheels out of alignment. In some cases, the owner finds that it would cost him more than his car is worth to make the repairs and so it is relegated to the scrap heap, an action which may possibly have saved the lives of other people as well as his own. Last year in Pennsylvania alone, nearly 15,000 of the vehicles were found to be decrepit, and quietly passed out of circulation. Whenever inspection laws are passed in a State, it has been noticed that there is a great decrease in the number of ‘collegiate’ models which run on the roads on four wheels with no brakes. It is impossible to say what percentage of highway accidents can be attributed to mechanical defects of the cars, as after a wreck there is little left to test. It is reasonable to conclude that when about half the cars in a State have faulty brakes, they are to blame for some of the tragedies which occur. Because cars are fitted with good tyres and good brakes initially, we are apt to forget that the average car on the road is nearly five years old and is generally slightly shaky. Railway trains and air liners, operated by experts, have to pass a rigid inspection to see whether they are safe. Motor-car drivers are usually amateur mechanics; it is rash to assume that their equipment is safe.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
The Need for Motor-car Inspection. Nature 139, 664 (1937). https://doi.org/10.1038/139664a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/139664a0