How To Drive A Motorcar
A Key To The Subtleties Of Motoring

STARTING ON SECOND GEAR that it is not necessary to go into this matter more fully here. With a three-speed gearbox on all ap- proximately level roads, and on slight upgrades, it is quite feasible to start in the second gear, the methods adopted being quite similar to those for a four-speed box. Reversing It is rather extraordinary how few people are in any way adept at the art of reversing. One must admit that it is rather tricky work, and the reason why people usually do it so clumsily is traceable, no doubt, to the fact that ordinarily one obtains so little practice. The great thing to bear in mind is not to over-steer ; also to correct just a little sooner than one is tempted to do. The average ability of motorcar drivers to reverse neatly and, as one might put it, “ soberly,” is so deplorably lacking in finish that it can be safely sug- gested that the reader (if not quite proficient) should spend half an hour one day when he has nothing much else to do on a quiet country road practising the art. He should also make a point of studying the full effect of changing the lock of the steering wheel when reversing. Words altogether fail to express the writer’s consterna- tion to see the awful muddle frequently made by drivers of motorcars when trying to get out of a garage or similar place where they are required to use any- thing different from ordinary straightforward pro- gression. Sometimes it is really extraordinary, and so soon as the car begins to move backwards the driver seems to have lost every symptom of knowledge as to the manner in which to manœuvre his steering in order to get out of a close-fitting position. Of course it is not a very serious subject, bub nevertheless on some occasion ability quickly to reverse out of a dangerous situation might prove very advantageous, to say nothing of the everyday value of such ability. Consequently the advice to practise reversing and study the effect of the varying front-wheel lock so as to become more adept in the not-frequently-seen art of reversing with accuracy is well worth consideration. c2 35