Hints on Driving

by C. Morley Knight

FIG. 33.—RIGHT HAND ASSISTING LEFT (ON THREE REINS ONLY).

|Treating four reins as if only three.| To attain this end it is very convenient to treat the four reins as if there were only three, the two off-side reins being treated as one and always kept together (fig. 33). Then all that is necessary is to place the third and fourth fingers on the off-side reins, and the middle finger on the near leader to check the tendency of the leaders to run to the right or of the wheelers to the left, or else the middle finger on the near wheeler (fig. 33), to check the tendency of the leaders to run to the left or the wheelers to the right. This cannot be too strongly impressed on the reader, as the right hand has to be more frequently used in this way than in any other.

|Watching an omnibus driver is a good lesson.| A very good and inexpensive lesson in driving may be obtained by riding on the box seat of an omnibus by the side of a good driver through the most crowded parts of London. The driver has not only to gauge his own pace accurately, but also that of the other vehicles he is meeting and passing.

|Judging pace of other carriages.| This renders it absolutely necessary for him to keep his eyes looking well to the front and not always riveted on the horses, otherwise he will be unable to judge exactly the relative positions of his own and the other vehicles on the road, all of which, at any given moment, will most probably be moving at different rates of speed.

These things have to be calculated to a nicety and almost instantaneously, if the coachman wishes to wend his way at a steady and a fairly uniform pace through the busy traffic of crowded thoroughfares like those of the Metropolis.

|Change of pace must be gradual.| When he finds that it would be impossible to get through by continuing at an even pace, he must either go faster or slow down. But in either case the change of speed should be gradual, so as to avoid any sudden jerks.

|Pulling up with jerk, bad driving.| To be obliged frequently to pull up with a jerk not only indicates bad driving, but causes the greatest discomfort to both passengers and horses. Many London coachmen are in the habit of treating their passengers in this way, with the result that they are perpetually jolted out of their seats and experience sensations which are both unpleasant and irritating.

The reason is not far to seek—these coachmen are bad judges of pace, interval, and distance, and do not see till too late whether it is possible to get through or not. They first hit their horses to try and get through, and then at the last moment finding it impossible are obliged to pull up suddenly. With a heavy coach it is impossible to pull up at once, so that the chances are a collision will occur.

|How to judge width of coach.| The width of a coach is judged as far as the driver is concerned by the leaders’ bars. They are always, or they ought to be, rather wider than the pipe boxes of the wheels, so that the driver knows with the greatest certainty that wherever his bars will pass his coach will pass also, always provided that he is going straight. If he is on a curve he will have to make some allowance for his hind wheels, as their track will pass a little inside that of the fore.

|In passing give room to other carriages.| When passing a carriage do not move across the road more than is necessary, but at the same time, once having overtaken it, do not pull across its front until well clear, unless compelled to do so. It is considered bad form to oblige another driver to slow down unnecessarily. Begin to cross in plenty of time, so as to make the incline as gradual as possible, and thus avoid pulling at the horses. It is far better and safer for the beginner to give himself plenty of room, and to slow down at once if he is not certain of getting through. Nothing should be left to chance.