Automobile travel; France -- Description and travel
It seems a question to me in great emergencies as to what a man in a
great machine is to do. Mr. Croker, for instance, certainly sacrificed
his life to the man on the motor cycle, who, to my thinking, had no
business on a course where he knew those great machines were speeding
and where they had come for that purpose only. On a highway it is
another matter. Mr. Croker certainly knew also that when a machine is
making such tremendous speed it is dangerous in the extreme to swerve.
Of course it is horrible to run down a man and one would scarcely
recover from the effects of so doing, yet self-preservation is the
first law of nature. He certainly gave his life to save that of the
other man who had no business on the course. I think I should have
saved my own life and I do not consider that I am cold-blooded in
saying so. It was another case with us to-day. If, on the highway, in
approaching from the rear you cannot securely pass on you _must_ stop,
there is only one law as to that. We should have slaughtered no end of
men and beasts had we done otherwise and as the roads are open to all
from the little work dogs to the great machines, each must exercise
discretion and obey the laws of the land. So we shrieked back defiance
at the mouthing monsters and kept upon the even tenor of our way.
As for these very fast machines on the main roads, they should not
be permitted. Every railroad is forced to maintain gates at the
crossings or to pass over or under the highways, though these trains
rarely exceed forty miles an hour. Yet great autos are permitted to
exceed sixty miles an hour down the crowded highways. There certainly
would appear to be an inconsistence in allowing the latter to traverse
the length of the roads at high speed, while the former may not even
cross them without gates. Again, if the tremendous speed is to be
permitted, then certain routes should be set apart and the traveling
world advised as to what they have to expect; otherwise loss of life,
of man and beast, will occur constantly. Yet, again, if such speed is
permitted the authorities should hold those who avail themselves of
this permission blameless for accidents which the authorities know are
bound to occur.
Our route lay all day long through smiling valleys guarded by ancient
towns and picturesque castles, which I should like to have inspected
but we have lost much time in stupid Vichy and the day is fine. Also
my letters are waiting at Tours. So we pass Moulins, lunch at Nevers,
which is interesting, and reach Bourges in due time. No rain and a
glorious run, all ill health, if there was any, driven completely out
of one by the rushing winds of spring.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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