Driving on the road
Car driving by horses on the road
Chauffeur driving two ladies
Chauffeur driving two ladies
Chauffeur opening door for a lady
Chauffeur opening door for a lady
Drawing of 1885 Benz engine
Drawing of 1885 Benz engine, showing similarity in general appearance to Duryea engine. From Karl Benz und sein Lebenswerk, Stuttgart, 1953. (Daimler-Benz Company publication.)
Phantom illustration of Benz' first automobile
Phantom illustration of Benz' first automobile. (From Carl Benz, Father of the Automobile Industry, by L. M. Fanning, New York, 1955.)
Illustration from U.S. patent 385087
Illustration from U.S. patent 385087, issued to Carl Benz, showing the horizontal plane of the flywheel, a feature utilized by the Duryeas in their machine.
Duryea Automobile
Description of first trip in the car When I got this car ready to run one night, I took it out and I had a young fellow with me; I thought I might need him to help push in case the car didn't work…. We ran from the area of the shop where it was built down on Taylor Street. We started out and ran up Worthington Street hill, on top of what you might call "the Bluff" in Springfield. Then we drove along over level roads from there to the home of Mr. Markham , and there we refilled this tank with water. [At this point he was asked if it was pretty well emptied by then.] Yes, I said in my account of it that when we got up there the water was boiling furiously. Well, no doubt it was. We refilled it and then we turned it back and drove down along the Central Street hill and along Maple, crossed into State Street, dropped down to Dwight, went west along Dwight to the vicinity where we had a shed that we could put the car in for the night. During that trip we had run, I think, just about six miles, maybe a little bit more. That was the first trip with this vehicle. It was the first trip of anything more than a few hundred yards that the car had ever made.
Methods to get to the right place in a garage
When putting the car in place in the garage you must also maneuver carefully. The main thing is that you get in your place and as best you can. Too much brio results in broken walls and bent mudguards. If it makes you nervous, this twisting back and forth, feel free to leave it to someone else. It is not everyone's job and it is precisely with this shunting that small causes can have major consequences. [Translated online from the Dutch ]
Overtaking a tram
When overtaking a tram, also pay attention to the possibility that someone will jump in front of or from the tram. Giving a good signal and leaving as much road width as possible between the tram and your car is required. To catch up with a steam tram that hurls its plume over the road, and you it obstructs the view, it is advisable to wait until the wind chases away the steam. For the distance required to overtake a fast-moving vehicle such as a tram is too long, that the chance would not become too great that, in time, it would take to catch up with the plume of steam and drive through it. , in the meantime, a road obstruction would arise from the other side, which you would not have been able to see approaching. If you come across such a vehicle, moderate your speed so that you can stop vehicles suddenly emerging from that plume of steam. Give a strong signaland if necessary, stop the car on the right side of the road, until the tram has passed. Because then you have the most certainty, because then only a vehicle moving faster or as fast as the tram can cause danger. And this danger can be averted by giving a signal and keeping the right side of the road well. [Translated online from the Dutch ]
Parking
When you stop in a street, don't forget to reach out first, as a sign for the vehicle following you. Place your car neatly along the sidewalk, not crooked or in such a way that traffic is obstructed by it. You must intervene two vehicles or cars get into the car, then drive a little further, and then reverse between the cars. Do not drive straight over to the left side of the street, against the traffic, but drive to the right and then turn along the direction of the traffic, until you are in front of the house, where you want to be. [Translated online from the Dutch ]
Room to pass
It is also important to know, if you have to go through or along somewhere close with your car, what width you need. That can become such a certainty for you that it will look like virtuosity to the uninitiated. It's a matter of routine, of course, but it can be extremely practiced. It must be started with calculating the extreme points of the fenders. Later on, even this aid is often redundant. The best way to learn this is to place two blocks of wood on the ground, or to drive two posts, which are measured just the width of the wagon apart. Riding on that is the means of learning to estimate a narrow passage. Is the width wide enough to pass, but what When measured tight, keep flat on the side of the traffic obstruction, which is on your and steering wheel side. After all, here you can see exactly how close you can get without the risk of a collision. The other side will then be free of itself. [Translated online from the Dutch ]
Turn Signal
If you have to take a side road on the right, keep your arm stretched out in horizontal direction outside the car. [Translated online from the Dutch ]
Stop Signal
With an open torpedo, the stop signal can also be given by sticking the arm straight up. In any case, account must then be taken of the somewhat higher rear of the car, or of the possibility that the passengers behind are masking the movement of the arm. [Translated online from the Dutch ]
Swerving at intersections
Swerving at intersections
Cars and Trams
Firstly, in the bends. Great tram cars, especially on narrow track, there are the annoying habit, not far off the path of the rails to swing, including the cars of the Amsterdam-Haarlem-Zandvoort-line, the ESM Guard is in such a bend on one approaching tram, or does one want passing in the bend, a car runs the risk of being crushed or at least damaged between the rails and the curb, by the swinging front or rear upper part of the car. [Translated online from the Dutch ]