Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 34, Number 84, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 June 1902 — Right Side Wears Out First. [ARTICLE]

Right Side Wears Out First.

“The journals in street car trucks always wear out on the right side first,” said an expert in traction mechanics the other day. “That’s because the majority of people are right handed. This sounds funny, but it’s a fact Right handed people involuntarily choose a seat on the right hand side of the car, and most people standing up reach for a strap on the right. Any conductor will tell you that the right hand seats always fill up before the seats on the left, and if you make it a point to count the number of persons occupying seats in a crowded car you’ll almost invariably find that there are more people squeezed into the right hand seats than in the left. This, with the majority of standing passengers holding onto the right hand straps, throws most of the weight on the right wheels, and the extra friction grinds the right side journals down before those on the left are much worn.”