Risky topic but directly related to us.
Discuss intelligently please.
Risky topic but directly related to us.
Discuss intelligently please.
Well... that's one way to increase the resale value of older vehicles...
I can see a lot of PD's not liking the idea. The ones who get a significant amount of revenue from speeding ticket fines.
This will cause issues in the several cities I've been in where the flow of traffic is 10-20 over the marked speed limit.
For this reason, legislators from the European Parliament and the 28 national EU governments reached a compromise this morning that would allow drivers to disable the devices if they so choose.
Doesn't sound so bad then. Would disabling this also disable the vehicle's regular top speed limiter? If so, this could be considered an improvement!
Wouldn't technology used to prevent impaired driving be more effective at reducing accidents, injuries, etc. and if so why not do that first?
While it's easy to fall down the 1984/Skynet hole of driving oblivion, I think it's much more unlikely that this affects Americans any time soon. Our driving culture is vastly different from that of our European breathern. Resistance to government control, lack of inspections which keeps older cars on the road longer, and completely insufficient public transportation system are big barriers for any sweeping changes to the American motorist.
I do think that those of us who like to drive need to become "activists" as we approach the self driving apocalypse. How we go about spreading the good word is a little beyond my pay grade, I'm afraid.
In reply to Ian F :
It is my understanding that police departments could not make payroll without the ticket revenue. Insurance companies would go mental if they could not raise your rates based on speeding history.
Do I think that it will happen? Yeah, because I also think that the days of humans controlling the transportation pod are going to end. Good for transportation statistics yeah, bad for the driving enthusiast.
Pete
GameboyRMH said:For this reason, legislators from the European Parliament and the 28 national EU governments reached a compromise this morning that would allow drivers to disable the devices if they so choose.
Doesn't sound so bad then. Would disabling this also disable the vehicle's regular top speed limiter? If so, this could be considered an improvement!
I don't know what insurance is like anywhere in Europe, but I almost guarantee in the US, if this was implemented and they found out you disabled it, you'd be dropped immediately or your rates would skyrocket.
Luckily, I think as the person they quoted from the FIA said, the roadways and infrastructure here need as much or more work than in Europe for this to work.
Honestly I think just fixing the roadways well instead of cheaply, supplying proper lighting and drainage, as well as better driver education would help the world over, but that's just fantasy.
In reply to NOHOME :
For better or worse, I'm fairly confident I'll be long gone by the time that happens in the US.
In reply to NOT A TA :
At what point of the autonomous take-over is the sobriety of the "occupant" of the transportation pod no longer a factor since everyone in the pod is essentially a "passenger".
Pete
NOT A TA said:Wouldn't technology used to prevent impaired driving be more effective at reducing accidents, injuries, etc. and if so why not do that first?
Possibly.
I don't like the idea of having to prove I'm sober to be able to use the vehicle and insurance I pay for. Not that I'm out here driving around impaired (we make good use of Uber), I don't know, it bothers me.
In reply to NOT A TA :
My experience with a friend who had a breathalyzer in the car is that that tech needs to evolve as well. Mouthwash, fresh pizza dough, certain ethnic foods all seemed to trip the sensor. The random "please blow again" was also fun on long road trips trying to find the thing and breathe in at 70 before it would shut you down.
z31maniac said:NOT A TA said:Wouldn't technology used to prevent impaired driving be more effective at reducing accidents, injuries, etc. and if so why not do that first?
Possibly.
I don't like the idea of having to prove I'm sober to be able to use the vehicle and insurance I pay for. Not that I'm out here driving around impaired (we make good use of Uber), I don't know, it bothers me.
It bothers you because you know at a gut level that anything that the government gives you they first have to take away from you. You also realize that since it is composed of humans, government is incapable of being benign.
Pete
Zero surprise here.
People here often pine for various things, cars, laws, roads, tracks etc. that are available in Europe. Many of those people also bemoan the 'tight' automotive and other laws over here. What people don't realize is that there is a world of difference between the US and Europe. We really are incredibly free to do a lot of things here that are completely illegal over there. There's a basic, fundamental difference in how people view personal freedoms and government. I'm a well known social and political liberal on this site, but I do recognize and champion the amount for freedom we have here, even if we have our own, different, set of issues with government and power.
This wont happen here in any of our lifetime. By the turn of the next century, possibly, but we will be at least 30-50 years behind mandating of autonomous vehicles, forced change over to alternative power etc. compared to Europe and Asia. ANd I'm not saying it's bad. LA, Manhattan, Atlanta, Chicago etc. These are places that are known for crowded roads and traffic over here. They are nothing compared to traffic congestion in even moderately sized cities in Europe, and not a spec on Asia. Trust me, I'm a died in the wool auto enthusiast, but I can't wait for the day central London bans internal combustion engines and self piloted vehicles. There's a huge difference between the road infrastructure you can build in the US when most major cities were really exploding as the same time as the automobile Vs European cities who's basic layout and infrastructure was settled multiple centuries ago. The don't make more space!
The legislation requires pre-existing models to comply by 2024, so your blower Bentley may have to have the technology added. I'll be able to drag race Lambos with the Miata! Yeah !
Adrian_Thompson said:This wont happen here in any of our lifetime. By the turn of the next century, possibly, but we will be at least 30-50 years behind mandating of autonomous vehicles, forced change over to alternative power etc. compared to Europe and Asia.
Renewable power is already becoming cheaper than fossil power so that issue won't take so long, and there won't be anything "forced" about it. Most of the world waited way too long on that one...
GameboyRMH said:Adrian_Thompson said:This wont happen here in any of our lifetime. By the turn of the next century, possibly, but we will be at least 30-50 years behind mandating of autonomous vehicles, forced change over to alternative power etc. compared to Europe and Asia.
Renewable power is already becoming cheaper than fossil power so that issue won't take so long, and there won't be anything "forced" about it. Most of the world waited way too long on that one...
I don't disagree, but with the number of anti Prius bumper stickers, coal rolling rednecks and big oil still being subsidized by the State, it's going to take a hell of a lot longer here. There is a certian segment of the population who will resist on principle.
Exhibit A.
In reply to GameboyRMH :
Renewables might be getting cheaper, but the infrastructure to support EV's are still severely lacking, at least outside of the coastal metropolitan areas. The reality it that some of these changes are going to take real time and focused effort to be solved State side. And that doesn't even get into the resistance of some segments of the population to any change.
Reading all the way down the article, there was a compromise that lets drivers disable these devices. Seems fine to me.
Adrian_Thompson said:I don't disagree, but with the number of anti Prius bumper stickers, coal rolling rednecks and big oil still being subsidized by the State, it's going to take a hell of a lot longer here. There is a certian segment of the population who will resist on principle.
Exhibit A.
What's ironic about that sticker, is that Cummins is now offering fully elctric powertrains for various machines. Some people will always resist, but change is constant and that sticker might not always mean what people think it means now.
BTW, if you think the coal rolling thing is limited or old hat, I still see it not infrequently. Whenever I'm on a long road trip, if there is a slow down on the freeway and there's a Prius in traffic, I can almost guarantee that within five mins I will see a full size pick up truck pull it's exhaust level with a Prius, let a gap open up ahead of them, then they will floor it. Not just coal rollers, lifted Bro trucks or old beaters, almost any full size truck owner seems to relish in being a dick. Not that Pius owners are immune from their own smugness I should note in the interest of fairness. 'Prius, powered by smug' is a real thing.
Honestly I'm surprised this hasn't happened already, with almost all new cars having internet and GPS. Most of the cars I drive have the current speed limit up on the dash and inform you when you exceed it. Pretty small software update to make the posted limit an any given stretch of road limit the speed of the cars on it.
Daylan C said:This will cause issues in the several cities I've been in where the flow of traffic is 10-20 over the marked speed limit.
Plus, if there is no difference in speed, traffic cannot work. How do you change lanes if you can't speed up?
I've logged over 50k miles of Prius driving and I've never experienced any unwanted aggressive behavior directed toward me or the Prius.
Or, maybe I am just too smug to realize it.
When not driving a Gen2 Prius getting 42 mpg, I am either driving a Montero Limited getting 15 mpg or a Ford Super Duty getting 10 mpg.
Knurled. said:Daylan C said:This will cause issues in the several cities I've been in where the flow of traffic is 10-20 over the marked speed limit.
Plus, if there is no difference in speed, traffic cannot work. How do you change lanes if you can't speed up?
uh... slow down?
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