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1788 messages, Last post on Nov 14, 2009 at 3:43 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: larsb (May 11, 2009 10:39 am) It's a nice theory, but when badges are not gained via legitimate competency, they lose a lot of value. Respect must be earned.
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Replying to: fintail (May 11, 2009 12:50 pm) |
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Replying to: steve_ (May 11, 2009 9:08 am) Okay here is what they have: ASLD - automatic speed limiting device - like cruise control except the inverse, you activate it and your can can't go any faster than the set speed. This gets a safety point in EU scoring. Speed sign recognition - camera sees speed limit sign and can either automatically or with driver intervention set the ASLD to that speed. Adaptive Cruise Control w/automatic braking - car speeds up and slows down with traffic on the freeway...if speeds get below a certain speed, it drops out and the driver has to take over. ACC w/stop and go - has the ability to stop and start again, based on some criteria that varies between automakers. This won't work for things like stop signs because the system can't "see" if there are other cars waiting for their turn. There are also systems like Volvo's "City Safety" that will brake for you if it thinks you are not paying attention and are at risk for a frontal collision. |
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Replying to: steve_ (May 11, 2009 9:48 am) Riiiiight. At best, it was a band-aid for poorly designed traffic flow in an urban area. At worst, some neighbor complained to the point they installed a stop sign. There is a stop sign where I grew up that is at the base of someone's driveway. We made it a point in high school to either skid to a stop there or side step the clutch there in an mode of transportation when encountering that stop sign. In Michigan, I can think of several places where there are endless stop signs for no reason. Its because they are cheap and compensate for lack of planning. Things like "traffic calming devices" and "perceptual countermeasures" work much better while not waisting fuel, time or money. The other thing that drives me nuts, as long as I am on a rant. and its tied to red-light cameras a little, is lights that are not timed. You can't just stick traffic lights in willie-nillie. Idiots. Take a class in urban planning. Counties in Michigan should be sued for how much fuel they make their constituents waist every year at lights that should be timed better, or not there in the first place.
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Replying to: lilengineerboy (May 11, 2009 6:31 pm) Don't know situation in Mich. But, I have seen in various suburbs around Chicago over the years that the "people" bring it on themselves. This is in residential areas, not commercial. When efforts to "educate" drivers to slow down and not exceed posted 25 or 30 fail, the "residents" along the affected streets petition their govt and get stop signs at every intersection to slow down the speeders. If drivers cannot regulate their behaviour and their vehicle to posted 25 or 30, then traffic "control" devices such as stop signs are implemented. Govt is responding to the safety needs of the residents living along these affected streets to control irresponsible actions of some drivers. |
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Replying to: fintail (May 11, 2009 10:31 am) Don't see it that way. Again, maybe it is an upper left coast thing and competence varies region by region. Actually, from what I have experienced, observed, I would say that the local and county highway/road authorities in my area have shown incredibly more competence than the fools currently in control in DC.
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Replying to: xrunner2 (May 12, 2009 5:17 am) Unfortunately, the traffic engineers just don't have enough money to do everything and get all the signals coordinated like that one. They do have cameras on something like 80 or 120 major intersections and they can override the signals remotely if they see traffic flow problems or bottlenecks in an area. Politicians may be idiots, but the bureaucrats keep things running pretty smoothly when the pols keep out of their way. And I think that photo radar isn't something that a traffic engineer decides to implement to calm traffic, but something driven more by revenue. |
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