#304753 - 07/12/2007 15:08
Re: And another thing, speed sensing cruise control
[Re: andy]
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enthusiast
Registered: 12/05/2002
Posts: 205
Loc: Virginia, USA
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Quote: I think the whole idea is a nightmare. Anything that makes drivers need to think less and de-skills them over the long term is bad news. Most people don't think enough when they are driving as it is.
After reading about the smart highway projects, I must say that the idea appeals to me for long trips and maybe even city driving. I wouldn't be surprised if eventually, all cars will effectively become little mobile lounges that folks can sit in and never worry about driving since that would all be controlled by computer (in the road and in the car). Although, I bet that current public transportation methods would overcome such a design first. Smart roads would certainly reduce accidents caused by inatention, sleepiness or drunkenness. We may even be able to see some of this in some of our own lifetimes.
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Brent RioCar MK][a 20GB+80GB '96 Saab 900s (Not any more) Still looking for a good way to install in a 2010 BMW 3 series with iDrive/NAV
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#304754 - 07/12/2007 15:59
Re: And another thing, speed sensing cruise control
[Re: bbowman]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 10/06/1999
Posts: 5916
Loc: Wivenhoe, Essex, UK
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Quote:
After reading about the smart highway projects, I must say that the idea appeals to me for long trips and maybe even city driving. I wouldn't be surprised if eventually, all cars will effectively become little mobile lounges that folks can sit in and never worry about driving since that would all be controlled by computer (in the road and in the car). Although, I bet that current public transportation methods would overcome such a design first. Smart roads would certainly reduce accidents caused by inatention, sleepiness or drunkenness. We may even be able to see some of this in some of our own lifetimes.
I really hope not, driving is one of the biggest joys of my life.
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#304755 - 07/12/2007 16:35
Re: And another thing, speed sensing cruise control
[Re: andy]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 17/01/2002
Posts: 3996
Loc: Manchester UK
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Quote:
Quote:
After reading about the smart highway projects, I must say that the idea appeals to me for long trips and maybe even city driving. I wouldn't be surprised if eventually, all cars will effectively become little mobile lounges that folks can sit in and never worry about driving since that would all be controlled by computer (in the road and in the car). Although, I bet that current public transportation methods would overcome such a design first. Smart roads would certainly reduce accidents caused by inatention, sleepiness or drunkenness. We may even be able to see some of this in some of our own lifetimes.
I really hope not, driving is one of the biggest joys of my life.
After years of sitting in stationary traffic travelling to and from work, or bored out of my head on the M6. I'd be more than happy to let a computer do that.
The kind of driving I still enjoy couldn't be done legally on the road anyway.
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Andy M
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#304902 - 09/12/2007 19:27
Re: And another thing, speed sensing cruise control
[Re: bbowman]
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addict
Registered: 25/06/2002
Posts: 456
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I wouldn't be surprised if eventually, all cars will effectively become little mobile lounges that folks can sit in and never worry about driving since that would all be controlled by computer (in the road and in the car). Hey! That's what happened in The Truth Machine.
In the back of his maroon Ford Office-Master,
sitting at the desk unit, he prepared for the ride
to the ATI Tower [...]
"Take me to work," he commanded the automobile's
voice-activated navigator/pilot, "the fastest
way, please."
"Yes, Mr. Armstrong."
It was 8:27 a.m., still rush hour.
Pedestrians would slow things down, so the seven-mile trip
that would have required 2.81 minutes at midnight, took
nearly six.
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#304903 - 09/12/2007 19:35
Re: And another thing, speed sensing cruise control
[Re: JBjorgen]
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addict
Registered: 25/06/2002
Posts: 456
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I noticed that JBjorgen's slow avatar load time is now holding up my page reload time. Is this an effect of the change in the way HTML is generated with the new BBS Software? Or is it just a temporary anomaly of my overloaded browser/connection/etc. ?
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#304905 - 09/12/2007 19:50
Re: And another thing, speed sensing cruise control
[Re: music]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
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I noticed that JBjorgen's slow avatar load time is now holding up my page reload time. Is this an effect of the change in the way HTML is generated with the new BBS Software? Or is it just a temporary anomaly of my overloaded browser/connection/etc. ? It's probably noticeable now that the boards in general are faster. Anyone with offsite avatars should probably look at hosting them on the boards. Go to "My Stuff" at the top, then "My Profile" and the avatar controls are at the bottom.
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#304923 - 10/12/2007 05:43
Re: And another thing, speed sensing cruise control
[Re: andy]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/07/1999
Posts: 5549
Loc: Ajijic, Mexico
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Having to think about which gear you should be in keeps you think about what you are doing, encourages you to keep making decisions, as opposed to just sticking it in drive. I take the attitude that I know full well how to use a clutch and stir a gearshift lever around (in a night of snow plowing I'll probably do that upwards of 400 times) and I don't feel that I have to prove that to myself or anybody else a couple dozen times driving to work every day. For my daily driver, I'll take an automatic, thank you very much! tanstaafl.
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"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"
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#304929 - 10/12/2007 13:32
Re: And another thing, speed sensing cruise control
[Re: tanstaafl.]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 09/08/2000
Posts: 2091
Loc: Edinburgh, Scotland
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Ahh - well my approach is that there is no way I would trust an automatic to change gear at the right time. I probably change gear over 400 times just on my commute to work (many short straights about a quarter mile long, followed by 90 degree corners...heh) and I have seen at first hand what happens when an automatic decides to drop you a gear through a hard corner. The guy involved had a spectacular crash. Even driving an automatic BMW M3 was so boring I had problems with concentration... cruise control is a killer (IMHO)
I would echo Andy's comment - for me the destination is almost irrelevant - it's the drive that is important.
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Rory MkIIa, blue lit buttons, memory upgrade, 1Tb in Subaru Forester STi MkII, 240Gb in Mark Lord dock MkII, 80Gb SSD in dock
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#304930 - 10/12/2007 13:42
Re: And another thing, speed sensing cruise control
[Re: frog51]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 10/06/1999
Posts: 5916
Loc: Wivenhoe, Essex, UK
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It should be noted of course that Rory lives in a part of the UK where he has easy access to some of the world's best driving roads
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#304931 - 10/12/2007 13:51
Re: And another thing, speed sensing cruise control
[Re: tanstaafl.]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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The only time I'm even vaguely irritated by having a manual transmission is when I'm in a traffic jam. And, really, is there anything not irritating about a traffic jam?
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Bitt Faulk
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#304934 - 10/12/2007 13:58
Re: And another thing, speed sensing cruise control
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 10/06/1999
Posts: 5916
Loc: Wivenhoe, Essex, UK
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And, really, is there anything not irritating about a traffic jam? Having longer to listen to your empeg ?
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#304979 - 11/12/2007 01:07
Re: And another thing, speed sensing cruise control
[Re: andy]
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addict
Registered: 25/06/2002
Posts: 456
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I really hope not, driving is one of the biggest joys of my life. Yesterday (Sunday) I had one of those days that really makes you appreciate being alive. Driving my car not far from Skyline Boulevard, close to the ridge, near the Christmas tree farms and giant redwoods, during sunset and a bit after sunset, looking out and down toward the valley and the glimmering city lights. And the "All Christmas Music" station on the radio was playing the Pachelbel Canon which meshed perfectly with the curves in the road and crescendoed in just the right way as I reached each new overlook. And I thought, "Wow. Life is Good. Remember moments like these!"
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