Forget self-driving cars, here's what's happening under the radar ...

[eppur_se_muova]

US moves closer to vehicle-to-vehicle communication

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the US vehicle safety regulatory department, said it would move ahead for proposed rules for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication. At the core of the regulations are the Left Turn Assist (LTA) and Intersection Movement Assist (IMA) technologies. The former will use sensors and V2V data to warn drivers if there's a chance their vehicle could hit an oncoming car while making a left turn. IMA warns drivers if the system determines there is a high probability of a collision in an upcoming intersection. NHTSA says these two systems could prevent 592,000 crashes and save 1,083 lives per year in the US.

http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20140828-corvette-a-valets-big-buzz-kill

http://www.nhtsa.gov/About+NHTSA/Press+Releases/2014/USDOT+to+Move+Forward+with+Vehicle-to-Vehicle+Communication+Technology+for+Light+Vehicles

[pscot]

1. They'll have to retrofit

my '95 Corolla.

[IDemo]

2. If my motorcycle can cue left-turning cagers, sign me up

[GP6971]

4. Got that right! n/t

[Warpy]

16. A lot of drivers would probably agree with you

because a lot of drivers just don't tend to see anything on two wheels. It's a sad fact for bikers and one reason those things are made so loud.

I live near a university so I'm ultra sensitive to two wheelers of all types and speeds.

[zappaman]

3. I'm still waiting for the flying car I was promised 40 years ago!

[eppur_se_muova]

5. Here's one !

Flying car smashes into Lincolnshire house

A car careered off the road, flew through the air and smashed into a house in Lincolnshire.

The Vauxhall Corsa ended up on its side alongside the house on Carrington Drive in Hop Pole, near Spalding on Thursday.

The 25-year-old driver escaped the wreckage with broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder.

No-one is thought to have been in the property at the time of the crash, which demolished part of a rear bedroom of the semi-detached house.
***
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-28460739




Back to the drawing board !

[PFunk]

7. Hince the reason why I don't want flying cars (at least not for a few decades)

Most drivers are bad enough now with grounded cars. Not imagine the chaos with flying ones (shudders)?

[RKP5637]

8. Yep, same here, like this these. n/t

[liberal N proud]

6. Think of the possibilities

Lives that it could save by avoiding collisions.
Reduce the need for traffic lights.
Fewer traffic jams.

[Luminous Animal]

9. Traffic lights? What about pedestrians and bicyclists?

[liberal N proud]

14. There are already cars that can detect pedestrians and break automatically.

That can play into the equation too.

[dflprincess]

12. Unless the car refuses to move when it "thinks" there is a high probabilty of an accident

nothing will save us from humans ignoring it. There have been several collisions with light rail trains due to morons driving around the lowered gate, still thinking they can beat the train.

If people are dumb enough to do that, nothing will stop them from making a left in front of someone else.

(And could we also get technology to keep a car from changing lanes when another car is too close? Twice this week I've had idiots pull in front of me because they were tired of waiting for the car in front of them to make a left turn - but also apparently too tired to look over their shoulders to see if the could safely change lanes.)

[liberal N proud]

15. If it is programed to not proceed, then the stupid human cannot go around the barrier.

Closed roads could be the same way, how many idiots go around road closed signs?

[kentauros]

10. Nanny-tech doesn't make people into better drivers.

Training, skill, and constant awareness of your surroundings makes for better drivers. The NHTSA seems to have a higher regard for the skill of your average American driver than I've ever observed.

The technology will save some lives, but not the amount they're projecting because they don't seem to be factoring in stupidity and plain stubbornness of American drivers.

Self-driving cars are the way to do it. Take the driving out of the hands of these bad drivers. I'd gladly give up being a driver if it meant everyone else had to as well.

[Blue_Tires]

11. +1000

[flvegan]

13. What else could prevent some crashes? Paying fucking attention.

Stop yapping on the phone. Stop texting. Stop screaming at your kids. Stop eating, drinking, reading, grooming or otherwise doing shit that doesn't involve your eyes viewing shit beyond the glass parts of your vehicle. If you can't do the former while also doing a bang up job of the latter, then don't. Hand your keys to someone with more than a handful of brain cells and stop driving.

My favorite thing lately is the new Infinity commercial where the mom/dad driving the new suv is backing up but (thank the gods!) has the vehicle stop backwards movement as it saw/sensed a vehicle coming. Yeah, no fucking way they could have seen that BRIGHT YELLOW SCHOOL BUS coming down the street even though there was no obstruction to their view.

Wake up people. Granted, I understand some of the need for this technology. Some people are seemingly incapable of doing little more than staring at their phone 24/7. They are indeed too stupid to do little more (other than that AND converting oxygen) so I suppose technology should further assist them.

Seriously, if you can't sort out if it's safe to make a left turn, then don't. How simple.