Ever since I moved out to the West Coast I’ve been noticing a trend amongst those who drive hybrids and electric cars. For one, they’re generally more aggressive behind the wheel and two, they seem to feel that because they drive an economy car that this gives them the right to act like complete assholes on the open road. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve been known to fracture an occasional traffic law from time to time, but these hybrid drivers, especially those who pilot the Toyota Prius, are in a class by themselves. On the highway for instance it’s more often than not that I see Prius drivers motoring at 80-85 mph through traffic. I’ve been flashed by them, tailgated by them and even flicked off by a few. I’ve also been chastised by owners while getting coffee for driving what they consider to be gas guzzling automobiles.

Back in NYC the Prius driver used these cars as they were intended – to get great economy. They drove them in a normal fashion and simply enjoyed their little hybrids. Out here in California though it’s almost as if owners used them as a way to be passive aggressive on the open road – “Yes of course I’m speeding and driving erratically, but I drive a Prius, so it’s ok…” Now I suppose I could be imagining this, but I highly doubt it. What I’m curious to know is, has anyone out there experienced a similar occurrence or am I the only one?

Just when the lightening speed of technological advancement seemed incapable of increasing, news of the autonomous car began circulating. While it sounds like something right out of a science fiction story, skeptics must remember that much of technology today began as a dream.

The autonomous car is just that: a car that “thinks” and acts on its own. While still in the developmental stages, autonomous cars are fast gaining traction in the world of today.

Currently, every state except Nevada has outlawed driverless cars. Those in favor of the cars, such as the scientists and engineers developing them, point out that robot cars can monitor 360 degrees at the same time, and are not distracted like human drivers. While auto insurance tips often remind drivers not to drive while distracted or sleepy, drivers often do. An autonomous car would never suffer those feelings. And, as far as science has taken technology, it is still impossible for a robot to drive while intoxicated.

Roughly 40,000 people die in car accidents every year. Autonomous cars would remove driver error, reducing these fatalities, say supporters. Despite critics, developers are testing more and more autonomous cars. In fact, Google has had a semi-secret project in the works for several years, clocking over 140,000 miles on seven cars with only minimal driver control. The only accident that occurred was a human rear-ending a robot car.

So what does that mean for the average driver today?

A specific objection raised against the driverless car is:

• Robots do not have the instinct of human drivers

This is true. However, Google’s driverless car allows for a driver to take control with the touch of a button, much like cruise control. This is especially handy when others nearby do not follow laws, like bicyclists running red lights.

• Higher cost than regular cars

With more technology, especially new technology in these cars, the autonomous car would likely cost more, at least to begin with.

Some possible benefits from autonomous cars include:

• Fewer accident-related deaths

This is by far the best-selling point of a robot car. With safer travel, fewer people would die in senseless traffic accidents.

• Fewer traffic accidents

While autonomous cars do mimic the responses of humans, they are not prone to driver error, nor will they fall asleep at the wheel, drive drunk, or get distracted by passengers and other atmospheric distractions.

• Lower insurance costs

With fewer accidents, insurance premiums would drop, since the companies would have fewer claims to pay.

• Less traffic

Robot cars would be able to drive closer together, speeding up transit time and allowing the maximum use of the roadway.

With Nevada leading the pack and more and more people realizing the great number of benefits which could come with driverless cars (a drawing board idea since the 1930s), before long we will see more and more of these cars on the streets.

The simple question is why? Why the hell was someone driving at over 150 mph on a stretch of public road. It’s no secret that many of today’s cars are capable of diving deep into the triple digits, but there are times and places to do this. Last October, on a stretch of Interstate 71 running towards Nashville, TN Stanley Ivey was driving his modified Mustang at over 150 mph when he collided with a disabled motorist whose car burst into flames. The motorist, one James Lester, burned to death inside his car. Ivey, who was driving 89 mph over the legal speed limit at the time of impact, suffered some injuries, but nothing life threatening. He is now facing 11.5 years in prison. People, we have places like road courses and drag strips for you to screw around on, so please do us a all a favor and try to drive responsibly on our public roads.

Read the entire article at: news.cincinnati.com

Image: Pat Hawks

From 1974 though 1987, 55 miles per hour was the national speed limit. In the early days, the limit almost made sense, since those were the dark times between our first and second gas crisises. Back then, most cars on the road weren’t getting 30 miles per gallon, so restricting speed in the name of fuel savings became the logical thing to do. Somewhere along the line, groups embraced the 55 mile per hour speed limit since it was “safer” than the old 70 mile per hour limit. When the double-nickel fell in 1987, those opposed to raising the national speed limit predicted carnage, death and highways flowing red with blood.

It never happened, of course, and today it’s easy to look back on 55 miles per hour and laugh. The national speed limit was the most widely ignored law since Prohibition, and by the time it was repealed few drivers even remembered why it was enacted in the first place. I remember the heady rush of being able to drive at 70 miles per hour, sans radar detector, without fear of getting pulled over and ticketed. It felt a lot like the freedom you experience as a new driver, but the novelty of being able to drive at speeds that would have drained your bank account the year before didn’t last long.

In the years since, speed limits have generally crept up as states realize that inattentive drivers, not speed, kill. The sole exception I can name is Montana, whose “reasonable and prudent” speed limit fell when sports car drivers kept insisting that 140 miles per hour, during daylight hours, was indeed reasonable and prudent. Today, speed limits vary by state, county and even municipality. To help keep track of the states with the highest speed limits, I give you the list below, which names every state with a maximum posted speed limit higher than 65 miles per hour.

Speed Limit 85

Parts of west Texas, although not until the Texas DOT has a chance to review traffic on highways currently posted at 70, 75 and 80 miles per hour.

Speed Limit 80

Interstate 10 in west Texas, Utah

Speed Limit 75

Maine, Louisiana, west Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma

Speed Limit 70

Washington, California, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan

As for the rest of the states, all except Hawaii have a maximum speed limit of 65 miles per hour. Hawaii, which isn’t know for long stretches of deserted interstate highways, has a maximum speed limit of just 60 miles per hour.

Photo credit: Ann Heisenfelt / AP

Since 11:30 Wednesday morning, police have been searching for a man who attacked a white Jeep Liberty housing a speed camera that was parked in a work zone on the Baltimore Washington Parkway.  Apparently, the man, who appeared to have been in his 60s and was oddly wearing a flannel shirt in 90 degree weather, came storming out of the woods with a shotgun and used the weapon to angrily tap on the vehicle, which startled a contractor who was inside the Jeep.  The contractor hit the horn, and at that point, the man started screaming and smashed the windshield in with a hammer. The man eventually fled into the woods.

No one really knows what his motive was, though a fair guess is that he was pissed at the speed camera.  Now, like many people, I hate speed cameras, but I don’t think that camera on the BW deserved his wrath.  It’s at a work zone, there are plenty of signs warning of the use of speed cameras, and even a radar speed sign that tells you how fast you’re going.  Plus, the fine is only $40 and no points.  What I find more deserving of said wrath are the Honda Odysseys on the BW that drive in both lanes at the same exact speed below the speed limit.  Or the tour buses that do the same thing.  Or the drivers who just cut onto the parkway without looking despite the yield signs and the lack of a merging lane.  Or the people in the shitbox 30 year old Pontiacs that are ALWAYS broken down in one of the two lanes, annihilating any naive hope anyone might have for a pleasant drive.  In other words, unless you enjoy cutting yourself, avoid the Baltimore Washington Parkway.  If the interminable traffic doesn’t get to you, a hammer-wielding lunatic just might.

Source: Washington Post

Have you ever been in a newer GM vehicle only to look up and see four buttons on the bottom of your rear view mirror? Well, for those who don’t know what those are, I’m here to tell you. That was OnStar, a service that until recently, was only found in GM vehicles. OnStar is an automated system that works through your cars rear view mirror and provides the vehicles owner with a host of different remote services. Things like automatic crash response, emergency services, stolen vehicle location assistance, turn-by-turn navigation, roadside assistance and hands-free calling are all available. Over the years OnStar has proven itself to be one of the best systems out there, and now, thanks to a deal between GM and Best Buy, it will finally be available to customers who own automobiles other than those built by GM.

The units will be available this spring for $299.00 at Best Buy, and can be installed by one of their Geek Squad Auto Techs at the location of purchase. Expect installation fees to run between $75 and $100, with OnStar contracts starting at $18.95 a month or $199 a year. According to a statement by OnStar president Chris Preuss,

“This move in to the consumer electronics space represents the biggest development in our business model since introducing OnStar as standard across all GM products several years ago. It represents a quantum leap forward in our plans to grow our business and provide a strong new revenue base for GM and OnStar from which we can further develop our core offerings in the factory-equipped market.”

Source: OnStar

Image: Gulf News

Here’s an interesting concept: rather than relying on signage to convey a drop in the speed limit, officials in Abu Dhabi City have paved stretches of road in red asphalt (not to be confused with the driver’s education horror film, “Red Asphalt”) to warn drivers of the change. Signage is still posted, and the new speed limit is also painted on the road surface, giving drivers three clear indicators of the change in speed. Since the new system only went into effect last Saturday (New Year’s Day), it’s too early to tell if it’s had an impact on reducing speeds, but it certainly is eye catching.

Don’t expect to see a system like this in the U.S. any time soon. First, colored asphalt costs more money than plain asphalt, and I’m not aware of any states with a budget surplus for paving. The federal government certainly isn’t going to spend more money on maintaining interstate highways, since they can’t even afford to fix what’s already broken (driven I-95 north from Florida lately?). Besides, traffic enforcement in the U.S. is more about revenue generation than it is about driver safety, especially at the city and county level. Additional warning of a pending change in speed isn’t going to net police agencies any more revenue.

Source: Gulf News, via Autoblog

I was heading into the grocery store the other night when I saw something that made my jaw drop. A lady, apparently deciding that the cart-return was too far away, decided to give her shopping cart a solid heave… right through the sporadically parked cars in the back half of the lot.

The cart, as Wally-World carts often do, immediately hooked a left into oncoming traffic, causing a guy to slam on his brakes to avoid a collision. The lady, either too callous or too oblivious, pulled away with nary a glance at the narrowly avoided impact.

Now, granted, I was at Wal-Mart; I don’t have high expectations for the patrons. In fact, I saw not one, but two ladies wearing Snuggies as I perused the aisles.

But it certainly got me thinking. Parking lot courtesy (and safety) is sorely lacking. Few other places combine the confusion, frustration and crowds of both pedestrians and vehicles in motion like a modern superstore parking lot.

So as a public-service announcement, I present to you some insights into parking lot manners. These are insights gleaned from years of walking through the loosely-organized chaos that is a Midwest Wal-Mart blacktop – so trust me, I’m an expert.

Those Arrows and Lines Mean Something

Those arrows at lane entrances in parking lots? They mean something. All too often I have to stop to let some clueless driver who is going against traffic by because they don’t realize that the arrows, and the angles of the parking spaces themselves, are setup to guide traffic and keep it flowing.

Even worse are the people who cut across rows of spaces. A slow cautious turn is fine, but these slowpokes are usually driving 55 mph as they blaze a new trail through the white lines.

I Took The Crosswalk Because I Didn’t Want You To Hit Me

Or alternately titled “Slow the F down!” Crossing the gauntlet between a parking lot and the store entrance has become a deadly gamble. Just when you think the coast is clear, a 16-year-old in their parents Suburban comes roaring past the crosswalk, walkers-be-damned.

Parking lots have people walking through them – people who would not like to die before they’re able to complete their purchase.

Return Your Cart, A$$hole

Parking lots have little cart-corrals spread throughout, providing convenient spots to park your cart after you’re finished. So why do they end up randomly strewn about?

I park in the back of the lot on purpose – in a likely misguided attempt at protecting my car from careless door dings. An unfortunate side effect of being alone in the back of the lot is that my car is usually surrounded by abandoned carts by the time I return, which I have to carefully maneuver around as I leave.

It Isn’t A Better Spot if it Takes 30 Minutes to Park

Whats with the obsession over front-row parking spaces? You’re not saving any time if you have to sit for 10 minutes while you wait for someone to unload their packages and back out – and in the meantime, the seven cars behind you are steaming with unspeakable rage because you’re the guy who’s been driving through the lot like a vulture waiting for a prime space to open up. Never mind the fact that you’ve driven past a dozen open spaces. Never mind that I’ve parked, walked through the lot into the store, found my items, completed my purchase and am now walking back out in the time it took you to park. You got that front-row space; you win, buddy.

So there you have it; four common-sense observations on the degradation of our parking lot courtesy. Take heed and learn from the misdeeds of those around you. And if you’re the cause of these fist-clenching acts of obliviousness, may the unsightliness of a thousand door-dings rain down upon your car as it sits in the front-row space you spent 30 minutes searching for.

Do you bicycle to work in Afghanistan? Liberia? Somalia? Manhattan? Are drivers of cars constantly trying new things to kill you, and can you not leave you bike unattended for more than 15 seconds without getting it stolen? Then prepare to take notes, since I’ve got your next ride right here.

Dubbed the BOND (for Built Of Notorious Deterrents) Bike, this rolling tribute to testosterone was built by ilovemybike.uk, a British insurance company. The idea came from a survey of 800 cyclists asked to name the worst part of their daily commute. The flamethrower (which I really hope works better than the demo) is to deter aggressive drivers, while the ejection seat (which also needs a bit more thrust than the video shows) is to counter potential thieves. Let’s hope that it’s remote activated, otherwise it’s kind of pointless.

For traction in snow, the rear wheel is replaced by a caterpillar track and the front can be removed to use a single ski for steering. The caterpillar track also helps to ensure superior grip on cobblestones and pothole (or bomb crater) laden streets. Want one? You’re currently out of luck, since ilovemybike built this prototype as a one-off example. I subscribe to the philosophy that everything is for sale if the price is right, so I’m sure a deal can be cut if your bank account is large enough.

Source: The Daily Mail, via Neatorama

I’m a sucker for any type of good animation, stop motion photography or digital video, so when I spied this video I just had to post it. The scene that the video depicts is something that would occur virtually daily up in the Bronx section of New York. There is nothing amazing from a story perspective as the video simply shows a graffiti artist doing his thing in an urban setting. What’s amazing is that this video actually makes you forget that you’re actually watching a bunch of Matchbox Cars and small figurines that are all set up on a cardboard backdrop as opposed to something that happens for real everyday in urban areas around the world. That is where the true genius of this little stop motion movie comes in… it simply makes you forget about real life for a moment.

Source: RalfBecker.com