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Intelligent Road Studs
Copley writes "The BBC have a short story about 'intelligent' cat's eyes (reflective road studs). I remember reading about the principle of these years ago. It seems that they've reached the real-world trial stage. The whole concept is pretty cool - the studs monitor weather and traffic speeds and change their colour accordingly. As you drive along, rather than see your own headlights reflected, you see a line of active lights indicating what you can expect ahead of you: stationary traffic, ice, etc. As I recall, one idea proposed was for your own car to leave a trail of lights behind it, the length of which related to your speed. The trail thus indicated the 'danger-you-are-too-close-you-moron' zone behind you. Drivers could then avoid driving within another car's trail. Neat idea, but I somehow doubt even the most technical of safety systems is ever going to change the driving habits of some of the brain-dead, tail-gating idiots I often have to share the roads with... Perhaps intelligent road studs with assault weaponry to take out bad drivers would be more useful!"
This will be a major improvement... most of the studs I meet on the street are idiots.
Use Ctrl-C instead of ESC in Vim!
...as in intelligent road stud.
Or something.
"...but I somehow doubt even the most technical of safety systems is ever going to change the driving habits of some of the brain-dead, tail-gating idiots I often have to share the roads with..."
I'm sick of you slowboat assholes lambasting brave souls like me and my fellow tailgaters, who selflessy put ourselves in danger every day to eliminate the wasted space you "safies" use to create those awful traffic jams. We're heros, and we know it, quit oppressing us.
Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.
Ever notice there are two types of drivers? The morons in front of you and the idiots behind you? The morons are going too slow and the idiots are going too fast. Trouble is, to the moron you're an idiot, and to the idiot you're a moron.
If all this should have a reason, we would be the last to know.
Finally! This innovation will put a stop to the cruel extrication of real cat eyes for roadway use.
"It's a wonderful idea. But it doesn't work." -- Tad Danielewski
Really though, is counting to two that difficult?
Linux: The world's best text-adventure game.
Perhaps intelligent road studs with assault weaponry to take out bad drivers would be more useful!
:-P
I believe we've had those for a while. They're called "mines."
~UP
Eat the Path.
I hate tailgaters too...but what REALLY bugs me is when you get right up on somebody and they wont move over!!!!
Phredd - "I have found people tend to take you far less seriously once you start waving your genitals at them..."
I know what you mean about those damn tailgaters. I hate them all. And you're right, the agressive ones are the easiest to deal with. I just take my foot off the gas and gradually slow down until they zip around me in a fit of rage. They're too busy speeding along and saving precious fractions of a second to act out on that rage, so I figure it's a pretty safe method overall. In a 65 MPH zone where everyone's going 70+, they usually get the hint by the time I hit 60.
The passive ones suck, though. They usually take until 55 or so before they get the hint. Sometimes closer to 50. Only once did I have one that simply refused to change lanes and go around. I ended up doing about 40 (the minimum speed) in a 65 for several miles before the idiot finally got off at his exit. Pissed me off big time. Of course everyone else was flying by at 75. I even varied my speed between 40 and 70 to see if he'd get sick of it. Nope. Stayed right there, less than a car length away. Fucking ignorant asshole scum.
Hmmm. A trunk-mounted proximity detector coupled to a pair of M2s would be simple enough... wouldn't leave much room for the groceries, though.
"Unless you're in the process of passing someone, you should never be in the far left lane of a 3-4+ lane highway..."
The exception being that you're on Route 128 around Boston, and you have a Rhode Island plate, in which case you are expected to move from the on ramp to the far left lane (even when there is no other traffic) and stay there at a stately 50MPH.
A.
...bringing you cynical quips since 1998
I have an even better solution:
I installed oversize discs and drums, plus a vacuum booster and master cylinder from a duece and a half into my 1 ton Suburban.
When idiots tailgate, my truck outstops them in a hurry. Two W5x25 I-beams plus three railroad ties prevents damage to my vehicle. I let them hit, and then I drive off without a scratch, leaving them sitting in a puddle of antifreeze.
One future, two choices. Oppose them or let them destroy us.
I prefer a long towbar, rated for a couple of tons.
Normally, with sudden enough braking, I can punch a hole right through into their engine block without any hassle. Of course, the bumper on my 1968 landrover is a solid chunk of steel spanning the whole width of the vehicle, so small irritants like the headlights,grill and front bumpers of modern vehicles barely scratch the paint off it.
The best part of it is when, after you exchange details, you say "Well, I gotta go... mind putting your foot on your brakes for a second?" and then casually pick low range and oh-so-slowly-and-painfully drive out of the front of their car without even touching the accelerator. Sure , you could use high range, but then you'd have to rev the motor a little and that'd spoil the effect.
You are in a twisty maze of processor lines, all alike.
There is a lot of hype here.