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Amazing Things Your Automobile Can't Do

dslmodem submitted this NYT story on nifty automobile technology that isn't coming to the United States. The report suggests that legal liability is a significant reason for not offering various driver-distracting options in the U.S.

61 of 641 comments (clear)

  1. good, we don't need that crap. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If you're going to drive an urban assault vehicle, then get off the phone & keep your eyes on the road.

    1. Re:good, we don't need that crap. by The_K4 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Jest this weekend I was driving a stick shift truck with a UHAUL trailer behind it when my cell phone rang. I had to use the same hand for my Egg McMuffin and the wheel, while using my other hand for the speaker phone and the stick shift. Considering the pooring rain and my broekn foot i thought I was doing pretty well.

    2. Re:good, we don't need that crap. by nomadic · · Score: 3, Interesting

      If you're going to drive an urban assault vehicle, then get off the phone & keep your eyes on the road.

      What's the point of actually getting an urban assault vehicle if I can't stop paying attention the road? That's the whole point of armor, man.

    3. Re:good, we don't need that crap. by Idarubicin · · Score: 4, Funny
      (Score: -1, Didn't Get Joke)

      Though to be fair, I have to agree--the McWhatsit family of breakfast products are pretty gross....

      --
      ~Idarubicin
    4. Re:good, we don't need that crap. by grammar+fascist · · Score: 3, Funny

      Though to be fair, I have to agree--the McWhatsit family of breakfast products are pretty gross....

      I dunno. I kinda like the McGuessBurger and the Mystery Meat Salad.

      --
      I got my Linux laptop at System76.
  2. Stuff British cars have by Xpilot · · Score: 5, Funny

    I haven't read the article, but I assume American cars won't have ejection seats, machine guns and rocket launchers hidden with a flip of a switch like those British Aston Martins have.

    --
    "Backups are for wimps. Real men upload their data to an FTP site and have everyone else mirror it." -- Linus Torvalds
    1. Re:Stuff British cars have by dcphoenix · · Score: 5, Funny

      .....American cars won't have ejection seats, machine guns and rocket launchers.....

      Why bother using a foreign car to blow stuff up and get tossed into the air? Buy American - get a Pinto!!

    2. Re:Stuff British cars have by Erik+Hollensbe · · Score: 5, Funny

      I had a buddy who was a gear head and use to race drag when we were in high school...

      His car? A pinto. The car is so damned light that it beats a lot of muscle cars for the 1/4, and nothing, I mean nothing, is worth more than the look on the face of someone who was just beaten by a car known far as wide for it's lack of anything worthy.

      I get a similar feeling when people realize they were just owned by my wife at CS. :)

    3. Re:Stuff British cars have by neolith · · Score: 5, Funny

      His car? A pinto. The car is so damned light that it beats a lot of muscle cars for the 1/4, and nothing, I mean nothing, is worth more than the look on the face of someone who was just beaten by a car known far as wide for it's lack of anything worthy.

      I get a similar feeling when people realize they were just owned by my wife at CS. :)


      I personally can't wait to find out what happens when your geeky wife logs onto slashdot and finds you implicitly comparing her to something known far and wide for its lack of anything worthy. Buddy, are you in for the "-1, flamebait" of your life...

      --
      Like my comments? Try my podcast: http://www.baldmove.com
  3. Glad by jdc180 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm GLAD that those features aren't available in the US. I don't need the added worry that they guy in the car next to me is reading slashdot, or trying to keep up with the lyrics on some karaoke song!

    1. Re:Glad by SlamMan · · Score: 5, Funny

      But I have to admit, people around DC drive like they're trying to play Dance Dance Revolution.

      --
      Mod point free since 2001
    2. Re:Glad by Bobman1235 · · Score: 4, Informative

      I'm GLAD that those features aren't available in the US. I don't need the added worry that they guy in the car next to me is reading slashdot, or trying to keep up with the lyrics on some karaoke song!

      The point is, that guy next to you CAN do all those things (read : laptop?), BUT that guy won't take responsibility for his.... LACK of responsibility, he'll blame the manufacturer of the device that's "distracting" him. There ARE applications where these toys would be fun and SAFE to have, but in the States we have to worry about liability for EVERYTHING, and it's restricting more and more markets.

    3. Re:Glad by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The only city where people stop for the green and go through the red.

      And the traffic cameras get you a ticket on the green.

      Washington drivers are dense, but in places liek Boston, it's cutthroat, and you know what, I could deal with that because it's more predictable. Nothing is worse than someone coming to a complete stop on an entrance ramp to the Beltway.

      As an unrepentant gadget freak, I don't find most of the devices appealing. It's just more grossly overpriced crap to sell you. Give me a decent stereo and my cellphone headset and I'm fine. I can see the benefits of the navigation systems, but I can function just fine without one.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
  4. Video would be nice by erick99 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I would like to be able to watch tv or other video when stuck in traffic. Having the video system turn off once the car starts moving over 3mph sounds like a great idea. But, here in the US, you can sue anybody for anything and stand a good chance of winning so I understand the car makers reticence.

    --
    http://www.busyweather.com/
    1. Re:Video would be nice by AuMatar · · Score: 3, Insightful

      A system like that wouldn't be too bad. The problem is those that don't stop at over 3 miles an hour. The minute the driver can watch TV, you'll see a huge spike in accidents. We're better off without these features.

      --
      I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
    2. Re:Video would be nice by Martin+Blank · · Score: 5, Informative
      --
      You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
    3. Re:Video would be nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      "here in the US, you can sue anybody for anything and stand a good chance of winning..."

      Between 95 and 97 percent of all lawsuits filed end in settlement.

      80% of all lawsuits are filed by businesses, not individuals. These suits are usually not brought because of their merit, but because they have some business purpose. For example, maybe someone wants to buy a piece of property for less than the offering price. They bring a suit against the party selling the property, that in some way casts the ownership of the property in doubt. Even though their suit is groundless, while the seller is waiting for the case to come up and be dismissed they can't sell the property. The plaintiff makes an offer for less than the property's worth, and the seller concedes. An attorney friend of mine handled just such a case.

      We live in a litiginous society not because individuals sue others so readily, but because businesses use groundless or just-barely-justifiable lawsuits as weapons against their competition, and because lawyers love lucrative class-action suits. Dismiss the frivolous suits within days instead of months or years, and make class-action suits less lucrative for greedy lawyers, and a lot of these lawsuits would disappear.

    4. Re:Video would be nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Check your rear view mirror, you tv watching, erraticly swerving, lane changing, brake hitting mother fucker. Often times the worst drivers ARE NOT IN ACCIDENTS,
      its those of us trying to get out of your way because you are too concerned with the tv, phone, kids, makeup to drive from point A to point B.

    5. Re:Video would be nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      The McDonald's coffee lawsuit brought by the elderly woman was legitimate. McDonald's was aware that its coffee was dangerously hot and had injured several other people, but chose to ignore these previous warnings. It was also aware that it was holding its coffee well above normal temperatures for stored, brewed coffee (according to McDonald's, this helped retain the flavor). The woman in question suffered severe burns which required grafts. She was mainly compensated for the medical bills she incurred from the injuries. The initial award that is frequently tossed around, like most awards in this type of suit, was reduced to reasonable levels by the judge.

      The coffee was knowingly being held at abnormally high temperatures for stored coffee. As such, it was unexpectedly dangerous which is why the jury handed her a win. This is more akin to accidentally cutting your thumb off with a pair of safety scissors that have been made razor sharp and suing than it is to sticking your hand in a running mower blade. You are expected to take reasonable precautions, but if the only reason you didn't take reasonable precautions was that the item you were handling was abnormally dangerous for the type of item it is (without warning), then it's hard to fairly place the blame on the person who is injured. There are many examples of stupid litagation due to greed or ignorance. This is not one of them.

  5. We still don't have a lot of 'em.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    One thing that is very cool that they have in Europe is 'TMC' -- radio stations will broadcast traffic alerts on where there is bad traffic. This will automagically update the route computers in most cars' naviation systems to find an alternate route around the traffic jam. No-one in the states has it, but it is standard with all VW/Audi/Skoda/Seat NAV+ units in the EU. Absolutely shameful.

    1. Re:We still don't have a lot of 'em.... by samyool · · Score: 3, Informative

      Am I missing something?

      This feature has been available since the early 90s in the UK to anyone with a http://www.radioandtelly.co.uk/rds.htmlRDS (Radio Data System) enabled set.

  6. Tort Reform Redux by geomon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The tort system does need revision, but the only proposal I've seen so far gives relief exclusively to corporations. For tort reform to work, it will have to include:

    1) eliminating slap suits,
    2) limiting damages that individuals must pay to corporations (what's good for the goose, etc), and
    3) shifting the burden of proof from the defendant to the plaintiff (same as for criminal cases).

    Then I can support tort reform.

    Otherwise tort reform is yet another corporate bailout.

    --
    "Rocky Rococo, at your cervix!"
    1. Re:Tort Reform Redux by Maestro4k · · Score: 5, Insightful
      • The tort system does need revision, but the only proposal I've seen so far gives relief exclusively to corporations.
      While I agree that we need Tort reform in general, in this case I don't see the threat of lawsuits as a problem. Frankly these are things that aren't needed in cars, especially not for the driver. Even with reasonable restrictions in place (shutting off the video when the car goes faster than 3mph) wouldn't stop idiots from killing themselves and others because of these distractions.

      While a lot of the resulting carnage would probably be from people disabling built in safety restrictions, ultimately it's hard not to blame the company for selling something like a TV screen built-in to a car for the driver's usage. In this case the fear of lawsuits is probably helping to prevent many, many deaths due to unnecessary, distracting, potentially deadly car accessories.

    2. Re:Tort Reform Redux by SlamMan · · Score: 3, Informative

      The burden of proof is on the plaintiff in civil cases. The issue is that a civil case quit requires a "preponderance of evidence" to win, versus "beyond a reasonable doubt" for a criminal case.

      --
      Mod point free since 2001
    3. Re:Tort Reform Redux by dpilot · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I like your suggestions, and I have one more...

      Last I heard, something like 6% of doctors were causing 66% of the malpractice payouts. Yet what ends up happening is that a hospital hides the records, in order to move the doctor elsewhere. The doctor has no visible blackmark, and is free to continue practicing (Perhaps the ordinary meaning of 'practice' is appropriate, here.) medicine.

      If I mess up at my profession and am 'encouraged' to leave, the black mark would follow me. Doctors should be the same, if there's some clear indication of incompetence or negligence. I'll presume that that 6% of doctors isn't a matter of 'bad luck,' it's the bottom of the bell curve, and those people shouldn't be doctors.

      --
      The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
    4. Re:Tort Reform Redux by donutello · · Score: 4, Interesting

      One of the biggest problems with the current tort system is the cost of the proceedings in and of themselves. In many, many cases, it is far more economical for the insurance company to settle out of court even when the plaintiff has no case.

      A couple of true stories I have personal knowledge of:
      - A friend's girlfriend ate something that gave her food poisoning at a restaurant while traveling. On the flight back, she got violently ill and had to be admitted to a hospital. A few days later, the airline (I believe it was Northwest) called her and offered her $10,000 if she promised not to sue them. This, inspite of the fact that it was not their fault - she hadn't eaten anything on the plane.
      - A partner in my brother-in-laws real estate firm took a client (a lawyer) out to look at houses. While they were driving, they got into a minor fender bender. 6 months later, the lawyer sued the real estate agent complaining of neck pain - inspite of the fact that a month after the accident the lawyer had fallen in her boat and broken her neck. His insurance company decided not to contest and settled for $150,000.

      In both cases, the "plaintiff" was awarded/offered a undeserved large sum of money for something that was not the "defendants" fault. The reason? In most cases the cost of fighting the suit would be more than the settlement offered.

      The tort reform we need is expediting the process and costs of tort suits rather than limiting the damages.

      --
      Mmmm.. Donuts
  7. Here's something amazing my car doesn't do by The_Rippa · · Score: 4, Funny

    Here's something amazing my car doesn't do...it doesn't wrap itself around a tree while I try to check my email and read a fax at the same time.

  8. Re:Wow... point and click parallel parking... COOL by StevenHenderson · · Score: 5, Funny
    To activate it, the driver first pulls alongside the forward vehicle, then drags a picture of a flag marker

    ...Sounds like Minesweeper. :)

  9. Car Insurance by donnyspi · · Score: 3, Insightful

    My collision and comprehensive coverage are friggin high enough. Keep this distrating technology away or face higher premiums.

  10. Stop sueing everybody! by SteroidMan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Darn it, look at all the cool toys we could have if we would just take some personal responsibility for our actions.

    1. Re:Stop sueing everybody! by temojen · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Darn it, look at all the death, chronic pain, and permanent disability we could have if we just had more distractions while driving.

  11. I ride a motorcycle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I ride a motorcycle and spend enough time watching out for idiots talking on their cell phone who wander over into my lane. The last thing I need is someone singing a Jessica Simpson song turning me into roadkill. You are driving an automobile and are putting other lives as risk. You should not be eating a big mac while talking on the phone while you are crusing down the highway at 75mph.

  12. Instead of adding, why not remove shit ? by phoxix · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Lets start with those damn ultra-bright lights. Holy cow are those super annoying. I'm not even driving but walking down the streets with those suckers turned on is enough blind me.

    Sunny Dubey

    1. Re:Instead of adding, why not remove shit ? by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Xenon headlights are what he's talking about, and even properly adjusted they are a pain to have come around a corner at you with the brights on.

      They're just TOO bright, and have become more of a "status" thing.. Much like wings, rims, and mufflers for ricers.

      --
      Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
  13. Paranoia by fiannaFailMan · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Terrorism has also created a switch in what consumers deem to be necessary equipment as they drive. It is the ability to communicate, not to be entertained, that seems to matter most to Americans, some industry officials have concluded.
    You know what? Please don't mod me troll, but do I wish USAians would get over this terror thing. Countries like the UK and Spain have had to put up with terrorism and the the threat of terrorism for decades, but they haven't developed a culture of fear, and it has not stopped them from getting on with their lives as normal. This 'but what would the terrorists think?' automatic reaction to just about everything is starting to get a bit old.

    And another thing, I could have sworn that it was illegal in the UK to have a TV playing within view of the driver.

    --
    Drill baby drill - on Mars
    1. Re:Paranoia by IncarnadineConor · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Do their leaders do everything in their power to reinforce the culture of fear?

    2. Re:Paranoia by RandomCoil · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Countries like the UK and Spain have had to put up with terrorism and the the threat of terrorism for decades, but they haven't developed a culture of fear, and it has not stopped them from getting on with their lives as normal.

      Speaking as a US citizen, I agree with you that it would be "nice" if American culture was less terror-driven, but I think it's a tad unrealistic to compare the terrorism in the UK and Spain (ignoring, perhaps, the recent train bombing in Spain) to the effects of Sept 11th. The US culture weathered the Oklahoma City bombing and the first WTC bombing in a reasonable fashion. Having four planes, the twin towers, a portion of the Pentagon, and a few other sundry buildings fall out of the sky and/or collapse is, and I'm going out on limb here, a rather more disturbing event than what Britain and Spain experienced over a few decades. I'm not saying that to lessen the experience of the other countries, but there's not a lot of historical precedent for how a people should react to terrorism of Sept 11th's magnitude.

      Is it really surprising that Americans are still a tad bothered by the whole terrorism thing?

      And yeah, there's just gotta be a law against drivers watching TV...
    3. Re:Paranoia by Misch · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "We will not let fear be used as a weapon" - George W. Bush.

      Notice he said nothing about "political tool"

      --

      --You will rephrase your request for me to go to hell. Goto statements are not acceptable programming constructs
    4. Re:Paranoia by kraut · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yes.

      --
      no taxation without representation!
    5. Re:Paranoia by Idarubicin · · Score: 5, Insightful
      I think it's a tad unrealistic to compare the terrorism in the UK and Spain (ignoring, perhaps, the recent train bombing in Spain) to the effects of Sept 11th. The US culture weathered the Oklahoma City bombing and the first WTC bombing in a reasonable fashion. Having four planes, the twin towers, a portion of the Pentagon, and a few other sundry buildings fall out of the sky and/or collapse is, and I'm going out on limb here, a rather more disturbing event than what Britain and Spain experienced over a few decades.

      There's some good statistics on the UK's conflict with the IRA here. In all, more than 3500 were killed by military and paramilitary groups between 1969 and 2001. The peak death toll was in 1972, with 479 killed--that's about three Oklahoma City bombings (168 deaths in that incident). In six consecutive years (1971 to 1976) there were more deaths due to terrorism than were killed in Oklahoma city; four additional years had terrorism-related death tolls above a hundred. Between 1969 and 2001 there were no years in which there were no IRA-related deaths in the UK.

      Two members of Parliament and two British Ambassadors have been killed by the IRA, and in 1984 there was a bombing attempt directed at the Prime Minister and her cabinet.

      There is evidence that the IRA received funding, weapons, and other support from Libya and from the PLO at times in its history.

      That's three decades of terrorism, with hundreds of people killed in some of those years. Tens of thousands of people injured, above and beyond the thousands of deaths I've listed here. Targeted bombings of politicians and judges. Yeah, it's different from what the States experienced--but I wouldn't be so quick to say one or the other was 'less disturbing'.

      How many terrorist attacks did the United States have in 2003? In 2004? The British had bombings--multiple bombings--each year, every year, for decades.

      --
      ~Idarubicin
    6. Re:Paranoia by kraut · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Counting attacks off against each other is a bit pointless. I think the key psychological difference was that 9/11 was completely unexpected.

      For the American public, that is; apparently not for the intelligence services.

      >There is evidence that the IRA received funding, weapons, and other support from Libya and from the PLO at times in its history.
      Birds of a feather... Far more relevant is that the IRA for decaded received a lot of it's funding from Irish-Americans. Just goes to prove that one man's terrorist is (often) another man's freedom fighter.

      --
      no taxation without representation!
  14. Re::: fingers crossed :: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    What, you don't approve of autoeroticism?

  15. More annoying than being regulated out... by ivan256 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I just want the damned navigation system for my car. It's available in Europe and even Canada, but GM has decided that they'd rather sell OnStar in the US because it has a recurring revenue model, and that navigation systems interfere with OnStar premium subscriptions, so they decided not to offer the feature in the US.

    The one thing I *don't* want is anything that requires a monthly fee. I'm sure I could come up with some choice words about where they can stick their recurring revenue.

  16. Lawsuits by slars · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This strongest point I got from reading the article (Yes, I actually RTFA!) is that auto makers, and probably many other companies, are hesitant to introduce new stuff to the US market, whether we need it or not or if it's stupid or not, for fear of being sued.

    Our country has turned into a lawsuit machine. It's become too easy for Bubba to sue S&W and Coors for shooting himself in the foot after downing a 12-er or Coors Light. Who knows - he'd probably win.

  17. Re:Wow... point and click parallel parking... COOL by compro01 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    IIRC someone in the UK came up with the mathmatic
    formula for parallel parking a car perfectly.
    i'm pretty sure that everything in math is repeatable.
    link here

    --
    upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
  18. Gets rid of those #&%! kids and their soccer b by wsanders · · Score: 3, Funny

    Also it can run over any annoying kids and soccer balls if they get in the way of your urban assault vehicle. Guess you don't get sued for that in Europe or Japan. Damn US legal system!

    People in Europe or Japan spend most of their time crawling in traffic anyway, in their toaster size cars with 700 cc engines. I *like* that about Europe and Japan. Isn't there a nationwide 50 mph / 80 kph speed limit in Japan?

    --
    Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he'll say "WHERE'S MY FISH, YOU IDIOT?"
  19. Lawsuit as the Jackpot by dpilot · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Has the lawsuit taken on some of the roll of a lottery in the US? Winning a lawsuit becomes like winning the Jackpot.

    In the old days, you worked hard, and you got ahead. IMHO, that's no longer true, for the most part. You usually can't get ahead without working hard, but 'merely' hard work is no longer sufficient. More and more, it also takes connections an luck - being in the right place at the right time with the right idea. Furthermore, simply knowing how to build the better mousetrap isn't enough either, you have to also know how to market that mousetrap, or at least license its IP.

    All in all, I suspect the American Dream is getting farther and farther away, for most Americans. Is the increasing number of state-run lotteries because of legal relaxations, or is it because more people are giving up on earning their way up, and figure their odds are about as good gambling their way up? Consider lawsuits in that light...

    --
    The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
    1. Re:Lawsuit as the Jackpot by normal_guy · · Score: 4, Insightful
      You could never work hard your entire life as a coal miner and expect to get ahead. Connections, personality, and motivation have always been the hallmarks of those able to move up a rung. Many people still invent things then sell the patent to a corporation. Lotteries have always been around. People want to spend a few bucks for a chance to win a few million. Laws have relaxed because they're huge revenue draws for the state.

      This Office Space philosophy smacks of wage slave desperation. There has always been a working class - and the need to claw your way up the way everyone else has, by buying a nice suit and playing golf with the boss once in awhile. Lawsuit-lotteries or no, there will always be those looking for the easy way out.

      --

      Linux: Free if your time is worthless.
  20. Re:Litigous == good?! by monoi · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Seems to me like this is a classic example of why US lawsuits are a good thing (tm). They're preventing companies from rolling out products that could run over little kids without allowing the operator to override.

    Who said the operator couldn't override it? I think the point the article was making was that in the US, people like to look for someone to blame other than themselves. So, if a three-year-old did get run over because of the driver's negligence when using the system, a US citizen would be likely to blame the car manufacturer for their own failings.

    Note that I am not a US citizen, and therefore may display bias in this interpretation :-).

  21. Re:Litigous == good?! by Cade144 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Perhaps the engineers at Toyota believe that all Nipponese 3-year-olds are smarter than to run into where a car is parking, or perhaps that there will be a parent watching over a kid that is playing near the street.

    I, for one, would prefer an autodrive system that could safely and reliably take some of the decision making out of the hands of the driver.
    It would be great if I could just sit back and relax while my car took the most optimal route to work, avoiding crazy drivers, potholes and anyother dangers allong the way.

    Yeah, and my car should fly too.
    And be powered by "Mr. Fusion"

    Ah well.
  22. You have to talk to the owners then. by Pinkoir · · Score: 3, Informative

    The vast majority of lamps which cause disability glare are doing so becuase they are:

    a) Misaimed either intentionally to get better visibility or by accident because the driver or mechanic don't know what they are doing. You don't have to mis-aim a lamp by much to throw a lot of light at oncoming drivers...one degree too high is more than enough to do it.

    b) Retrofitted with pumped-up aftermarket bulbs which the lamp was not designed to use. Even if you use a kit which claims that it's designed for the vehicle in question if you drill out a hole in your lamp to put in an aftermarket HID system you WILL screw it up. Get that sucker out of position by half a millimeter and you're going to blind everybody who looks at you.

    Sueing the OEMs won't change the behaviour of the vehicle users.

    In response to the article itself, the thing I most miss that the Euros have while we NAers tend not to is the mighty Rear Fog Lamp. Since certain states *cough*Virginia*cough* do not allow their use, most foreign OEMs disable the rear fog functionality on the cars the export to NA. I drive a Mini Cooper and it has a rear fog cavity in the tail-lights but the damn thing is turned off in the CAN-bus and there's a plug in my dash where the switch should be! Anybody who has ever driven behind a car that does have these in the rain knows how much we need to update the FMVSS code to explicitly allow them here.

    -Pinkoir

  23. Slashdot user != USA resident by sicking · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm not living in the US you insensitive clod! My Automobile will be able to do those things!

    --
    Failing to learn from history dooms you to repeat it.
  24. Re:good! by Eccles · · Score: 5, Funny

    i dont want the people passing me watching TV while they're driving.

    The European system shuts off if the car is going more than 3 MPH. If you're getting passed by someone going 3 MPH, perhaps you should just pedal your Big Wheel a bit faster?

    --
    Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
  25. Re:It's too easy by Hessi · · Score: 3, Informative

    uhm - not exactly.
    In Germany, the actual written test is a simple 4-pages multiple choice test with some numbers to fill in (amount of meters you need for breaking at 100 km/h and so on), and the question are chosen from a...100 pages? catalogue of all possible questions. With average intelligence, it is possible to read all questions one time and pass the test with 0 errors (9 errors are allowed, one questions counts between 2 and 4 error points).

    The practical test depends heavily on the examiner - between 15 minutes and 60 minutes of driving, with parking, city, Autobahn, everything. Everyone can have bad luck and spoil that.

    The biggest difference between the US (at least what I know of it) and Germany is the driving school: You are not allowed to drive with your parents, you have to drive with a teacher. And you need a minimum amount of driving experience to do the test (12 hours, 3 hours Autobahn, 3 hours overland, 3 hours in the night). Most people use between 18 to 25 hours. It's really expensive to get a drivers license, it is not easy to stay within 1.500 EUR.

    But in the end, nearly noone who just passed the drivers test is actually able to drive. You just need at least half a year of experience to know what you are doing, and after that, the most dangerous time starts - the kids stop using their brain while driving...and the boys start using their ... :-(

  26. Discrimination! by TiggertheMad · · Score: 5, Funny

    You read those comments by the Europeans in the article! Inflamitory! They are suggestiong that, we Americans, are irate little hot heads that would litigate for trifiling nusances. I won't stand for it, I'm going to sue them for slander!

    ...uh..never mind....

    --

    HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
  27. TVs for the driver? by DrDebug · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Are they kidding? Here in America people think they can drive responsibly with a cell phone in their ear. Now they want to take our eyes off the road, too?

    Yep, this is just BEGGING for a lawsuit.

  28. I miss Fiats by gone.fishing · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Fiat pulled out of the US market years ago. I miss them. Over the years I've had several Fiat 850 Spyders and a coupe, I've had a 124 too.

    They were good basic cars that were fun to drive and easy to work on. What more can you really ask for?

    Now to see what they offer in Europe, hell, I'd kill for one of them.

    Sometimes people would tell me that FIAT stood for "Fix It Again, Tony." I'll admit that I have my share of problems with the cars, but then I was really driving 'em a little harder than I should have too. Besides, they were fun to fix. I could lift the engine out of an 850 all by myself and a complete engine swap only took an afternoon or so. Frankly, I'd bet that had I been driving American cars I would have had as many problems and would have had to spend a lot more to fix 'em.

    A junk yard I knew spliced a 124 and a 128 together, it was just sort of a joke but they had a two engined car to show off!

    I only regret that I never got around to owning a X/19 or 2000.

  29. Re:Wow... point and click parallel parking... COOL by DG · · Score: 3, Funny

    Does it play "The Blue Danube"?

    DG

    --
    Want to learn about race cars? Read my Book
  30. Re:It's too easy by SmurfButcher+Bob · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yeah, well you left out the hardest part -

    The damned tests are written entirely in German!

    --

    help me i've cloned myself and can't remember which one I am

  31. Re:legal liability prevents innovation by nigelc · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Taking responsiblity for your inventions is a bitch

    and taking responsibility for your own actions is even more of a bitch.

    Oh sorry, I guess that's un-American these days.

    --


    Cthulhu Barata Nikto
  32. Re:Gets rid of those #&%! kids and their socce by ElGuapoGolf · · Score: 3, Informative

    As posted below:

    The system is simple... you apply moderate brake pressure, and the system parks. Your foot pushes down, it stops. Your foot goes off the pedal, it stops.