Driving standards

[NBL]

2 hours ago, cctransuk said:

 

Do you know of an incident where this has occurred? Thought not.

 

The law makes no differentiation between parked cars and parked commercial vehicles; you may wish that it did, but it doesn't.

 

CJI.

Actually yes, not anyone I know thankfully, but read about it in the local press.  The kid wasn't killed but badly injured.  Caused by having to go round parked vans half on and off the pavement.

 

I don't particularly care what the law states, because it gets ignored anyway.  I just wish people would park with consideration of other road users and pedestrians.

[johnofwessex]

On 14/02/2024 at 22:06, 30801 said:

Facebook just showed me this special genius.

 

 

Bring back The Inspectors of Lunatics, we need you 

[Guest]

The robots drive like idiots too.

Two self driving taxis crash into the same pickup truck because it’s being towed backwards…

The report references another incident where a taxi dragged a person. I think that’s what prompted other incidents where people are attacking the taxis.
 

https://www.engadget.com/waymo-issued-a-recall-after-two-robotaxis-crashed-into-the-same-pickup-truck-055708611.html

[Enterprisingwestern]

On 14/02/2024 at 22:08, mezzoman253 said:

I've just been out to pick my daughter up. At the shops at the end of our road there's a pedestrian crossing with ziz-zags. Some clown had parked half on the pavement, behind where the blue car is in the picture.  Parking is tight up there, but there were spaces in the lay-by outside the shops and opposite the post box.

 

 

Now now, come on, be fair, parking in the correct place does nothing for their sense of entitlement.

 

Mike.

[TheQ]

Until I retired to most common parking on pavements I saw, was the coppers parking their private cars outside Norwich North police station.

[MrWolf]

3 hours ago, 30801 said:

The robots drive like idiots too.

Two self driving taxis crash into the same pickup truck because it’s being towed backwards…

The report references another incident where a taxi dragged a person. I think that’s what prompted other incidents where people are attacking the taxis.
 

https://www.engadget.com/waymo-issued-a-recall-after-two-robotaxis-crashed-into-the-same-pickup-truck-055708611.html

 

I do like the way that the robotaxi company put the collisions down to the pickup truck being "improperly towed".

 

They are clearly blowing smoke and hoping that Joe Public doesn't know what a rear suspended tow is.

 

If the pickup had a locked up rear axle or transmission, the only way to move it is by lashing the steering in the straight ahead position and towing it backwards with the rear wheels lifted off the ground. 

[Sidecar Racer]

3 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

 

I do like the way that the robotaxi company put the collisions down to the pickup truck being "improperly towed".

 

They are clearly blowing smoke and hoping that Joe Public doesn't know what a rear suspended tow is.

 

If the pickup had a locked up rear axle or transmission, the only way to move it is by lashing the steering in the straight ahead position and towing it backwards with the rear wheels lifted off the ground. 

 

 But the report says this .

 

The company says the truck was being towed improperly and was angled across a center

turn lane and a traffic lane.

 

 So maybe the steering was locked at an angle , possibly it was parking offence tow away

so no keys available to unlock the steering .

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

 

I do like the way that the robotaxi company put the collisions down to the pickup truck being "improperly towed".

 

The thing with self driving systems is they have no understanding of anything, just pattern matching.

An earlier Google car was completely foxed by a cyclist doing a track-stand. The software could obviously recognise a stationary cyclist as having a foot on the ground and a moving one having both feet on the pedals. But faced with a stationary cyclist with both feet on the pedals it gave up.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Sidecar Racer said:

 

 But the report says this .

 

The company says the truck was being towed improperly and was angled across a center

turn lane and a traffic lane.

 

 So maybe the steering was locked at an angle , possibly it was parking offence tow away

so no keys available to unlock the steering .

 

Maybe, it's not clear. Still a big fail for the robot to run into the big obvious lump of metal.

 

[Sidecar Racer]

5 minutes ago, 30801 said:

 

Maybe, it's not clear. Still a big fail for the robot to run into the big obvious lump of metal.

 

 

 I'm not disputing that .

[MrWolf]

33 minutes ago, Sidecar Racer said:

 

 But the report says this .

 

The company says the truck was being towed improperly and was angled across a center

turn lane and a traffic lane.

 

 So maybe the steering was locked at an angle , possibly it was parking offence tow away

so no keys available to unlock the steering .

 

If you're performing a suspended tow you need more room to turn otherwise you cut the corner, a human driver with half a brain would know that, the same as they would know to hange back when following an artic that is turning. That's one of the first rules of survival for motorcyclists.

I suspect that not enough potential scenarios have been added to the logic circuits of the taxis.

You can't rear suspended tow any vehicle that has its wheels locked over, it will jack knife. If the vehicle had been abandoned in such a way it would be a full hoist onto a flatbed, or as in the case of vehicles that are already badly damaged, un-cerimoniously dragged backwards onto a tilt and slide recovery vehicle.

[Sidecar Racer]

8 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

 

If you're performing a suspended tow you need more room to turn otherwise you cut the corner, a human driver with half a brain would know that, the same as they would know to hange back when following an artic that is turning. That's one of the first rules of survival for motorcyclists.

I suspect that not enough potential scenarios have been added to the logic circuits of the taxis.

You can't rear suspended tow any vehicle that has its wheels locked over, it will jack knife. If the vehicle had been abandoned in such a way it would be a full hoist onto a flatbed, or as in the case of vehicles that are already badly damaged, un-cerimoniously dragged backwards onto a tilt and slide recovery vehicle.

 

 We're talking USA , they do things differently with little thought .

[Sidecar Racer]

 From 2 min 50 sec .

 

 

 

[MrWolf]

Not a YouTube prank for clicks then? 

 

Perhaps Bubba has tired of making meth and alligator bothering and moved into computer programming for driverless taxis? 

 

Cuz, 'Murica?

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

Not a YouTube prank for clicks then? 

 

Don't think so.

They don't seem to be gentle with their towing.

 

 

[Guest]

And another one from somewhere else

 

 

[MrWolf]

47 minutes ago, 30801 said:

 

Don't think so.

They don't seem to be gentle with their towing.

 

 

 

Ah, watched it from 02:50 as per. The cars are only dragged backwards enough to get them lined up for a forward tow to the pound. Still not good if they're in park or have the handbrake on though.

It's a bit of hard luck for parking illegally, definitely rough justice.

[GrumpyPenguin]

18 hours ago, NBL said:

If you were the parent of a kid badly injured or killed by having to negotiate parked commercial vehicles on a residential street would you be happy?  Thought not.

Parents that have not taught their "kids" some roadcraft &/or are incapable of negotiating parked vehicles should not be allowed to further reproduce.

Some SUV's, much favoured by school run parents are not far short of the same bulk as a tradesmans Transit, so, to keep you happy they need to be banished too.

[GrumpyPenguin]

16 hours ago, Deeps said:

Yes, but, all traffic will be stationary whilst the clearance takes place anyway. If anything it will give frustrated motorists something to look at whilst they wait but the wait will be shorter. Win win.

So, through no fault of your own your car suffers minor damage in an incident and could be driven away legally, you can get on with your day. Unfortnatly, there are other badly damaged vehicles all round it, along comes BillyBulldozer and your car is now written off.

 

Not so much of a win, win now.......

 

FWIW, I do think that clearing up could be done quicker. However, that would take more rescourses sitting around idle for much of the time - money for that has got to come from somewher for that.

[Guest]

17 minutes ago, chiefpenguin said:

Some SUV's, much favoured by school run parents are not far short of the same bulk as a tradesmans Transit, 

 

As it happens our new neighbours have both a Transit and a Q7. They seem to be keeping them on the drive for now but it looks like that involves the Q7 driver climbing out of the passenger door.

Fun times might be in store.

[NBL]

19 minutes ago, chiefpenguin said:

Parents that have not taught their "kids" some roadcraft &/or are incapable of negotiating parked vehicles should not be allowed to further reproduce.

Some SUV's, much favoured by school run parents are not far short of the same bulk as a tradesmans Transit, so, to keep you happy they need to be banished too.

Who's to say it's the kids fault?  What about the driver of the vehicle that hits them?  Or the vehicle that they are trying to get around?

 

All vehicles, regardless of their size present hazards if carelessly parked.  Commercial vehicles more so as large cars at least have windows you can see through if the person is tall enough.

 

I'm not saying they should be banished, just thoughtfully parked.  If you can't see that then maybe you are the one that shouldn't be allowed to reproduce.

[johnofwessex]

24 minutes ago, chiefpenguin said:

.............................

Some SUV's, much favoured by school run parents are not far short of the same bulk as a tradesmans Transit, so, to keep you happy they need to be banished too.

 

I think the issue over SUV's is that while we can all see the need for a Tradesman's Transit, who on earth needs a SUV in London unless you are a visiting upland sheep farmer?

[cctransuk]

4 minutes ago, johnofwessex said:

 

I think the issue over SUV's is that while we can all see the need for a Tradesman's Transit, who on earth needs a SUV in London unless you are a visiting upland sheep farmer?

 

It's a perilous expedition from Westminster to one's second home in the rugged wilds of Cornwall, don't y'know!

 

When one gets there, the peasants expect one to risk scratching ones paintwork by not driving down the centre of the road!

 

CJI.

[kevinlms]

Not sure that I would to do this alone in many parts of the US, taking vehicles from private property. Surely you'd need someone to watch your back while you're putting the gear on the vehicle? Especially with the noise and they could be home.

 

The law might well be on your side, but if someone points a gun at you, it would be unlikely that you would want to continue.

 

 

[Deeps]

1 hour ago, chiefpenguin said:

FWIW, I do think that clearing up could be done quicker. However, that would take more rescourses sitting around idle for much of the time - money for that has got to come from somewher for that.

You made some very valid points, and my suggestions were definitely ‘tongue in cheek’, but it is difficult to convey that inflexion in written debate. In my minds eye I envisaged a single lorry that was spread over the central reservation without others vehicles involved but, nevertheless, you highlight a valid issue.

 

As to resources, every time I’m on a long journey with traffic updates selected on the car radio, it seems there are always problems on the M25. Far from sitting idle I’d imagine such resources would be in almost constant demand! No doubt someone here has data for how much lengthy delays affect the economy?