The Night Mail

[rockershovel]

Here's a conundrum. I've just seen that the passenger in a driverless Uber in Arizona has just been charged with negligent homicide, because they were playing a video game and so, didn't brake for a cyclist which the car detected, but didn't correctly avoid. 

 

I would have thought that the point of driverless cars was that you didn't have to do this? Does this in fact mean that it is inherently illegal for someone without a licence to ride in a driverless car? 

[PhilJ W]

40 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

Here's a conundrum. I've just seen that the passenger in a driverless Uber in Arizona has just been charged with negligent homicide, because they were playing a video game and so, didn't brake for a cyclist which the car detected, but didn't correctly avoid. 

 

I would have thought that the point of driverless cars was that you didn't have to do this? Does this in fact mean that it is inherently illegal for someone without a licence to ride in a driverless car? 

In the UK as I understand it you have to have a full licence and be in full control of the car. 

[PhilJ W]

20 hours ago, BR60103 said:

The line through Philadelphia is 40N.  This is south of most of Europe except half of Spain and Portugal, the toe of Italy, and half of Greece. (and some Mediterranean islands).

It's also south of the northern border of California.

(I used this because it shows on my world map).  

Edinborough is further north than Moscow and most of France is further south than the UK.

19 hours ago, Flanged Wheel said:

I love geographical quirks like this and there are lots of them. Like Buenos Aires being further south than Cape Town or the westernmost end of the Panama Canal emptying into the Caribbean!

And some of the larger vessels have to unload some of their cargo before traversing the canal as the canal is fresh water and therefor less buoyant.

Edited August 16, 2023 by PhilJ W

[Steamport Southport]

53 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

Here's a conundrum. I've just seen that the passenger in a driverless Uber in Arizona has just been charged with negligent homicide, because they were playing a video game and so, didn't brake for a cyclist which the car detected, but didn't correctly avoid. 

 

I would have thought that the point of driverless cars was that you didn't have to do this? Does this in fact mean that it is inherently illegal for someone without a licence to ride in a driverless car? 

 

Check the date it happened. That was five years ago but only recently came to court!

 

Although the Yavapai County Attorney declined to charge Uber with a criminal violation in 2019 for the death of Herzberg,[79] a Maricopa County grand jury indicted the safety driver on one count of negligent homicide in 2020.[80] Her trial was planned for February 2021,[81] but has been delayed because the case was designated "complex" and the discovery process is ongoing.[82] In July 2023 Vasquez pleaded guilty to one count of endangerment, a reduced charge, and was sentenced to three years of probation.[83]

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Elaine_Herzberg#:~:text=Herzberg was pushing a bicycle,sitting in the driving seat.

 

 

[Dave Hunt]

What’s the point of a driverless vehicle if someone with a full driving licence has to be fully in charge?

 

Dave

[Steamport Southport]

15 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

What’s the point of a driverless vehicle if someone with a full driving licence has to be fully in charge?

 

Dave

 

Not all do. Most are still in the experimental stage and there are numerous companies trying to corner the market such as UBER.

 

Most will be used for taxis or deliveries. Already happening in parts of the US.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waymo

 

 

[Happy Hippo]

14 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

What’s the point of a driverless vehicle if someone with a full driving licence has to be fully in charge?

 

Dave

I am looking forward to these flying taxi things to take to the air.

 

There will be so many of them that I would imagine that you'd have to hold the minimum of a CPL to be able to drive one.

 

Secondly, knowing the appalling driving standards of many UK drivers, especially those in the private hire area of motoring, I would suggest that a flying  car (taxi) would be multiple collisions waiting to happen.

 

Pity the poor controller who tries to marshal the morons into some semblance of a traffic pattern.

 

You'd have more success trying to get diarrhoea to execute a missed approach.

[Happy Hippo]

I have just heard that England are through to a football world cup final for the first time since 1966.

 

Well done ladies:  Showing men how it should be done.

Edited August 16, 2023 by Happy Hippo

[Tony_S]

19 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

You'd have more success trying to get diarrhoea to execute a missed approach.

How does that compare to herding cats on a scale of success?

[Northmoor]

3 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

How does that compare to herding cats on a scale of success?

Just head of knitting fog but marginally behind nailing jelly to the ceiling.

[MrWolf]

6 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

Just head of knitting fog but marginally behind nailing jelly to the ceiling.

 

Where do plaiting cow **** and monkeys on acid fit into your scale?

[PhilJ W]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

What’s the point of a driverless vehicle if someone with a full driving licence has to be fully in charge?

 

Dave

That is the law as it stands at the moment in the UK.

[PhilJ W]

1 hour ago, monkeysarefun said:

One for the @polybear  !

 

 

Two soldiers tasked with transporting a landing craft for maintenance in the Top End request permission to stop off and  go fishing in obviously crocodile infested waters (ie its north of Cairns). . Permission granted, both are mauled by a crocodile while going for a swim. Department of Defence faces a potential  $1.5m fine because it  "failed to provide a safe workplace by implementing policies prohibiting personnel from entering crocodile-infested waters, conducting risk assessments and providing detailed safety briefings around the dangers of crocodiles".

 

One day hopefully those entrusted with deciding these matters will just say - "No, actually, YOU are to blame.   You need to go into a room full of mirrors and have a long hard look at yourself."

 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/11/defence-department-accused-of-failing-to-train-personnel-properly-after-soldiers-mauled-by-crocodile

They were given permission to go fishing, not to go swimming.

[monkeysarefun]

14 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

They were given permission to go fishing, not to go swimming.

But then again, they weren't told NOT to go swimming! 

 

 

This has snuck over into TNM from here..

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

I am looking forward to these flying taxi things to take to the air.

Me too: first happening in Paris as far as Europe is concerned, far enough away from my doorstep to present no hazard.

 

Given the current very limited flight endurance, genuine taxi operation in 'any address to any address' style is impractical, it will have to be defined corridors between designated landing sites with charging facilities. Perhaps like a railway with 'up and down' corridor pairs? Now, do we work absolute block or time interval? How are the catch points going to function?

 

 

[Hroth]

7 minutes ago, 34theletterbetweenB&D said:

How are the catch points going to function?

 

Big oblong nets with bungee cord suspension?

 

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

How does that compare to herding cats on a scale of success?

You can hold a cat!

[Hroth]

1 minute ago, Happy Hippo said:

You can hold a cat!

 

With the mail gloves that butchers wear.

 

[J. S. Bach]

4 hours ago, rockershovel said:

 ...snip... Irn Bru? Nasty stuff. Tastes like used chewing gum. ...snip...

And just how do you know that?

[Steamport Southport]

19 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

And just how do you know that?

 

 

[J. S. Bach]

I have heard that before; actually it charted for a few weeks but by another performer. Ray Stevens, I think.

[AndyID]

11 hours ago, polybear said:

 

NY is about level with Naples apparently.

Nottalotta Bears know that - unless they Google it....

 

I would think Google searches for "racketeering" must be straining their servers a bit.

[TheQ]

4 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Edinboro is further north than Moscow and most of France is further south than the UK.

And some of the larger vessels have to unload some of their cargo before traversing the canal as the canal is fresh water and therefor less buoyant.

I had to look up where Edinboro  is,  seemingly it's in Pennsylvania.

[Compound2632]

1 minute ago, TheQ said:

I had to look up where Edinboro  is,  seemingly it's in Pennsylvania.

 

The Midland could take you from Loughboro to Edinboro, according to internal documents but maybe not the public timetable.

[Steamport Southport]

1 minute ago, Compound2632 said:

 

The Midland could take you from Loughboro to Edinboro, according to internal documents but maybe not the public timetable.

 

Loughborough

 

Lough - Low

Borough - Brough - Brow

 

So Loughborough University is Low Brow University!