28XX Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 My dad 86, is 20% sighted, peripheral vision being lost. He has his full mental faculties however and is desperate to regain his independence via a self driving car. We watch developments with eager anticipation. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkeNd Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 We have smart motorways, not sure if they're that intelligent though... Yes - like at the junction of the M4 and M5 near Bristol. Leave the variable speed limit permanently at 60 mph and catch more people doing 70 mph. Which is what they do most of the time - traffic congestion with no more than 10 vehicles visible on the road. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RANGERS Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Yes - like at the junction of the M4 and M5 near Bristol. Leave the variable speed limit permanently at 60 mph and catch more people doing 70 mph. Which is what they do most of the time - traffic congestion with no more than 10 vehicles visible on the road. In fairness to HE, that is the whole idea of the smart motorway, to regulate speed in order to keep traffic moving. The alternative is remove the restriction and the traffic at 70 mph hits the hold up ahead sooner, making matters worse. Hold it at 60 and it regulates the flow into the pinch point allowing it to keep moving. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Using the southern part of the M1 where they have this system I have to admit it is very effective. Sometimes the speed limit gets as low as 40mph, but it seems to regulate the traffic really well as I rarely come to a halt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymw Posted August 4, 2015 Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 http://www.dragtimes.com/blog/tesla-model-s-p85d-insane-mode-launch-compilation-video Plenty of other stuff on that site, if it's your thing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymw Posted August 28, 2015 Author Share Posted August 28, 2015 History of Tesla, in two minutes - video at top of page http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-27/tesla-with-insane-mode-busts-curve-on-consumer-reports-ratings-idu1hfk0 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 30801 Posted August 28, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 28, 2015 Interesting story in the Register today about a Google car flummoxed by a bloke riding a fixie. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/08/28/google_robocar_suffers_brain_freeze_after_seeing_hipster_cyclist/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edcayton Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Using the southern part of the M1 where they have this system I have to admit it is very effective. Sometimes the speed limit gets as low as 40mph, but it seems to regulate the traffic really well as I rarely come to a halt. I find that if the other traffic is doing 40 and I am doing 70 I hit the hold-up before them. Ed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HitchinLoco Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Just out of interest, Dose any one have a Vauxhall Insignia with the informant system? I ask because I have and find it very disappointing. Unless I am not setting it right, the phone is very unclear, can not get pictures/video viewed on it.( Hand brake applied) Had a Ford system and the phone was as clear as home line. Reluctant to go back to dealer as not sure if they have answer either, from conversations with others, and do not fancy waiting around at the garage. Its due first service in few months so may let them look then. Be interested in your views please. Gordon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymw Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 talking of google and cars http://www.independent.co.uk/news/google-streetview-car-put-out-of-action-by-tomatothrowing-mob-10476030.html Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edcayton Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Just out of interest, Dose any one have a Vauxhall Insignia with the informant system? I ask because I have and find it very disappointing. Unless I am not setting it right, the phone is very unclear, can not get pictures/video viewed on it.( Hand brake applied) Had a Ford system and the phone was as clear as home line. Reluctant to go back to dealer as not sure if they have answer either, from conversations with others, and do not fancy waiting around at the garage. Its due first service in few months so may let them look then. Be interested in your views please. Gordon. Give them one chance to fix it and tell them you will reject the car if they don't. Ed 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RANGERS Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Just out of interest, Dose any one have a Vauxhall Insignia with the informant system? I ask because I have and find it very disappointing. Unless I am not setting it right, the phone is very unclear, can not get pictures/video viewed on it.( Hand brake applied) Had a Ford system and the phone was as clear as home line. Reluctant to go back to dealer as not sure if they have answer either, from conversations with others, and do not fancy waiting around at the garage. Its due first service in few months so may let them look then. Be interested in your views please. Gordon. I had a 2012 Insignia and had numerous problems with th Bluetooth setup which was never that clear when it was working. Dealer blamed it on the phone (Blackberry), phone supplier couldn't find anything wrong with that and it was the same with my son's IPhone but they would never accept that. Car now gone! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
40F Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Am I missing something here How can somebody drive and be on the phone at the same time hands free or not ? No mobile phones in cars should include hands free set ups as well as ordinary mobiles Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted August 29, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 29, 2015 Am I missing something here How can somebody drive and be on the phone at the same time hands free or not ? No mobile phones in cars should include hands free set ups as well as ordinary mobiles Apparently if it is proven that using even a hands free contributed to an accident the phone user can still be charged. New technology is coming into use that can detect mobile phone users in cars. Personally I think the only way to stop it will be with more severe penalties such as an automatic 12 month ban. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RANGERS Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Am I missing something here How can somebody drive and be on the phone at the same time hands free or not ? No mobile phones in cars should include hands free set ups as well as ordinary mobiles I would have to agree, it is a distraction and certainly impedes concentration. France has recently banned any hands free kits which aren't integral with the car - blue tooth headsets and the like - many see this as the first step towards a total ban on mobiles when driving. It never ceases to amaze me the number of drivers I see using hand held mobiles whilst driving. In the last few weeks I've witnessed a coach driver texting whilst driving through central London; minicab drivers, white van drivers, an ice cream van driver, a refuse lorry driver, cyclists and numerous car drivers on the phone. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymw Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 The penalty for using the phone/whatever, does not matter, it's the catching that is important. It may be more effective if the same approach is used as for some cannabis offences - on the spot fine and confiscate the phone. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymw Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 What they say - http://www.volkswagengroupamerica.com/clean_diesel_tdi.html the reality - http://cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/volkswagen-faces-billions-in-fines-in-usa-over-emissions-scandal/95409 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted September 22, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 22, 2015 What they say - http://www.volkswagengroupamerica.com/clean_diesel_tdi.html the reality - http://cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/volkswagen-faces-billions-in-fines-in-usa-over-emissions-scandal/95409 More than £24,000 fine per vehicle!! No wonder VW shares have crashed. No doubt being the USA many purchasers of these vehicles are reaching for a lawyer. No sympathy whatever for VW in the circumstances and I hope that the right heads start rolling. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edcayton Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 My nose tells me that diesel isn't "clean", and won't be whatever tests they get them through. Boris is right on this. Ed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 (edited) My nose tells me that diesel isn't "clean"..... When I had my old BMW 635CSi, I would always use leaded petrol if I could find it. No car is truly clean - even the fully electric ones are merely moving the problem somewhere else. What they say - http://www.volkswagengroupamerica.com/clean_diesel_tdi.html the reality - http://cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/volkswagen-faces-billions-in-fines-in-usa-over-emissions-scandal/95409 How is that different from every other car maker? Everyone cheats in tests - it's been an open secret for years. California has been short of revenue for its public services for quite some time - this looks like a useful way of clawing back some money. Will they go after other car makers now? Edited September 22, 2015 by Horsetan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edcayton Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 How is that different from every other car maker? Everyone cheats in tests - it's been an open secret for years. California has been short of revenue for its public services for quite some time - this looks like a useful way of clawing back some money. Will they go after other car makers now? For many years cars have been "adjusted" to meet certain tests, 0-60, mpg and emissions amongst others by selecting gear ratios, engine mapping etc, Some of these make the cars less pleasant to drive, hence the large market in aftermarket devices and, more recently, "chipping". It would appear that VW have presented cars for testing in a different form from the production models. Ed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 30801 Posted September 22, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 22, 2015 (edited) It would appear that VW have presented cars for testing in a different form from the production models. AFAIK these are all production models. The software in the car knows when it's being tested and behaves accordingly. When it thinks no one's looking it goes all Jeremy Clarkson. Edited September 22, 2015 by 30801 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady_Ava_Hay Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 I have read this thread with some interest being the owner of a Nissan Note. Although the car is not 'drive itself' and I think we are many years from that in any case, my Note does have some features which I think are the way ahead for private motoring. If you brake to a standstill and take the car out of gear and your foot off the clutch, the engine stops. It starts again directly you press the clutch and it is immediate. It also has some fail safe operations in that if the battery is low or the car cold the engine cut out does not operate. To all intents and purposes it is fully automated. There is an off switch but that only lasts as 'off' until you switch off the ignition. It restarts automatically on the next key start. The car has cruise control which is sometimes useful. It also has a selective speed limiter which can be set at any speed at or above 40 mph and operates regardless of which gear you are in. I can see this last being implemented on these Smart motorways so that it will become impossible to exceed the speed limit on motorways so fitted by cars that have this feature. I imagine this loss of personal freedom will be justified by the inability of the police to prosecute you for speeding. I doubt that the system would extend beyond motorways but it would be capable of slowing you down to a variable limit or road works. I also have hands free telephone using Bluetooth and I can make or receive calls using buttons on the steering wheel and this last applies to the speed limiter and cruise control. I think it would be very difficult to prove that this system was in any way contributory to an accident since a passenger can be even more distracting. Notice that i cannot read or send texts through Bluetooth and I suspect that the police will be able to prosecute if they can prove that you were texting at the time of any incident. I actually wouldn't argue with that either. I have also noticed that I cannot hear the text advisory tone whilst driving with the phone in the car somewhere but not in one of those windscreen mounts that again seem to have disappeared. Lastly, I can access both my phone's stored music and my iPod without taking my hands off the steering wheel. The car also has built in Sat Nav which again is near fully automated once set up and like most people I set it up before I start my journey or use it en route to avoid hold ups again using the steering wheel buttons. My last car had none of this, was tiring to drive any distance and did 10 less miles to the gallon than the Note does. Oh and due to the emissions, I pay no Road Tax. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold martin_wynne Posted September 22, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 22, 2015 If the vehicle testers have allowed themselves to be misled, surely it is them at fault, not the thing being tested which is an inanimate object? Have VW really been dishonest? Or just stupid not to acknowledge that test results may not correspond with actual use? If I was writing software to control an engine, and had inputs suggesting that the engine was being revved, but the road-speed was nil, I think I would switch on some extra emission controls. The vehicle might be inside a closed building for example. (Admittedly I know nothing about the subject, and this is no doubt too simplistic.) Martin. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 .... the car is not 'drive itself' and I think we are many years from that in any case, ...... Google may disagree with you on this point. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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