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Posted: 10.10.2002 I can't drive...55
Sometimes technology amazes me. Sometimes it scares me. This, quite frankly...scares me.
"France is preparing to test satellite technology that will automatically slow speeding cars by overriding driver control. Drivers breaking the speed limit will find the accelerator pedal becomes inoperable because the fuel injection will be regulated by an on-board computer, which itself will be connected to a global positioning system. The drivers will either see a warning message flash, or discover the automatic cut-off has taken hold, slowing them down to the legal velocity." (See full article at ABC News Online.)  This is why I like being a car guy. Speed limiter? Traction control? Anti-speeding-french-stupidity? Freedom comes in many forms. In this case, wire cutters. :-) Not that this sort of thing would ever have a snowballs chance in the US. ¤ ¤ credit: Mr. Lion | 10.10.02 at 02:22 AM | link- -this ¤ ¤ fuuuuuck that! ¤ ¤ credit: mikey | 10.10.02 at 02:36 AM | link--this ¤ ¤Personally I think this is a bloody excellent- speed kills. Anyone who does speed get that into your thick brain - freedom isn't any good if your dead and you kill some other people on your way. People who talk about freedom when it comes to saving lives and preventing stupidity need to know what freedom is truly about! ¤ ¤ credit: Lisa | 10.10.02 at 02:51 AM | link--this ¤ ¤Well I can certainly tell you that freedom to me isn't about a satellite taking over the reigns of my vehicle and driving it for me. Can you honestly say you trust technology that much when behind the wheel of a two-ton automobile? We can't even keep our DirecTV dish on during a thunderstorm. That doesn't even begin to address the possibilities of hacking and abuse -- allowing outside forces to have that amount of control. ¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 10.10.02 at 03:00 AM | link--this ¤ ¤'fraid not, luv. <bad-brit-accent> Speed doesn't kill. Stupid people kill. There's nothing wrong with driving fast so long as you're in a car that can do so safely, and you know what you're doing. If you take stupid chances, sure, someone's going to get hurt or killed. However, I've yet to kill anyone going for a little blast down the highway at three in the morning when there's no traffic either way for miles. ¤ ¤ credit: Mr. Lion | 10.10.02 at 03:58 AM | link--this ¤ ¤Oh heeeeeeellllllllllllls no. That'd suck so bad. ¤ ¤ credit: statia | 10.10.02 at 06:32 AM | link--this ¤ ¤excellent. i presume they're also going to pay for the hospital and car repair bills, and raised insurance rates when the car behind slams into you? ¤ ¤ credit: tanya | 10.10.02 at 12:10 PM | link--this ¤ ¤VERY good point, Tanya! ¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 10.10.02 at 12:41 PM | link--this ¤ ¤France Surrenders!! FB is the Father! Wait wrong site. ¤ ¤ credit: Jake | 10.10.02 at 12:54 PM | link--this ¤ ¤The point I was making is not about the limits of technology etc. It is about speeding. You are absolutely right when you say it is stupid people who kill. STUPID PEOPLE WHO SPEED. I have seen and known too many people who have died because of speeding. If you think any car speeding with any driver is safe you don't know a thing about basic physics. I am sick and tired of people complaining cause they can't speed if they want to. So boo hoo- go to the racing track and enjoy yourselves that way- just don't put me or anyone who isn't stupid enough to be on the track with you in danger. Oh an Mr Lion whatever your name is I want to know what you'll do when some animal runs onto the road when you are speeding? -this ¤ ¤Lisa, I would ask that you please bring down the "tone" of your response in my house. This post is not in my blog in order to generate a flame war or bitch-fest back and forth. And maybe they were speeding when they hit me from behind and deserved it, too. Or maybe cloud-cover messed up the signal from the satellite and threw things "off" just enough to cause an accident. Or maybe the dashboard computer was running Windows and decided to blue-screen. There are too many variables here for my comfort. But say I'm going 10 mph over the speed limit because I'm in a new neighborhood and accidentally missed a sign. Does that make it "right" that the person behind me lived there, but was going 40 mph over on their way home, and slammed into the back of me when control was taken away from their driving, too -- and that collision caused me months of being in pain and possibly in traction? I don't think so... It sounds like you have much deeper reasons for the anger you're radiating -- but in this instance, I would ask you to kindly back off and respect the others who are responding here as well in my living room, and are also entitled to their own opinions. Thank you. ¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 10.10.02 at 09:07 PM | link--this ¤ ¤Robyn, I agreed with you when I send that anyone who runs in the back of you is wrong! I'm sorry it happened to you. People being killed and hurt upset me and it is hard for me to understand that some people don't see the link. I did not comment on the technology, I don't know enough about it. -this ¤ ¤You didn't upset me at all -- and I was being hypothetical. Thankfully the only accidents either of us have been in were minor fender-benders (non-speeding related). I just wanted to protect those who were being called out by name. I want everyone to feel like they can debate and speak freely here -- but I also don't want to encourage unprovoked personal attacks. Thank you! And please, don't feel bad. I just wanted to kind of bring things back down a notch or two... ¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 10.10.02 at 09:22 PM | link--this ¤ ¤Lisa, I don't know how it is down under, but here in the States, we have a tradtion of not trusting the government to do a damn thing right. It was kind of handed down to us a few hundred years ago from some people who felt the same way. There is no way we want the government intruding into our personal freedoms by telling us what we can and can't do. In the case of speeding, what if you needed to speed to the hospital to take a woman who was ready to give birth? You need to speed sometimes. It happens. I don't want anyone telling me when I can or can't. They don't make those kind of decisions for me. I make them. ¤ ¤ credit: todd | 10.10.02 at 09:24 PM | link--this ¤ ¤Hey I don't blame you for not trusting the Government when you have Jnr sitting on the big seat. Our Prime Minister just loves kissing up to him. Down here in au we are well aware of America's (I won't make judgements here) ideas about freedom etc- we get way too much American TV. -this ¤ ¤Reading through these comments, I'm reminded once more of the bizarre sense of entitlement Americans seem to feel about breaking traffic laws. Whether one is "in control" of a vehicle, or not, the speed limit is the law, and breaking the law is breaking the law. If one feels the speed limits are too low: speak to one's representatives in government in order to have them changed! But don't commit a crime and act self-righteous about it. Personally, I can't wait to see technology like this employed. I'm tired of being rear-ended by speeders who can't come to a stop at lights in time, and maybe my brother (who was killed by a speeder) would still be alive if such technology were already in use. ¤ ¤ credit: James | 10.11.02 at 07:19 AM | link--this ¤ ¤Ooohh. Being a Houston driver, I have wished to have this ability at my fingertips. Like, say, a radar gun thingy that would render those little sportscar "I'll weave in and out of traffic going 90 mph" jerks unable to exceed the old double nickle for the rest of their trip. ¤ ¤ credit: Cody | 10.11.02 at 04:28 PM | link--this ¤ ¤
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