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From: Brent on 9 Mar 2010 23:03 On 2010-03-10, Scott in SoCal <scottenaztlan(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > It seems to me that we are becoming a nation of droids. Like the > cashier in the grocery store who cannot make change unless the cash > register tells her how much money to give back, we do OK within our > limited programming (and with the help of our computerized devices). > But the moment something happens that is outside of our limited > programming, we are like a robot on Star Trek:TOS after Captain Kirk > has fed us an insoluble logic puzzle: we stand there with a blank > expression and smoke coming out of our ears, completely clueless as to > what to do next. And sometimes we self-destruct. Government schools and a few other things like TV have created this condition on purpose. Yes, on purpose. See the free books online: "The deliberate dumbing down of america" and "the underground history of american education".
From: Otto Yamamoto on 9 Mar 2010 23:18 My van has a nasty tendency to tach up when I bring it to a full stop- with my foot off the accellerator-idle is like 600, it kicks to 1200. So I put it in neutral. I can imagine clowns like this freaking out and sailing trough a STOP sign and right into somebody. It's not like it's rocket science, here. -- Otto Yamamoto
From: Daniel W. Rouse Jr. on 9 Mar 2010 23:36 "Scott in SoCal" <scottenaztlan(a)yahoo.com> wrote in message news:fv0ep598jl7sj7ea3ira2netmctun9a5n7(a)4ax.com... [snip...] > http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/09/chp-aids-driver-of-runaway-toyota/ > > 61 year old James Sikes couldn't figure out to step on the brakes and > turn off the ignition until a CHP officer pulled up next to him on the > freeway at 94 MPH and shouted instructions over the bullhorn. Sikes > was lucky; he was able to overcome his panic and recover his wits > before flying off into Devil's Canyon(*) or one of the other > precipitous drops along that stretch of I-8. The CHP officer in Santee > wasn't so lucky, and ended up releasing the magic smoke from his > microcontroller. > Reports are that shifting to neutral didn't work. Maybe shifting to neutral in that vehicle is nothing more than an electronic request to a transmission controller to shift, rather than an actual mechanical shift that disengages the transmission? Reports are that he did try to brake and his brakes were getting hot. Possibly deficient brake pads on those calipers, easily glazed when they do get hot? You or I don't know either way, so stop disparaging people involved in the Toyota acceleration incidents unless you work directly for Toyota or a supplier of Toyota. [snip...]
From: lil abner on 9 Mar 2010 23:55 Scott in SoCal wrote: > The scene: a major thoroughfare with 6 through lanes (3 in each > direction), 2 dedicated left turn lanes, and a dedicated right turn > lane. The light is red. From 1/4 mile behind us, an ambulance pulls > out onto the street and is heading in our direction. > > The light for through traffic turns green. Three lanes of DUMBASSES > just sit there, unable to figure out what to do. The ambulance gets > closer, but has no way to get through. The ambulance driver starts > blowing his air horn; the dumbasses still do not move. Cars behind the > front row also begin honking. FINALLY these shitheads get a clue and > start to move, clearing a path for the ambulance to get through. > > It seems to me that we are becoming a nation of droids. Like the > cashier in the grocery store who cannot make change unless the cash > register tells her how much money to give back, we do OK within our > limited programming (and with the help of our computerized devices). > But the moment something happens that is outside of our limited > programming, we are like a robot on Star Trek:TOS after Captain Kirk > has fed us an insoluble logic puzzle: we stand there with a blank > expression and smoke coming out of our ears, completely clueless as to > what to do next. And sometimes we self-destruct. > > I believe this same phenomenon is at work in these Toyota "unintended > acceleration" incidents. People find themselves in a situation that > exceeds their programming, and they are unable to think their way out > of it. Take the "Runaway Prius" case from yesterday: > > http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/09/chp-aids-driver-of-runaway-toyota/ > > 61 year old James Sikes couldn't figure out to step on the brakes and > turn off the ignition until a CHP officer pulled up next to him on the > freeway at 94 MPH and shouted instructions over the bullhorn. Sikes > was lucky; he was able to overcome his panic and recover his wits > before flying off into Devil's Canyon(*) or one of the other > precipitous drops along that stretch of I-8. The CHP officer in Santee > wasn't so lucky, and ended up releasing the magic smoke from his > microcontroller. > > (*) I-8 crosses Devil's Canyon in a pair of spectacular high bridges. > Although the bridges have an extra-tall guard rail to keep runaway > vehicles from plunging into the abyss below, at times I have driven > through the area and observed portions of the barriers broken down > and/or missing where a vehicle obviously smashed into it at high > speed. More info and some pictures are here: > > http://members.cox.net/mkpl/mtnspr/mtnspr8.html Many are afraid to move because it might mean a ticket, especially if there is a camera around. This is what happens when we over crowd ourselves and government begins to be the master not the servant indirectly. It;s not the reactions but rather the onditioning by pressures of the society.
From: John Lansford on 10 Mar 2010 05:17
Larry Sheldon <lfsheldon(a)gmail.com> wrote: >On 3/9/2010 10:36 PM, Daniel W. Rouse Jr. wrote: > >> Reports are that he did try to brake and his brakes were getting hot. >> Possibly deficient brake pads on those calipers, easily glazed when they do >> get hot? > >Reports, demonstrations, and my own experiences all say that if you put >both feet on the brake pedal and push as hard as you can, the carw Will >stop. > >(I would add "...unless the brakes are in such poor condition that the >car should not be on the road in the first place.") The Prius and other modern Toyotas are "drive by wire". The brake, gear shift selector, and accelerator pedal don't have mechanical connections to anything, they are sensors that send data to a central computer. The latest incident of the Prius driver who the policeman witnessed standing on his brakes trying to stop it indicate that there may be a problem with the computer accepting certain data input. John Lansford, PE -- John's Shop of Wood http://wood.jlansford.net/ |