Re: [LUG] Fwd: Microsoft scam man is sentenced

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Subject: Re: [LUG] Fwd: Microsoft scam man is sentenced

From: Julian Hall <linux@xxxxxxxxxxxx>

Date: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 23:43:02 +0100

Delivered-to: dclug@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On 01/04/14 23:17, Simon Avery wrote:

It would also be nice if the much vaunted self-driving cars stopped people speeding [which really must be trivial] and also stopped drink driving for good [maybe a little harder].

I think these are an excellent use of technology and will help a lot of people who really dislike driving but do it out of necessity. The next few years will pose some interesting questions of the law, insurance and social expectations. As in - if the car is driving, why can't you be drunk in it? Why can't you send your kids to school in the car while you go to work? Why can't I, as a walker who doesn't like retracing my steps, send my car on a few miles ahead and park itself, then tell me where it is? (Actually, Volvo are working on this already)

On the speeding issue: The problem is a social one, not a technical one (*). The driving public are cynical of many speed limits which are seen as political rather than safety motivated. There has been a step-down on this recently with fewer enforcement cameras but it's another one of those complicated questions where "But what about the children!" is used to great effect by parents and listened to by councillors keen for re-election to add inappropriate limits, humps and other traffic calming measures, based mostly on fear and assumption rather than education and statistical evidence.

The biggest problem to children around schools is, as far as I can see, the parents themselves parking badly.

With respect to children I'd say the biggest danger to children is an apparent total lack of road safety education in schools. I say 'apparent' because I don't want to be seen as blaming the children themselves for the /numerous/ times they've either run out in front of my car or /actually/ strolled across the road and made me come almost to a halt while they cross. I'm not referring to Junior School or younger children who may just be excited and forget the danger, I'm talking about secondary school teenagers who are old enough to know better, and young enough not to care as they know the driver will be blamed if there is an accident. Either the schools are sadly lacking in their road safety education, or it's the children. I'm going to be kind and assume it's the former.

I won't even mention the time I was driving home in the evening and had to slow down to let the kids playing football on a dual carriageway get clear.

Regarding speeding something did occur to me some time ago. Stopping distances are always quote for a dry flat road. On that basis, shouldn't speed limits be slower downhill and faster uphill - within reason of course? Particularly the latter as - depending on the gradient - a car /legally/ but perhaps not sensibly driving at 30mph downhill will take a fair distance longer to stop.

* (Although, on checking my gpx files from my satnav after a trip to cornwall today, I am amused to see it claims I drove at 762mph past Exeter on the A30. Not bad for a diesel estate. Clearly some algorithms are better than others... )

I didn't know F16s ran on diesel ;)

Julian