'Road trains' get ready to roll
 

No, these are not trains that run on the road.

With the IP projects I get to work on, it's really hard to keep my mouth shut. But this is public - so why not?
https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8349923.stm

I honestly hope they are right.

Don't ask me what happens when the lead vehicle goes off the road...

MA4T

neat idea but i dont think we need people watchin tv or reading while thier car drives them.

yea i wonder what happens when one car slides outa control (blowout, bald tires hitting wet puddle, patch of ice, engine failure, etc) do the other cars folow it? even if the cars engien dies the lead truck would have to be constantly watching behind him all the time, gets too far away and all the cars go nuts :D

So what happens to your radiator and AC condenser when they are being blocked by the another car a few inches off the front bumper at 70mph under load? I personally can't wait to have somebody's exhaust piped directly through my dash vents. For a quick death, I hope its a diesel!

https://laughingsquid.com/wp-content/...royal-fail.jpg

I don't think that the issues named above will be show stoppers. I also don't think it will succeed, though I won't offer guesses as to why.

At first I thought it was going to be about trucks towing many tandem trailers, like a "road train" in Australia.

Looks pretty cool, I've fantasized about that type of thing many times.

Looks easy (in my very oversimplified mind) in a steady-state environment, but as mentioned above I'd be scared about emergency situations.

Just what we need - American drivers even LESS involved in the driving process.

agreed, our driving test needs to be a hell of alot harder and refresher tests every few years for ALL ages...

also need to have everyones insurance EQUAL (male and female) at a low rate untill you screw up then that parsons rates go way up. freakin rediculous just because some statistic says males total more cars my insurance is higher...isnt that profiling???

Running the statistics makes sense. That's the whole purpose of insurance. It's not the worst way to do it.

I'd settle for liability insurance being per driver instead of per vehicle. I can't drive two vehicles at once; why should I pay twice as much liability insurance just for owning two vehicles? Do people with two vehicles statistically get in more accidents?

Profiling is neither illegal nor generally unaccepted, except certain types of profiling.

may not be the worst way to do it but best way for the insurance companies to make more money lol

i do agree i shouldn't have to pay insurance on 2 vehicles when i can only drive one at a time...it should be per person that way anyone can drive anyone elses car and still be covered (some insurances allow this but you have to pay more, big suprise lol) i doubt if a person owns 2+ cars thier more likely to get in more accidents, hence why they have multi car discount i would assume...

like when my truck was transfered into my name i had the chevette and the s10 put on the same insurance, truck is listed as uhh (forgot the name its not the primary) and chevette is primary. the chevette alone insurance was $230 ish for 6 mo (liability only) then when i added the truck it dropped to $216...(same liability only, ones 29 years old other is 14 with more rust lol)

In RI anyone can driver anyone's car and be covered by the car's insurance. You can get secondary part-time driver coverage for a specific person if he will be driving your vehicle [B]often[/B.

Imagine one road train overtaking another.
I can't see this fitting the mentality of most drivers whose mindset is that they're in a race with everyone.

There are allot of cities that prohibit double trailers, road trains would be allowed to route only destinations. I can see them taking the 10 highway, that's a coast to coast route. The Austrailian road trains have 7 to 9 trailers, duel steering wheels and a big sleeper cab, plus they run 12 or 16 cylinder Catapilers, they're closer to road ships.

Here in lies the debate, having driven cross country for a year and a half, the way it is supposed to work, is major cities get train or ship cargos, that is taken by truck or train to other cities and sometimes go to even smaller delivery trucks. Are there land locked cities that don't have train routes? Are trains so overloaded by need that there aren't enough trains for goods being moved? If that's the case then listen for a ships horn and a quater mile of trailers behind you.

Safety? They are really going to need real time GPS traffic, plus the new system on the Toyota Sienna mini vans. Its an infrared eye that tracks cars in front of you, you can set it in cruise control mode for between 5 and 35 feet, the van will accelerate and brake in concert with the vehicle in front.

Out here at the Dulles Airport they have just installed Air Trans, its a 2 to 3 car shuttle that rides on radial tires, steeres by guide rail, is electric, and completely automated. Kind of a human land train.

Also in the automation catagory, after the train wreck last year in Maryland, the auto positioning system that told operators a track was clear is being replaced by a new automated system. The old 70's system had not worked right for 4 months and totaly failed when it told one train the track was clear. For the last 8 months the entire Metro sytem has been run by humans, they show a 50% late rate. Some operators are so slow they run 2 and 3 trains backed up behind each other, no trains are on time, and they have an average of 40 minutes late when the trains actually do show up. The old system was supplimental, operators had the positioning system tell them when it was clear to go and they had a 2 minute window to get the train moving. The new system does away with operators, so you have more unemployment and the trains running on time.

What's that for?

Seriously? WTF was Toyota thinking? Are they trying to make people hate them now? Just what I need, people having an automated way to tailgate me.

It should have a minimum of 35 feet and a maximum of 1/4 mile (granted, that maximum is not feasible).

Well, you may not have anywhere to go but at least you'll get there on time. :p

That's so the drivers can fight to the death about which route to take...


...Sorry, I couldn't resist...

That's kinda scary...reminds me of the Radar Brake that Packard experimented with in the mid '50s...


"Another bold but ultimately unworkable idea for the big 1957 Packards was the 'radar brake.' This comprised a small grille-mounted radar sensor connected to an electric screwjack that engaged or disengaged the brakes independently of the driver. As Richard Stout, then of Packard Product Planning related, the radar brake proved itself when a Four Hundred hardtop so equipped was driven at a wall.

But later, 'a company official drove the [car] home. On his first right turn the sensor picked up a cross-traffic car waiting for a light. Screech! Halt! Recovering, our shaken driver proceeded down a narrow street with parked cars, two-way traffic and pedestrians, all of which alarmed the sensor. . . . Our official was astounded [and] made a beeline for the company garage.' " (From "How Stuff Works...1957 and '58 Packard Concept Cars)

Maybe technology has improved in the last half century, but....

i dunno i dont trust it...if it malfunctions and you rearend the car in front of you its still your fault... and 5 ft ? WTF were they thinking!?!? were gonna use this in gridlock traffic????:D

Gridlock is exactly when I would want to use it, and when I'd be willing to trust it the most easily.

https://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...esscar_226.jpg

well they obviously don't need to see out the windows

This will probably go over as well as these cars avoiding congestion charges

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYdH08zzRCU


Thats not even legal, it's supposed to be 10 feet for every 10mph. I guess in Japan there's alot less room. I hate idiots who ride my *** at 60/70.