In a message dated 1/28/01 1:24:23 PM Central Standard Time, ckuecker@mcs.net
writes:
> >How about this: One can take a test for one's self, submit one's car to
> >periodic inspection and testing and pay more for a "High Performance
Driver'
> s
> >License". Certified training at something like the Skip Barber driving
> >schools might be a pre-requisite. In it's full-blown "smart' form, such a
> >system would allow one to activate the "high-performance" feature of one's
> >car/license on open roads, which would then initiate a special session of
> >two-way communication to the road system. The road network would sense
the
> >traffic and weather conditions and then allow you to drive up to some
> >fraction of the limits of your combined car and driver rating under the
> >existing conditions. The car reports real-time data on its operations to
> the
> >road system, such as tire pressure and temperature, lateral acceleration,
> >excessive yaw, vibration and aerodynamic downforce. Exceeding the car's
> >"rating" on any of these parameters would change the limit at which the
car
> >would be able to operate.
>
> So you could tear down a road with blind curves, and not have to worry
> about obstructions just out of sight, perhaps..
Right . . . pretty cool, huh? To my mind the basic issues impacting
implementation of such a system are:
<> Can a system that accomplishes this be developed and implemented while at
the same time preserving many of the GOOD things people like about automobile
travel, i.e. autonomy and anonymity?
<> How can a set of data standards and system protocols be developed?
<> What level of participation is necessary before such a system could be at
least partially implemented? This latter point is especially important,
since the longevity of automobiles has been steadily creeping upward over the
last ten years especially. Many moderately-priced 2001 model cars are so
well built and reliable that we could expect them to still be on the road
well into the 2010s and even 2020s. Given this issue, I would expect that
many of the benefits of such a system will only be achievable if they can be
implemented as a retrofit.
> >Under the such a system, there are lots of places
> >here in Texas where I could run my 'vette up to the drag limit (~160-180
> mph
> >- a nice safe margin, since Car and Driver magazine determined that the
> side
> >windows on my car tend to blow out from Bornoulli Effect above c. 200 mph;
> >something you can fix with duct tape, but which doesn't look so hot).
>
> Are you serious? What holds the windows in there in the first place?
Yes and not much, really (which is true of many cars these days that don't
have completely-enclosed side window frames.) In fact, only two little
plastic clips hold in the windows on my car (and most similar designs). Once
I realized this, I started noticing it on lots of cars. By the nature of
fluid flows, aerodynamics gets to be increasingly important as speed
increases. Thus, for instance, GP cars being able to pull way more than 1
lateral G at even moderate speeds.
Greg Burch <GBurch1@aol.com>----<gburch@lockeliddell.com>
Attorney ::: Vice President, Extropy Institute ::: Wilderness Guide
http://users.aol.com/gburch1 -or- http://members.aol.com/gburch1
ICQ # 61112550
"We never stop investigating. We are never satisfied that we know
enough to get by. Every question we answer leads on to another
question. This has become the greatest survival trick of our species."
-- Desmond Morris
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon May 28 2001 - 09:56:37 MDT