2020 car tech may just stop most motorycle / car crashes

Driver- or Rider- training is never going to be effective as a one-time deal, which is why pilots (and soldiers) train continuously.

Improving driver [rider] training means extending it beyond basics and into refreshers... at the very least, people practicing the skills they have.

Good riders never stop training. They don't need the Government telling them to do it. Unfortunately they are in a minority.

Here a good one for starters:
http://www.michigantrafficcrashfacts.org/doc/2010/years_2.pdf

I didn't calculate everything out for all years, but just dividing total crashes by miles traveled for every tenth year and converting to convenient units gives:
1960 = 6.5
1970 = 5.9
1980 = 5.1
1990 = 4.7
2000 = 4.4
2010 = 2.8

There are absolutely other factors impacting this, but the time period involved is long enough that it accounts for changes in speed limits, etc.

There are also some factors involved that would bias towards more crashes with time; for example, number of vehicles on the road. I didn't do the math on crashes per unit vehicle, but since the vehicle registrations steadily increase and more than double between 1960 and 2010 the resulting shift should be similar.

The more important point is that it supports the following contentions:
-Driving skill does not appear to be getting worse, as evidenced by drivers not crashing more often; despite the proliferation of common boogeymen such as cell phones, in car entertainment, and "coddling" systems.
-Technological solutions are an effective way to prevent (or mitigate the effects of) inadequate driving skill.

Can you elaborate on this? If your description is accurate, the end result would be that people would be safer and would have something that is currently regarded as a chore converted into free time that they could then use for things that they enjoy or value more.

Do you also regret that the "purity" of heating your home and cooking over an open fire pit in the living room has been replaced by the much safer, more effective, and less time-intensive alternative of fully automated central HVAC?

There is only one answer. Remove seatbelts, airbags, crumple zones, traction control, etc etc.

Equip all new cars with a sharpened (then allowed to rust) rail road spike mounted in the center of the steering wheel.

Drivers will improve.

I am not being sarcastic.

Bingo!!! You have just one the grand prize. Most people do consider driving to be a chore. This is a major reason why they are not good at it. As a motorcycle rider, do you consider riding to be a chore??? Would you rather have a fully automated bike that you could just sit on while it did everything for you???

As for what I think about technology and the future. The way things are headed at this time I see a future where we will become just like the Borg; just a bunch of drones who are part of the collective. This may be very efficient and safe, but not something I wish to be part of.

"I'm sorry but my car didn't see you."

Excuse me, I wasn't clear in what I meant: I don't mean improved safety devices or structural enhancements-- again, I'm no romantic, pound-for-pound a car in 2012 is far, FAR safer than an equivalent car in 1972.

What I'm talking about is the growth of distracted driving, and technology that indulges distracted driving. Cel phone/texting being enemy #1, but also putting dashboard GPS/video/you-name-it in the car as well. It's like we spent decades making driving so safe that we're now committed to finding ways to make driving UNSAFE again.

W5 a long time program in Canada did some a spot on gps. It shows that programing them etc while driving etc is far worse then a cell phone. Safe if only programed before you take off and not on the run.

Annnnddd... number FOUR

Expecting technology to make up for stupid/self-distracted/inept driving makes as much sense as trying to spend your way out of debt.

Odd that nobody seems to love it...you just decribed riding a bus.

Actually, I may have just described having a professional driver and a limo. Some people prefer to be drivers, and some passengers. No doubt a large percentage of drivers would prefer to be passengers and would take that limo if they could afford it. For those of you who ride, how many would prefer to be passengers???

Here's what happens when people become too dependent on modern technology:




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I work for a Toyota dealership and there is a training guy who makes a similar argument. He thinks that putting a sword in 1 out of every 10 airbags and telling customers that they have a 10% chance that they will be impaled in a collision would put an end to red light running. Sounds like you might have heard a similar training class. LOL.

oh fuck that shit.

oser

This ^^^^

It's all about attitude and always has been. Better roads and advances in vehicle technologies sure make life more pleasant but won't stop idiots being idiots.

what we need is all the same tech, just fewer people.

Zombie apocalypse! Just imagine if there were only 2.5 million cars on the road and 3 million people?

Of course most of you ff's would be dead or soon to be dead zombies but eh.. gotta break a few eggs.

No, but they do a fine job of mitigating the effects of "idiocy"; or more accurately "errors that all drivers make with varying frequency".

For example, an "idiot" driving a car is distracted on a rainy day and looks up to see that your bike is stopped at a red light in front of him. He panics and jumps on the brakes.

If he does not have ABS, his stopping distance is longer, and he will be more likely to hit you.

If he does have ABS, the result of the same "idiot" move of not paying attention and then standing on the brakes would likely be a near-miss rather than a collision.

Technology is an effective way to prevent unsafe conditions, and to reduce the impact when an unsafe condition occurs. This is why literally every safety program in the world uses both technology/hardware solutions and operator training in combination to reduce the chances of injury.

To the guys who are advocating goofball notions along the lines of "replace all airbags with land mines" or "get rid of all electronic driver aids" - have you ditched all your smoke alarms and fire extinguishers in order to encourage fire prevention and damage mitigation solely through behavior modification?

Would you also encourage factory managers to get rid of machine guarding, light curtains, and safety glasses in order to force employees to "stop being idiots" and take responsibility for their actions etc?

I see you have the same incorrect understanding of ABS as most people.

Repeat after me: "The purpose of ABS is not to provide a shorter stopping distance". Say that a few times until you get the meaning of it. ABS- Antilock Braking System. ABS. ANTILOCK, not AWESOME.

Statistics show this to be true: Given a car with ABS, the average schmuck will drive in a more reckless manner, because hey- he's got technology! to save him! when he fucks up!