Driverless Cars

[danbaron]

I bet, not long, now.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/300716/20120217/driverless-car-google-nevada-automated.htm

[kryton9]

It is funny Dan, the other day went to visit my Sister's about 3.5 hour drive away and I mentioned to the others in the car that the technology for cars driving by themselves is already here, it is just implementing some simple things on the highways to make it even cheaper and easier.

My Uncle just bought a new car, it has sensors that tell you when cars are on either blind spot next to the car. Yellow indicators light up in the side mirrors. There are parking assistants and cameras on it too.

There are options now for Cruise Control, where the control will keep a safe distance from the car in front, or use the brakes if needed and get back up to the desired speed when it is safe.

All they really need now is just to put some chip or something in those road reflectors that define the lanes as an added safety so that the sensors won't get confused by rain or snow.

[danbaron]

I have a pet peeve for DUI.

In the United States, as you know, the cops have turned it into an industry.

If you are convicted of it, they will try to extract every penny you have.

Without it, in my opinion, the cops would have nothing to do.

It is the one crime that I can think of, which indirectly is a moneymaker for the cops.

Think about it.

You can be pulled over, given a breath test, and later convicted of DUI.

It seems to me that the legal penalties are approximately equivalent to those for child molestation (only, for DUI, they primarily want your money).

And this, for the case in which you have hit nothing and harmed no one.

To me, the whole thing is a scam.

Here, they even have DUI checkpoints, where every car is pulled over, and the drivers are examined for evidence of drinking.

What happened to, "probable cause"?

I haven't drank and driven, for a long time.

I haven't even drank for a long time (I never drank anything but beer).

And, I was never pulled over by the cops.

When I was a teenager, there was no such thing as DUI.

Over time, mothers (MADD) who had children killed by drunk drivers, turned the matter into a crusade (an effort to assuage guilt?).

In my opinion, the entire thing is so hypocritical.

There is no crusade to make selling cigarettes illegal.

I bet smoking ultimately kills at least 100 times the people that drunk drivers kill.

And tobacco makers do all they can to get people to begin smoking as teenagers.

(Notice that, no one suggests that brainwashing people with constant advertising propaganda, should be illegal. To much money there, yes?)

In my opinion, very few people want to drink and drive.

But, people are social animals.

They like to be together socially.

They need to socialize with other members of their species.

If they were close enough to walk to the bars, I think they would.

But, the society is now constructed so that it is almost impossible to go anywhere without an automobile (my guess is that this is the covert work of the oil companies and automakers).

Where is the public transportation, that would effectively eliminate DUI?

(Where is the public transportation so that people would no longer effectively be slaves to maintaining their automobiles, insurance, and gas prices?)

Notice that, those who are behind the scenes, "pulling the strings", to benefit themselves, are never blamed by society.

It is always the hapless individual.

There is a huge amount of stress for most people today.

When they are together socially, they often use alcohol to quickly dissipate it, so that they feel comfortable and happy during the short time they have together.

I don't see anything wrong with a person wanting to meet with other people at a bar once per week.

If and when people can get from one place to another by automation, and DUI becomes bad history, I think it will be just.

(To me, at least in this country, every day the cops become more and more like stormtroopers, like the Praetorian Guard. What do you think happens when the guy pulled over by the cops for DUI, turns out to be an off-duty cop?)

And never forget, the United States has the highest incarceration percentage in the world, I think approximately 7-8 times that of Europe.

Nice place, right?

It must be that more bad people are born here, correct?

What else could it be?

[kryton9]

I don't know how they do those road blocks and screening without cause either Dan. It has been going on a long time. I first started seeing it in the early 1990's.

Teddy Roosevelt started moving away from the Constitution, but it wasn't so obvious, but the last 40 years till now, the open trampling of our rights have increased exponentially.
It is unbelievable!!

One good sign of hope, I saw a video clip where someone asks Ron Paul who he would pick for Vice-President and he answered "the first name that pops into my mind is Judge Napolitano". Then you hear cheers from the crowd :)

[danbaron]

I miss some things, because, my connection is too slow to watch videos, and, I have never seen Judge Napolitano.

I did see the headline for a Judge Napolitano video, something like, "How to Get fired in 5 Minutes".

I think I heard that he believes 9/11 was a scam, and says so.

If true, he's got my vote.