Abolish the NHTSA

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Soon driving will be no fun. The only true sports car will be some form of kit car imune to all the mandatory regulations BS.

How about letting the people buy what they want and letting the manufacturers manufacture what they want?

REPORT: NHTSA to mandate lane departure warning and auto-brake systems?

government officials are pondering whether or not they should require new vehicles to be fitted with lane-departure warning systems and automatic braking systems that trigger upon warning of an impending accident.

REPORT: NHTSA may mandate amber turn signals

Some cars have red turn signal lamps, while others have an amber hue. Big deal, right? The National Highway Traffic Safety Association thinks it is, after finding that amber lights are 5.3% more effective at preventing crashes than the red blinkers.

 

[Warfang]

Soon driving will be no fun. The only true sports car will be some form of kit car imune to all the mandatory regulations BS.

How about letting the people buy what they want and letting the manufacturers manufacture what they want?

REPORT: NHTSA to mandate lane departure warning and auto-brake systems?


REPORT: NHTSA may mandate amber turn signals

Standardizing on the color of turn signals makes sense, but the other stuff is ridiculous. The problem with kit cars after all these stupid things gets passed is that insuring them will cost a fortune. Sad thing is I don't see things getting better.

 

[gb66gth]

You can have the keyes to my Viper when you pry them from my cold dead hand

 

[Warfang]

You can have the keyes to my Viper when you pry them from my cold dead hand

Well if the keys are in one hand and your gun is in the other... how are you gonna hold your BigMac and **-**'s?

 

[GTS Dean]

If you folks are serious about reigning in the NHTSA, then the time to do it is NOW. Jim Oberstar's House Transportation committee is hard at work rewriting the official playbook that funds highway, air, maritime and transit operations. The "Highway Bill" is up for renewal by Sept 30. Oberstar is proposing some truly radical changes to the status quo - including pumping more of yours and my gas tax money into non-highway categories. If this runaway freight train that the democaps are running is ever going to slow down, WE have to let them know NOW. If not, you can count on more global warming/universal health care-style

 

[Kevan]

Well if the keys are in one hand and your gun is in the other... how are you gonna hold your BigMac and **-**'s?

....while texting!!!

The amber turn signals don't really bug me. It's about time we caught up with the rest of the world.

The other stuff.....well, if I'm gonna have a baby sitter while I drive, can she look like one of the ladies in Chad's avatar?
Thanks.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Standardizing on the color of turn signals makes sense,

So does everybody dutifully marching in line.

The NHTSA claims amber turn signals decrease accidents by 5%. Is that when somebody ACTUALLY USES their turn signal or all the time? What's next, a system that doesn't allow the steering wheel to move until the turn signal is activated? Don't laugh, it'll come.

For the record I ALWAYS signal. I want all those idiots on the road to know exactly what my intentions are.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

If you folks are serious about reigning in the NHTSA, then the time to do it is NOW. Jim Oberstar's House Transportation committee is hard at work rewriting the official playbook that funds highway, air, maritime and transit operations. The "Highway Bill" is up for renewal by Sept 30. Oberstar is proposing some truly radical changes to the status quo - including pumping more of yours and my gas tax money into non-highway categories. If this runaway freight train that the democaps are running is ever going to slow down, WE have to let them know NOW. If not, you can count on more global warming/universal health care-style

Only 20% of our gas tax dollar go to actually paying for roads now. You mean they're gonna cut into it further?

 

[InjectTheVenom]

So does everybody dutifully marching in line.

The NHTSA claims amber turn signals decrease accidents by 5%. Is that when somebody ACTUALLY USES their turn signal or all the time? What's next, a system that doesn't allow the steering wheel to move until the turn signal is activated? Don't laugh, it'll come.

For the record I ALWAYS signal. I want all those idiots on the road to know exactly what my intentions are.

Same here, lazy idiots continually fail to signal and LOVE to just smack their car right in front of ya even if they don't have the right of way.

 

[VENOMAHOLIC]

I can see it now. I am driving a car and the auto brake system fails because of a glitch or corrosion in the wiring and I stop in the middle of a 3 lane highway. The car won't move and I wait to be rear ended at 70mph from behind. What we need are smart drivers, not smart cars. I would rather have drivers take courses like drivers ed instead of adding to the complexity of cars.

 

[Ray W]

Imagine how far NASA would have got by making the spaceship smart enough so the monkey wouldn't have to really fly it.

 

[Warfang]

So does everybody dutifully marching in line.

The NHTSA claims amber turn signals decrease accidents by 5%. Is that when somebody ACTUALLY USES their turn signal or all the time? What's next, a system that doesn't allow the steering wheel to move until the turn signal is activated? Don't laugh, it'll come.

For the record I ALWAYS signal. I want all those idiots on the road to know exactly what my intentions are.

That's like saying in one town red means stop while another red means go, and somewhere in san francisco, all colors mean go.

Passive elements that do not interfere with the total driving experience should be standardize to avoid confusion in traffic. But you're right in that too many idiots don't signal anyways.

 

[AZTVR]

You know, I've never even thought about the color of a flashing turn signal. The flashing part is what catches my eye.

I would suggest that they mandate some arrows on those lights so that I would know exactly which way the driver was intending to turn. That stumps me 11% of the time.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

Worst part is the yellow turn signals will confuse everybody that bought a trailer with only red taillights. I had to buy the little conversion box for the trailer I tow with the Viper.

In the book "Traffic" it is pointed out that many incidents are caused by the driver seeing something that isn't normal (or normally seen while driving.) Their brains can't process the non-sequitor fast enough. For all those types that rely on habit and whatever is "usual" I will gladly use yellow turn lights and add the yellows to the "idiot light" list.

I would draw the line at the "active" measures being mandatory. Even the icon of quality, Mercedes, had issues with their electric brakes. Gee, I can see pranks where fake highway lines are drawn on roads so the lane departure system generates a head-on collision... oh, that would be avoided by the automatic braking system, which you couldn't disable because the seatbelt pre-tensioner sucked you back into the seat and you couldn't reach the button. We will have cars that protect the occupants with 14 miles of wire...

 

[GTS Dean]

Only 20% of our gas tax dollar go to actually paying for roads now. You mean they're gonna cut into it further?

In the House, Oberstar is proposing a Highway/Transit split of 73/27%. Currently, the split is 80/20. Remember, this "Transit" money ALL comes from _highway motor fuel_ puchases. Also, the last count I heard for earmarks to the "highway bill" is 6700 - that's on the House side ONLY.

Cue up Pink Floyd's - Animals.

"You well heeled Pig Man,
Ha ha, charade you are."
...
Keep on piggin'