Railways, Tramways, Busways, Driverless Vehicles

Tobster86

modsandmockers wrote: »

Tobs - please correct me if I am wrong….

Ok.

modsandmockers wrote: »

When you assume primary position on your bike, are overtaking motorists in the wrong?

During the perhaps 3% of my journey where conditions dictate that primary position is well-advised (passing left hand juntions, turning right, and approaching roundabouts) I would say that they would be better to wait for a few more moments or until my manoeuvre is complete before executing their overtake, where we would both benefit from greater space and safety. This is what primary position indicates.

modsandmockers wrote: »

But when you are in your super-duper motorcar, do non-overtaking motorists cause you problems?

No. After catching up with a slower moving vehicle, if drivers do not intend to overtake they should keep well back and allow space for any vehicles behind them that may wish to overtake. By not leaving this space, they create a slow moving convoy which no one can overtake, which just gets longer and longer.

modsandmockers wrote: »

But Tobs is never wrong, right?

Where has that been suggested?

modsandmockers wrote: »

Tobs - you have a very poor attitude, and I think Brat should place you under immediate arrest, to be released only when you have been completely superseded by the artificial intelligence of driverless vehicles.

I'm not sure the legal system provides a means of indefinite arrest for simply 'having a very poor attitude'.
And a large part of my job is making artificial intelligences; it's unlikely to supersede me.

modsandmockers

Tobster86 wrote: »

I am an even bigger !!!!!! than modsandmockers

I didn't think that was possible!

Bollotom

Driverless trains during a communication breakdown cannot provide alternatives in an emergency. You're obviously from a large urban area if you think along those lines. I'm from a small village, bus on a Wednesday and Bus on a Saturday so driverless bus or train won't work for us. Now be a good boy and accept that Far North won't work either. I wonder if you'd board a pilotless aircraft :cool:

Tobster86

Bollotom wrote: »

I wonder if you'd board a pilotless aircraft :cool:

I think many people would be more than happy to hear that their pilot is an emotionless automated system at the moment!

esuhl

Bollotom wrote: »

Now be a good boy and accept that Far North won't work either. I wonder if you'd board a pilotless aircraft :cool:

From what I've heard, "fly by wire" systems have been available for decades, and only public perception has forced pilots to take control of aircraft to takeoff and land. The majority of the flight is, effectively pilotless, in that autopilot is engaged.

armyknife

esuhl wrote: »

From what I've heard, "fly by wire" systems have been available for decades, and only public perception has forced pilots to take control of aircraft to takeoff and land. The majority of the flight is, effectively pilotless, in that autopilot is engaged.

IIRC there were British transport aircraft with fully automated landing systems back in the 60s , maybe the Shorts Belfast or perhaps the air force VC10.

Johnmcl7

esuhl wrote: »

From what I've heard, "fly by wire" systems have been available for decades, and only public perception has forced pilots to take control of aircraft to takeoff and land. The majority of the flight is, effectively pilotless, in that autopilot is engaged.

There is a lot of automation in passenger planes which can easily handle many situations however the danger is that pilots become too reliant on them and encounter difficulties when they're suddenly forced to take control of the plane when the automated systems disengage due to problems. This is one of the main cases of the Air France disaster where the autopilot system disengaged due to a brief problem with the air speed sensors and the pilots badly mishandled the situation which ended up with the plane crashing and the loss of all life. Although there's no definitive information about the recent AirAsia crash, the situation looks extremely similar and has led to concerns being voiced about pilots using automated systems too much of the time and being less likely to be able to deal with problems.

I have no problems with automated systems being used on planes but wouldn't want to be on one without a pilot for the situation when the autopliot is unable to function and it needs human input to resolve the situation.

John