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Comments
This probably has nothing to do with the flooding in Iowa.
Note to hosts, we need a little sarcasm icon.
As people stop buying E85, we can expect the demand for RUG to go up.
Yeah, but beef/food prices would stabilize, since the corn would then be available for feed, and it would be a wash, right? (Yeah, we DEFINITELY need that sarcasm icon)
You know I never seen one of these with a license plate, but they do slow down traffic.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
[insert sarcasm icon HERE]
:P
I thought talking on a cell phone while driving in NY was against the law. Hopefully NY still has the death penalty. That guy needs to be removed from society.
18 Recovering After Being Struck By Cars In NYC
NEW YORK (CBS) ― More than a dozen pedestrians are recovering Saturday after being hit by cars in three separate incidents. All the victims were on the sidewalk at the time.
Unlicensed driver Estabannie Sanchez was led away in handcuffs Friday after being behind the wheel of an SUV which jumped the curb on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan.
"We basically heard a noise behind us and turned around and the jeep was already on the pavement, on the sidewalk, all wheels," said witness Ian Cairns.
The out-of-control explorer plowed into 10 pedestrians on the sidewalk in front of the music store the driver was attempted to get to.
"There was a lady under the front, a guy on the side, two underneath the back wheel," another witness said.
Also pinned under the vehicle was a little boy, helped by people like Eliete Alvarez, who hurt his neck when the vehicle sent him into a truck.
"We lifted the car, got the boy out. The boy was with his mother. The boy was fine," Alvarez said.
A short time earlier up in Harlem another driver, in a livery cab, lost control and hit a 55-year-old woman then crashed into a Washington Mutual bank.
The woman was taken in critical condition to the hospital, and the driver was given a ticket for driving while on a cell phone.
And on the East Side a 60-year-old man stepped on the gas instead of the brake while exiting a parking spot and struck seven people, two of whom were in serious condition at the hospital Saturday morning.
West Virginia's explanation follows the so called 85th percentile rule, a very common rationale. They state that they "set the posted speed limit at the speed below which 85% of the vehicles are travelling[sic] on the road or street." In other words they claim to do exactly what so many are clamoring on about, i.e. they let the flow of traffic set the limit. So, if the limit is 65 MPH, they are saying it was established because at least 85% of the drivers on that stretch of road have been observed to drive at or below 65 MPH and have done so reasonably and prudently reflecting the characteristics of that stretch of road. Less than 15% have been observed exceeding that speed. (Note: the 85% mark is chosen because the risk and incidence of severe accidents appears to increase above that percentile)
Sounds reasonable and nicely objective huh? Frankly I don't buy it. First of all I have never seen a sign that read "85th percentile assessment zone. Please drive reasonably and prudently." Despite the eloquence of the theory, it appears that in practice most speed limits are actually set somewhere below the 85th percentile speed, often well below. I suspect WV is no different. I have to guess that this occurs for reasons that are much more subjective. I doubt the motivation of increasing revenue, although lowering speed limits often does have that consequence. My best guess is motivation based on some perceived safety benefit.
While I accept that limits are necessary, how they are established remains a somewhat cloudy deal.
No, wait . . .
nevermind
In some cases they do an actual engineering study to set the speed limit.
The 85/15 is not really so much a theory but a rule of thumb. When I worked enforcement many years ago we had a rule of thumb called 85/12/3. It basically said:
85% of the people would try to follow the rule and that this group would respond well to training.
11% were fence sitters. They had to know there was a person with a big stick out there, who was more than happy to give them a big thumping, or else they would break the law.
3% of the people were criminals and/or people that did not give a rip about anybody but themselves. You just had to find them and use the big stick. In our case the big stick was a monetary penalty. :shades:
In North Dakota the state troopers wanted the interstate speed to be lower than the current 75 mph. These are the guys that pull the body parts out of the vehicles, by the way. I would agree with them, 65 or 70 mph would have been just fine. And think how much FUEL we would have saved driving 65 mph instead of 75 mph.
The fuel saved by dropping to 60 mph would be even more. That would be especially true if the large, low mileage vehicles had to slow down below 75-80 on open interstate driving.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I am not so much bothered by the apparent subjectivity on this deal. Some erring on the side of caution seems reasonable to me, even if data suggest otherwise. All the rules of thumb, data, observed behavior, design predictions, etc. offer little comfort to someone in the event of some tragic incident. Fortunately those tragedies are relatively infrequent, and for that we should be thankful. It just seems imprudent to let that carry the day. It just makes sense to me that even though most driving occurs without incident, the very real and potential deadly incidents should be given greater weight in our decisions regarding limits. We should do so in a determined effort to reduce the occurrence of the worst possible case. I admit that my position is highly subjective.
Ok, that explains where that missing 1% went in your 85/11/3% numbers.
/Bob Newhart
With New Ad, Even BMW Hops on Fuel Economy Bandwagon
"eight models that get more than 28 mpg on the highway,"
I'll just cherry pick a sentence (because I soooo love when it's done to me :P ).... so what this seems to boil down to is "screw the science, I just feel like it.".... which is how it seems that many of these limits were determined.
I don't completely disagree with your position, however I have some issue with your method of choice. Where is education in your matrix? Where is recognition of technological advances? What about a true culling of dangerous drivers/vehicles?
Simply accepting that there is nothing to be done about incompetence doesn't work for me.
I love the opening line of BMW's ad. "Where we come from," the ad says, "high fuel prices are nothing new." I read another article that said the line will voice over various pictures of Germany. Kind of a "Quit your whining" moment.
"screw the speed limit, I just know I can handle faster." That's no less subjective and opens up a whole host of individual variables.
Yeah, but I like this one better
With education how about we spend a little effort in getting kids to understand and accept the necessity of law. Seems to me we just take a position of imposition that fosters resistance. We end up just expecting and enforcing compliance. That's inherently confrontational. I think we can do better.
It appears that when the law tries to deal with technology, it usually attempts to restrict. Not sure I like that so much, and it still devolves into a system of mandates. Certainly we have benefited from advances in car design and construction. I think that has served to better fit within existing law than affect change to existing law. Thus far the law has not considered technical differences when setting speed limits. Not sure if it should just yet. There are still a bunch of cars out there that lack newer handling and safety technologies.
Culling dangerous cars/drivers. I was under the impression we were already doing that to some extent, imperfect as our attempts may or may not be.
Oh, and I don't accept that there is nothing to be done about incompetence. I apologize if I gave that impression.
yeah, that is more fun
Not really.... look, as long as you can get insured you can drive... unless you get too many speeding tickets (yes I know that is a pretty broad statement)
What I'm really saying is that in most places we look at driver A, who drives 30-40K miles annually, collects the occasional speeding ticket, but has not had an accident for a few hundred thousand miles, and driver B, who has never had a ticket, admits to being a "bit uncomfortable" with this whole driving thing, does maybe 10K a year, and admits that he drove all the way home from church last week without noticing that one tire was flat, and we say that driver A is "more dangerous. I'm not even slanting things a bit by mentioning that Driver B got hit once or twice - not at fault, but possibly that more skill would have allowed avoidance...
I mentioned earlier that left to our own devices, some of can be real stupid. Driver A would be identified as more dangerous because of the tickets. That's how the system is set up. Driver B would be characterized as more stupid maybe, or maybe more gently, more out of touch. Stupid can be very dangerous.
The gov blamed it all on the oil companies. The truckers wanted some sort of tax holiday (sales tax) for the summer. I don't know if either party was making any sense. The gas crisis is more complicated that the simple solutions I've heard from both sides.
As to the point about extortion, I agree with you. But here in Albany no one ever seems to mind when a protest causes problems unless it is staged by "those darn right-wingers". That upsets my sense of fairness.
Oh, by the way, the lawmaker from downstate who originally told the truckers to drop dead, now says he will meet with them. I don't think they will change his mind but it's interesting what a little bad publicity will do.
Maybe Jefferson was right when he said a little revolution from time to time is a good thing.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Did I forget to mention that if you disagree with me you're an idiot? :P
LOLOL
I love her without question, but she is a real "point A to point B as quickly as possible and everyone else doesn't know what they're doing" driver. Drives me nuts, but I have learned to just sit quietly with my eyes closed in the passenger seat.
I think I'll pass on the helmet. Sitting quietly is working out well so far.
What about the ones who speed up and pass, move in front, then slow down? She has a very colorful name for them.
I read this under news in the Continental web site. It is a corporate communique put out to all employees. Hopefully the recent alliance with United can keep both alive.
ps Very difficult to drive to Hawaii.
Continental to Reduce Capacity, Fleet and Staffing
Sixty-seven mainline aircraft and 3,000 positions to be eliminated; CEO and President decline their salaries for the remainder of the year
HOUSTON, June 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) released to its more than 45,000 employees the following employee bulletin and message from Larry Kellner, chairman and chief executive officer, and Jeff Smisek, president. Continental does not anticipate any further comment until after it has had the opportunity to meet with employees during the next week.
Dear Co-worker:
We've always said that you deserve open, honest and direct communication. This letter and the attached employee bulletin and Q&A are part of that commitment.
The airline industry is in a crisis. Its business model doesn't work with the current price of fuel and the existing level of capacity in the marketplace. We need to make changes in response.
While there have been several successful fare increases, those increases haven't been sufficient to cover the rising cost of fuel. As fares increase, fewer customers will fly. As fewer customers fly, we will need to reduce our capacity to match the reduced demand. As we reduce our capacity, we will need fewer employees to operate the airline. Although these changes will be painful, we must adapt to the reality of today's market to successfully navigate these difficult times.
The attached employee bulletin and Q&A outline some of the steps we are taking to address this industry crisis. The situation for all airlines is serious, and the actions we are announcing today are necessary to secure our future. We regret the loss of jobs caused by this crisis, and we will do our best to minimize furloughs and involuntary terminations.
These actions will help Continental survive this crisis. You have our ongoing commitment to keep you informed as the industry evolves and adapts to these unprecedented challenges. It is important that we all keep our focus on working together during these difficult times.
Larry Jeff
Employee Bulletin No. 9
Continental today is announcing significant reductions in flying and staffing that are necessary for the company to further adjust to today's extremely high cost of fuel. These actions are among many steps Continental is taking to respond to record-high fuel prices as the industry faces its worst crisis since 9/11.
The price of Gulf Coast jet fuel closed yesterday at $151.26 -- about 75 percent higher than what it was a year ago. At that price and at our current capacity, our fuel expense this year would be $2.3 billion more than it was last year. That increase alone amounts to about $50,000 per employee.
These record fuel costs have fundamentally shifted the economics of our business. At these fuel prices, a large number of our flights are losing money, and Continental needs to react to this changed marketplace.
Network Changes
Starting in September, at the conclusion of the peak summer season, Continental will reduce its flights, with fourth quarter domestic mainline departures to be down 16 percent year-over-year. This will result in a reduction of domestic mainline capacity (available seat miles, or ASMs) by 11 percent in the fourth quarter, compared to the same period last year.
By the end of next week, Continental will provide details on specific flights and destinations that are subject to reduction or elimination. For additional information on departures and capacity for 2008 and 2009, see Table A.
Co-worker Impact
As a result of the capacity reductions, Continental will need fewer co-workers worldwide to support the reduced flight schedule. About 3,000 positions, including management positions, will be eliminated through voluntary and involuntary separations, with the majority expected to be through voluntary programs.
The company will offer voluntary programs in an effort to reduce the number of co-workers who will be furloughed or involuntarily terminated due to the capacity cuts. Details of these programs will be available next week.
The reductions will take effect after the peak summer season, except for management and clerical reductions, which will begin sooner.
In recognition of the crisis and its effect on their co-workers, Larry and Jeff have declined their salaries for the remainder of the year and have declined any payment under the annual incentive program for 2008.
Fleet Changes
Continental will reduce the size of its fleet by removing the least efficient aircraft from its network. To accomplish this, Continental is accelerating the retirement of its Boeing 737-300 and 737-500 fleets. In the first six months of 2008, Continental removed six older aircraft from service. Continental will retire an additional 67 Boeing 737-300 and 737-500 aircraft, with 37 of these additional retirements occurring in 2008 and 30 in 2009. Given the need for prompt capacity reductions in today's environment, 27 of the 67 aircraft will be removed in September. By the end of 2009, all 737-300 aircraft will be retired from Continental's fleet.
Continental will continue to take delivery of new, fuel-efficient NextGen Boeing 737-800s and 737-900ERs. Overall fuel efficiency will improve measurably as Continental takes delivery of 16 of these aircraft in the second half of 2008 and 18 in 2009 and accelerates the retirement of the older, less fuel-efficient aircraft as mentioned previously.
By the end of the second quarter of 2008, Continental will operate 375 mainline aircraft. Taking into account both the accelerated retirements and scheduled deliveries, Continental's fleet count will shrink to 356 aircraft in September 2008 and 344 aircraft at the end of 2009 (see attached Table
TABLE A: Network Changes
Departures
Estimated Average Daily Departures and Year-over-Year Percent Change
3Q '08
One thing the airlines may start doing is canceling light flights. I cannot tell you how many times that Northwest canceled my flight out of Minneapolis and put me on a later flight. It would screw up my work schedule most every time they did that. That was in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
With high priced fuel the airlines should just wait till they have a full flight. No flight number just a seat going to a given destination. They call a few hours ahead of departure. At least you would not be stuck sleeping in an airport on the floor as I have done dozens of times.
That is what they exactly wanted the main street to believe. Main street is being you. The country is actually in a deeper recession than a few would know. But seems like the common folks thinks we are not in a recession, and it is all faux...
When the oil becomes 250, and the USD becomes worthless paper, I bet you would still be thinking we are not in a recession, and all is well, because there are still a couple of credit cards that have not been maxed out yet....
Of course, what they FAIL to mention in the ad is that back there in their home country they offer every model with four diesel engines and two 4-cylinder gas choices as well, all of which get much MUCH better gas mileage than the largest, thirstiest engines in the lineup, which are the ONLY engines they export for BMWs sold in America. ;-)
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
You're correct about Wall Street's "own agenda." However, instead of a faux recession, I believe we simply get faux economic numbers from the government.
I don't believe that our economy GREW by 0.6% last year. I believe that the gov't skewed the numbers to make it LOOK like it did.
This is the same government that tells us inflation is 2.6%. How do they get that number? By calculating the rise in price of all goods and services, then conveniently exempting FOOD & ENERGY. So, yes, if you don't eat, don't drive, and don't pay utility bills in your home, then your rate of inflation is 2.6%.
They're not issuing economic numbers, they're issuing propoganda. In the case of GDP, they're putting out the 0.6% number specifically so that when some average person says "we're in a recession," some othere know-it-all can interject, "No we're not! A recession consists of two consecutive quarters of economic decline, and the numbers show the GDP is still growing!"
It's a time-tested tactic: keep us arguing among ourselves while they sit back and collect all the loot. Don't fall for it.
.
Probably till the next big jump in gas prices. Or when you change the subject.
How about those Celtics?
Until there is a downturn in demand the price of gas could keep going up. My view of a recession is cars along the road out of gas and the owners abandoning them because they do not have the money to buy gas. Stores empty for the same reason. I go shopping at the lightest time of the week and day, there are LOTS of people shopping. Many parts of the US as many as 50% of the people are Section 8 assisted rent. Those out of work are getting $500+ per month in food stamps. Look next for Uncle to buy votes with "Gas Stamps".
So if you have a job work hard you have a lot of folks depending on you...
You mean I can stop working a 70 hour week and do better financially than I am now? Hmmmm, I'll have to consider that.
When are the Gas Stamps coming out?
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I think that goes along with the campaign slogan, a "Honda in every Garage" :confuse:
Good thing I am not an engineer! I would have been 80/10/2% or something like that.
http://listverse.com/science/top-10-worst-engineering-disasters/
Funny, setting speed limits does not make the top ten. :surprise:
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Fourth Car Crashes Into Pedestrians In 2 Days, 22 Victims Recovering
NEW YORK (CBS) ― A car plowed into pedestrians on a sidewalk for the fourth time in two days, hurting four people and raising the toll to nearly two dozen victims from the strange spate of wrecks.
Saturday's accident in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood—which injured two toddlers—came a day after cars veered onto sidewalks at three separate locations in Manhattan, hitting 18 people. Three were hospitalized in serious condition; 11 others were treated for less serious injuries.
Witnesses to Saturday's accident said the car crashed into two children at play on the sidewalk, where they lay bleeding after being hit.
A 2-year-old boy was hospitalized in critical condition, and a girl, also 2, in stable condition, police said. Two young women, 16 and 19, were in stable condition, according to police.
Authorities did not say whether the women and children were related.
Police said the 16-year-old driver ran from the scene on East 19th Street, but officers caught up with him.
"He ran for his life, and the hell with everybody else's life—he just cared about his own," witness Serena Hawkes said.
http://wcbstv.com/local/NYC.Car.Accidents.2.753903.html
Notice what I highlighted? "Strange spate" indicates outside of the norm. Not sure if you are proposing we eliminate ever getting out of the ol' Sequoia, just go from drive thru to drive thru?
Well, I've got the Honda but I'll need help being able to get it into the garage...
You're just living in the wrong state:
Governor proposing giving nearly every Alaska resident $1,200 to offset bills for gasoline (KTUU)
Alaska's budget surplus is projected to hit $9 billion next year. How's your state doing?
The only local station to break the $4 mark went back down under again. I think he didn't like being the only one.
That car will get about 60 miles per gallon equivalent.
Also Shell is teaming up with GM, producing hydrogen electrolytically from water, will be sold at $2/gallon equivalent at all their stations, and will be moving fast across the nation once automakers start producing hydrogen cell cars.
Wow ! Welcome the nationwide hydrogen highway. Its about time ! Yaaahooo!!!
See ecogeek.com