Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Truly safe?

2456

Comments

  • crkyolfrtcrkyolfrt Member Posts: 2,345
    I know why you are suggesting that, and it isn't necessarily a bad idea. However, we already have a LOT of wireless RF out there now, and there is a limited spectrum of frequencies available for use. There is already some speculation that RF interference and incompatibility could be behind issues like SUA etc.

    And of course, in my mind, I think it would contribute to less driver proactive involvement behind the wheel and settle into potentially dangerous complacency, relying on the technology to always cover their butt.

    One area it could not be faulted (setting potential RF interference on the shelf for now) would be for drivers falling asleep or driving too fast in fog...but again, both are driver error. We would have to weigh those instances saved, vs the other potential instances gained due to the complacency I mentioned above.
  • juxtajuxta Member Posts: 44
    Agreed, nothing is going to replace driver attentiveness just yet. Who knows if warnings like BLIS, lane depature, etc. really reduce accidents...I'm just assuming they do in making the suggestion.

    Really my idea is just a bridge to vehicles driving themselves which would require some intercommunication. I'd guess the wireless devices would use the unlicensed 2.4ghz Wi-Fi / Bluetooth bands and the cellular bands already available. This communication would be just quick signal commands between vehicles, nothing too data intensive so it shouldn't be too burdensome.

    IEEE and ITU should come up with some vehicle protocols for auto manufacturers to get things started.
  • 0patience0patience Member Posts: 1,712
    Mercedes already has accident avoidance technology.
    It doesn't communicate with other vehicles, it determines where the vehicle is in relation to its surroundings.
    If you get too close to the vehicle in front of you, it starts to apply the brakes.
    There is a huge push in the European market for this type of technology to be implemented.
  • subaru47subaru47 Member Posts: 1
    I have tribeca subaru, and encounted a problem a couple of times: I was backing up slowly, and all of a sudden the car speeded and hurt a parked car. Please prompt me if anyone had a similar problem and what might have caused it. Thanks in advance.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Try over here:

    Subaru B9 Tribeca Maintenance & Repair
  • smartasciismartascii Member Posts: 3
    No matter the driver's skill level or driving conditions, a car that reacts quickly and predictably to driver inputs will be safer that one that doesn't. If a child darts out in front of you, do you think you'd have a better chance of avoiding the child in a Miata or a 15-passenger van? I realize that many people need larger vehicles, and I'm not trying to start some kind of anti-SUV campaign here, but I maintain that the best kind of accident is one you avoid. This means cars with low centers of gravity, as little weight as possible, and responsive handling.

    Another thought I had is this: Those of you who are European or have lived in Europe will know how rigorous their inspection process is for existing vehicles. Here in Texas, at least, my annual inspection consists pretty much exclusively of sticking a sniffer in the tailpipe to make sure my emissions levels are low and checking that all the lights on the car come on. The condition of my tires, suspension, glass, brakes, etc., don't seem to matter much. Taking poorly-maintained cars off the road would, I think, make us all safer.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,137
    Actual vehicle condition standards coupled with better licensing requirements would do so much to take care of so many issues on the road.

    Around here, you don't even need an inspection - bi-yearly emissions check, and that's it. Not even a light check.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Big Rigs and Big Vehicles Targeted in New Safety Pushes (Inside Line)

    image
  • hpmctorquehpmctorque Member Posts: 4,600
    edited March 2011
    That's the most frightening crash photos I've seen in a long time!
  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 17,347
    edited March 2011
    Welcome to Last Week IIHS safety dweebs; you could have saved yourselves time and money by simply watching the car chase from The Seven Ups...

    Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    lol, that scene stuck with you since 1973 eh?
  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 17,347
    edited March 2011
    lol, that scene stuck with you since 1973 eh?

    Yep; I saw it first run. Bill Hickman's work in Bullitt, The French Connection, and the Seven Ups are still head and shoulders above virtually every other car chase- they posess a sense of realism and tension that simply cannot be replicated by CGI work. I also like the driving in Ronin, Two Lane Blacktop, and Vanishing Point.

    Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    The scene where the car plows between two cop cars is a bit too "rigged". The cars are too far apart or something. Reminded me of Deliverance - when the wood and canvas canoe gets cut in half, it starts to break before the aluminum canoe touches it (seeing the setup behind the scenes at some extra's slideshow/movie helped spot that too).

    I don't remember the other scenes in that movie, just the rapids. Ok, and the banjo player. :shades:
  • samm43samm43 Member Posts: 195
    edited March 2011
    When I look at this picture I see what I believe to be some sort of intended symbolic message to us. Korean's hurting North American's. We know it's true but what a way to rub (smash) our face in it. Pun very much intended. :( :sick:

    Sam
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    I don't get it.
  • samm43samm43 Member Posts: 195
    The North American Malibu, being crunched by a Hyundai (Korean) branded large semi-truck trailer.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited March 2011
    Seems like a stretch to me. Maybe Hyundai was the only outfit willing to donate a semi trailer to the NHTSA. You could just as easily say someone wanted to make Hyundai look bad by showing how easily the crash bar hanging down from the back of the trailer fails.

    I didn't even know what kind of sedan it was until I noticed the stenciling on the door. Didn't notice the mudflats either - I was focused on the passenger compartment.
  • juxtajuxta Member Posts: 44
    Neither my wife nor I noticed but there's no way I'd believe only a Hyundai trailer would be the problem unless they tested many trailers. All I could think about was that I didn't want to be in that car.

    IIHS just put the video on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT3G-kcKN70
  • samm43samm43 Member Posts: 195
    there's no way I'd believe only a Hyundai trailer would be the problem

    Oh of course. I don't think Hyundai even makes trailers. Sorry. I know now my post was misunderstood. A few emoticons might have helped it.

    Sam
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited March 2011
    Hyundai makes lots of stuff - big ships, elevators, etc. So I wouldn't be surprised to see trailers with their name on them.

    Oh, for the good old days:

    Video: "Killed Myself When I Was Young" Compilation of Vintage Crashes (Straightline)
  • 0patience0patience Member Posts: 1,712
    Yep, hyundai makes trailers and containers.
    One thing about that picture is the fact that trailers are now required to have impact barriers that extend down to prevent cars from doing what it shows in that picture.
    Each trailer and semitrailer with a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 kg (10,000 pounds) or more, and manufactured on or after January 26, 1998, must be equipped with a rear impact guard that meets the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 223 (49 CFR 571.223) in effect at the time the vehicle was manufactured.

    One of the problems with some commercial trailers is that the impact guards are often already bent from a previous impact. Enforcement of rules that are already in place is what is needed.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited March 2011
    Isn't that the trailer's impact barrier bent under the trailer in the Malibu photo though? The story at the link says "Under-ride guards on tractor-trailers often fail in crashes".

    My guess is that the current impact barriers don't help much, even when they aren't bent. Any idea how all those formulas at the CFR line translate to approximate speeds?
  • chinaautochinaauto Member Posts: 1
    that's right, we need to see the changes!
  • tcoop15tcoop15 Member Posts: 3
    That video is crazy. Wow, thanks for sharing-good post.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    A reporter is interested in talking with owners of a vehicle with a pedestrian detection system, and has experienced it in action. If you are interested in commenting on your experience, please reply to pr@edmunds.com no later than 5pm PST on March 22nd, 2011 and include your name, state of residence, the make & model of your vehicle and your phone number.
  • prlady1prlady1 Member Posts: 573
    Did anyone have a reaction to the piece "You can learn a lot about car safety by intentionally driving into a wall" at http://www.autoobserver.com/2011-car-safety-conference/library.html#Dan_Ariely
    Years ago at a safety conference I sat in a 5-mph crash simulator and remember feeling totally jarred from the experience and the subsequent thought of how fast cars are usually moving.
  • Kirstie_HKirstie_H Administrator Posts: 11,148
    That's the biggest problem I see today. Drivers on the phone, texting, making a shopping list, having an intense conversation with a passenger, eating.... you name it - some seem to be doing ANYTHING to avoid having to actually pay attention to the road. Yes, it's boring just looking at the road most of the time. Really boring - until that split second when it becomes really exciting.

    I wish there were stricter enforcement of distracted driving laws. It is very easy to identify someone who is clearly not paying attention to the road, and pulling them over, if for no other reason than to have a talk with them, might be beneficial.

    A couple of weeks ago, we were on the interstate in a total traffic jam. Two out of four lanes were closed due to an accident, and traffic in the other two was moving at 3-5 MPH, when it moved at all. The guy behind us HIT us! How do you HIT someone going that slowly? There's very little stoppage distance needed at that speed, so I contend that it had to be lack of attention. When we stopped again, my boyfriend got out of the car and had a word with the guy - "hey, could you please TRY not to hit us again, dude?"

    Anyone ever confronted a distracted driver? Or just a plain, bad driver??

    MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
    Need help navigating? kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
    Share your vehicle reviews

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,137
    Perhaps manuals should be mandated. Would solve 90% of those problems.

    I don't look for confrontations, but I've been yelled at a couple times, for stupid things that offended the ignorant. Best one in my mind was an old [non-permissible content removed] in a Caravan who yelled at me for cutting across a parking lot/not driving in the lanes (mind you it was 9am and the place was empty). I told him that if he didn't like my driving, he was free to call the police. No reply.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited May 2011
    Us old guys are safer in a lot of ways. Especially in parking lots. :P

    "Data supplied to Edmunds.com by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in a custom report show drivers age 65 and older are persistently and significantly less likely to injure or kill pedestrians in motor vehicle crashes compared with drivers in the 28 to 40 age group, who also score much worse in this regard than teenage drivers."

    NHTSA Report: Pedestrian Risk Lower In Older Drivers (AutoObserver)
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,137
    Yeah, pedestrians are often not hurt very severely when hit at 6mph :shades:

    Actually, if those stats are true ("custom report" is kind of scary), distractions such as phones and food are certainly behind it.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    It's cultural.

    "For the most part, the driving reality prevails and drivers use their expertise and best judgment to navigate safely.

    •high-intensity drivers use their own judgment about the rate of speed to travel, constantly adjusting based on traffic conditions

    •high-intensity drivers seek to accommodate.

    •Most of those who drive high-traffic freeways regularly are highly proficient drivers.

    •practice defensive driving with predominant thought given to driving needs, the road and other drivers"

    Creating A Safety Culture (AutoObserver)
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,137
    That might explain why so many around here act like they have been lobotomized once they get on a freeway - they don't do it enough.

    I'd say many of us on this site are "high intensity" drivers, myself included. I'm far from perfect, but I pay attention to everything continuously, and the lack of crashes and tickets on my record can't be out of coincidence.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited May 2011
    I'm far from perfect

    You'll get better as you get closer to my age. :D

    "With age we know that people generally make more appropriate decisions in the vehicle. They self regulate and take themselves out of situations where they perceive the risk is high. That includes not driving at night, avoiding left turns, driving during non–rush hour periods. In essence, they make themselves safer drivers by taking less risk. In younger groups, what we see is they don't have that level of judgment. They're “invincible,” per se."

    Confronting 'Age' Of Driver Distraction At MIT (AutoObserver)
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,137
    edited May 2011
    Driving at night, left turns, and driving in traffic are especially risky? Those who think so need to limit their driving to Sundays before noon :shades:

    I guess not driving at all is the best way to have less incidents.

    I don't know if the civil war vet in his pristine 20 year old Caddy going 55 in the left lane of a 60 with traffic flying around him is making an appropriate decision - something that seems to come with age.

    It's going to be scary as hell in about 20 years when the boomers get to be elderly, but won't have the ability to admit it. Many also seem to have more money than they deserve, which means behemoth motorhomes and poserfied Harleys will be even more of a problem.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited May 2011
    The only wreck I ever had was in a Datsun wagon back in the late 70's in my Memphis years.

    I pulled out of a BBQ joint going left on a four lane and hit a car in the fender. Ruined my dinner.

    The car was a nice pristine Cadillac driven by a woman toting her grandkids somewhere. :shades:

    I was around 27 at the time, and I've tried to avoid unprotected left turns ever since, especially on busier streets.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,137
    I'd blame the food or the car :shades:

    I've never had a problem with left turns on 4+ lane roads, but they aren't the most common here in the land of congestion and divided roads.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited May 2011
    I hate them. There's a reason UPS drivers make three right turns to get where they are going. (ABC)
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    I don't know if the civil war vet in his pristine 20 year old Caddy going 55 in the left lane of a 60 with traffic flying around him is making an appropriate decision

    Hey, I'm not that old! I'm a youthful veteran of the Spanish-American War!
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,137
    I make a left turn against a sign every workday when I leave my garage - but at 0530, there are no cars to see me :shades:

    Around here, most busy roads have traffic controls and dividers.
  • iluvmysephia1iluvmysephia1 Member Posts: 7,704
    AZ handles that problem by making everyone make U-turns. :shades:

    No kiddin'. And it often works, too.

    2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,137
    Lots of u-turn lanes where I live too, due to the divided roads. It works alright, save for where the u-turn area meets a stoplight, and nobody knows what to do.
  • iluvmysephia1iluvmysephia1 Member Posts: 7,704
    yep, exactly right. The first time I started turning right and somebody was whipping around on a U-turn in Tucson I almost had ta pee my pants. All of a sudden the grille of this U-turner was there in my face as I went in ta my turn!

    Halt!

    2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    "Making a heavy vehicle lighter will improve efficiency—but it can make a vehicle less protective of its occupants unless other vehicles slim down in proportion. Even if all new vehicles are made lighter, but share the road with older, heavier vehicles, the people in newer vehicles could suffer, safety researchers say.

    Electronic stability-control systems, plus more and smarter air bags have become standard equipment. More and more SUVs were shifted off of heavy pickup-truck frames, and on to a lower-riding chassis shared with sedans or minivans.

    The result: NHTSA says the fatality rate for rollover accidents involving all SUVs was cut in half between 1999 and 2009."

    SUVs: Safer, Heavier, But What About the Gas? (WSJ)
  • lostwrench1lostwrench1 Member Posts: 1,165
    ...........more money than they deserve,..........

    Explain.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,137
    edited May 2011
    Gigantic retirement entitlements, especially in the public sector, that following generations will both be broken by and unable to even approach for themselves. It's too bad the depression era parents spoiled so.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    image

    Progress Isn't Linear (AutoObserver)
  • yelnats17yelnats17 Member Posts: 2
    i concur
  • prlady1prlady1 Member Posts: 573
    Did you hear today's news that a Central California judge is allowing an unintended acceleration-related lawsuit against Toyota to move forward? AutoRemarketing Today reported "Plaintiffs are alleging that Toyota was aware that the vehicle had the potential to accelerate unexpectedly. However, Toyota supposedly would not put in a brake-override or fail-safe system 'in an effort to meet its profitability and production goals,' according to the statement from plaintiff attorneys."
    Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl reacted with these words: "Interesting idea: Toyota should have built in preventative measure for a defect that may not exist."
    What do you think?
  • pilot1226pilot1226 Member Posts: 166
    I would like to see better seatbelts. What are they called? Three-point or five-point harnesses, standard in ALL CARS by 2015. If it's good enough for a race car driver to walk away from a 200 mph impact, it's good enough for me driving maybe 75 tops.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    But also totally bulky, uncomfortable, and inconvenient. And considering that those are used in racing where the speeds are three times as high, you have to wonder if such a restraint system is necessary in light-duty vehicles when seatbelts seem to be doing their jobs in passenger cars pretty well.

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

Sign In or Register to comment.

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles