Mandatory Automatic Braking For All!

By
eric
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I recently wrote about the Fading Away of the manual transmission (see here). As it turns out, I was wrong.automated braking image

Manuals will not fade away.

They will be regulated out of existence.

Here’s how – and why.

Federal bureaucrats intend to mandate automated braking in all new cars – if the car companies don’t install these systems in every car they sell on their own initiative.

These systems – which use radar proximity sensors to detect the presence of an object in the car’s path and apply the brakes automatically  if the driver doesn’t – are already in about a third of 2016 model year cars, but not yet force-fed to the public by government edict.

That’s about to change.adrian foxx

Obama’s transportation secretary, Anthony Foxx says  “We are entering a new era of vehicle safety, focusing on preventing crashes from ever occurring rather than just protecting occupants when crashes happen.”   

GM, Ford, Toyota, VW, Mercedes, BMW and Volvo have already committed – on their own – to making automated braking standard equipment in all their models within the next few years. They have learned to love Big Brother. That it can be profitable to love Big Brother. “Safety” sells. Especially when you can’t say no to it.

The insurance mafia is also pushing this.

Insurance Institute for  Highway Safety consiglierie Adrian Lund says , “This technology can compensate for the mistakes every driver makes because the systems are always on alert.”

Because, of course, computers never make mistakes.

One could (and I will) dissect this babble pretty easily to get to the meat of the matter, which has about as much to do with “safety” as the TSA has to do with “security.”brake beep!

Ever hear of the Hegelian dialectic? Create a problem… then offer a solution. The problem created in this case is a nation of dumbed-down drivers made so by diminished expectations and compounded by endless browbeating that anything but the most passive behavior behind the wheel is akin to driving 120 MPH blind drunk with your pants down and a Vegas whore administering oral love.

Solution? Presume all drivers are addled imbeciles – and treat everyone (including non-imbeciles) accordingly.

It is the automotive analog of what writer William Burroughs said 40-something years ago about what they (the government) does after every mass shooting. That is, they go after the people who didn’t do it.     

But how does this amount to the death knell of the manual transmission?

Simply put, it’s technically much more complicated to install automated braking in a car equipped with a manual transmission. It would be necessary to figure out some way to automatically disengage the clutch without the driver depressing the third pedal. If not and the brakes are applied by the computer, the car would shudder and buck; potentially, stall out. The drive wheels could lock up and (ABS or not) the car would then skid and possibly slide out of control.Twain quote

That constitutes a problem.

The solution is simple.

Stop making cars with manual transmissions.   

Add the pressure to meet federal fuel economy fatwas – which is easier with automatics because the cars can be “built to the test” – programmed in such a way as to maximize their score on the government’s fuel economy test-drive loop – and you have what the French call a fait accompli. A done deal.

NHTSA spokesman Gordon Trowbridge – whose name sounds a lot like Elsworth Tooey – crows that “some of these companies (the car companies) are further along in this technology and we hope they will respond quickly.”

Hint, hint.elsworth Tooey

What Trowbridge-Tooey means is, better go ahead and make the automated braking de facto standard in all your cars, pronto. Or we will make it a legal requirement. “The agency is hoping this will be implemented (lip lick) as soon as possible,” he says.

Indeed.

The tragic thing is not that creatures such as Trowbridge-Tooey are pushing for this; it’s what he and his kind do. Ever hear the story about the frog and the scorpion? Expecting a Trowbridge-Tooey to not regulate (and threaten like a cheap gangster) is as ridiculous as expecting a scorpion not to sting… no matter what favors you do for him.

No, the tragedy is the loving of Big Brother that now characterizes the major car companies. They gabble about “safety” publicly but – be assured – in the boardroom  they know this is all about profit. They can make more money by charging you for equipment you may not want but which government says you must have. Why fight when you can make a buck?

The only way to deal with this is for us to fight. To stop buying in.

Literally.

Don’t buy new cars with this overkill idiot-proofing. Tell the salesman why. Tell the dealership’s owner why. Explain that you are not an imbecile and are tired of being treated as though you are. And resent being treated that way because others may be. Write a letter to you favorite car company.

They (unlike your “representative”) might actually listen.

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Related posts:
  1. Mandatory In-Car Breathalyzers by 2020?
  2. Mandatory Gun Insurance
  3. What The Automatic Transmission Has Done To Us
  4. Another “Option” Now Mandatory
  5. Get Rid of Mandatory Car Insurance?

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63 COMMENTS

  1. A little late to the thread, but I wonder how much of this is being embraced by the manufacturers in order to keep the Chinese out? I have more Harbor Freight tools than I have Craftsman, mostly stuff I only use once a year, if that. Cheap, disposable cars would destroy the first time buyer and 2nd car market, but not if they have to have all the safety mandates driving up costs.

    • There’s an All State car insurance ad where a nasty little shrewish woman gloats over the fact that she must be a “superior driver” because she got a rebate check “Even though I’m a woman”

      If fifty percent of the population thinks that not having two accidents a year makes you a superior driver, then automatic braking should be mandatory, at least for the vaginally endowed.

      • Such ads are a problem. But so are women. Infantile, essentially.
        Who drives on most dates? Traditionally, the man.
        Who drives more for work? Traditionally, the man.
        So, take those two traditional roles: She is behind the wheel less.

        Also, who likes speed more? Who races more? Generally, men.

        So the odds are in her favor from the get-go…. And I doubt the models have been updated since, say, 1980. As long as it skews towards women, it’s considered a “level playing field” by the vaginally enabled.

        Also, women are more socialistic than men, more “herd animals.”
        And when something bad happens? There MUST be a man they can blame.

        The “childish” appearance reflects several other internal differences, such as the shoulder girdle (“throw like a girl” is a real thing), the length of forearm to upper arm (esp. the bones), the extra flexibility of the joints (smaller bones and looser tendons due to their hormonal milleiu)…
        And the mind works differently, too. More white matter, IIRC, making them relational processors rather than full-bore logic/math processors. And they use both sides of the brain in their processing and decision-making, whereas men use one or the other side.

        http://www.returnofkings.com/78898/9-secrets-about-female-nature-told-by-a-hot-girl-dying-of-cancer (See Number 1 especially)
        http://www.returnofkings.com/70258/15-important-quotes-from-the-predatory-female
        http://www.returnofkings.com/78604/5-traits-that-make-women-the-best-useful-idiots-for-liberalism

        RoK may be a bit biased, but it’s actually more balanced than, say, Roissy (“Citizen Renegade” @ https://heartiste.wordpress.com/)
        And it’s not new (or news), either. Google “They’re ruining Eve’s great con game”, or “raunch culture,” or even “self-made man” by Norah Vincent. (She was a lesbian feminist who decided to write about male privilege by going undercover as a man. She went slightly crazy as a result. Book is a good read, and she learned there ain’t no such thing as male privilege, and stated so on 20/20, I think it was. You can find the video on YouTube. )

        It’s like the cars discussed here… Underneath all the whistles and bells of the modern car, it’s the same nag since about 1920, basically.
        The design of the beast hasn’t changed, at its core; more education, more bling, more piercings and/or tats, mouth like a sewer, but it still runs the same gas engine at its core. Still has 4 wheels, steering wheel, brakes, and a transmission. All the rest is just window dressing: 60 piercings; 15 tats; ritual scarification; interests like mountain biking, weightlifting, shooting pool, etc, but can’t cook or dance (E.G., can’t see out the windows any more, and can stand on its roof with no problem.)

        You don’t complain about fire burning, though; that’s what it does.
        You just learn to treat it with respect and distance…

  2. These types of auto brake systems have been common in Europe for a few years and have been demonstrated to reduce accidents. Needless to say, manual transmissions are the norm in Europe. (The vast majority of these system are for low-speed collisions, because most shunts happen at low speed.)

    Does anyone really believe that insurers would insist on a system that led to more claims? Remember, you pay lower premiums on cars with these systems, so the insurers are taking in less cash and, according to the author’s logic, paying out more in claims! Really??? No, of course not. That would be insane.

    If these systems are good enough for Sweden, they’re good enough for you.

    • Hi Bick,

      The issue here is forcible dumbing down. This notion that because some people can’t deal with or be trusted to handle something (guns, driving) then no one ought to be.

      Some of us can drive without a computer braking for us. And would elect not to buy this over-the-top (and expensive) technology. If it’s optional – available to be purchased by those who want it – great. I have no issue with that. But stop it with the force-feeding. My “safety” is my business.

      Also, anything that adds to the price of the car means it necessarily costs more to insure the car since it will cost more to replace/repair the car in the event of an accident.

      Sweden’s a beautiful place, but it’s also a micromanaged (socialized) place.

      No thanks.

      And yes, I’ve been there.

    • I do not accept Sweden as a model for what is good, since they are even more socialist than the US. Although they are beginning to show some sense in regards to rethinking the green ‘recycling’ mantra.
      Re: paying lower premiums on these cars, I will believe it when it has been demonstrated over several years.

    • Well the last statement I am quite annoyed at hearing. Sweden has lots of problems. Anyway the USA isn’t Sweden and it isn’t europe in general. In north american driving these systems will be used in a very different way. They aren’t for low speed judgment errors, but rather to take decision making away from the driver at all speeds. Also the way people will use them will be different. Europe has had a tradition of competence for driving while the USA is about incompetence. The same lazy and backwards behaviors that have dominated for decades will show up with automatic braking as I described in a previous comment.

    • I drive a car that’s over 40 years old; no ABS, no air bags, no stability control, no automatic braking, no backup camera. No nothing. Yet it is very cheap to insure. Using your logic that makes it one of the safest cars on the road. Q.E.D.

      I really don’t care what Sweden does. Freedom is more important than safety.

  4. As the former EMS technician wrote above, the first thing that occurred to me regarding mandatory automatic car braking equipment, is how carjackers or similar predatory highwaymen would now be able to simply place barriers like empty cardboard boxes on a roadway and have the vehicle stop in its tracks, to the peril of the occupants within.

    Traveling the Kangamangus Trail in New Hampshire (many years ago), the locals were abuzz with stories of a biker gang that would stop traffic and extract a “travel toll” from those hapless travelers caught in their roadblocks.

    In South Africa the story was, carjackings became so prevalent that car owners were installing chassis mounted flamethrowers on the driver and passenger sides of their vehicles that would belch a flame deterrent as needed, for those approaching the vehicle with criminal intent. Who knows? This may soon become necessary equipment for American cars.

  5. I almost always agree with Eric, and I don’t like the idea of automatic braking, but I have to say that in my experience at least 50% of drivers ARE imbeciles.

  6. This measure will meet tremendous opposition in latin america. I know for a fact that nearly 100% of all taxis, buses and other vehicles used in passenger service (called colectivos) are MANUAL transmission, at least in this country (which is not Venezuela).

    The automatic transmission is used on scooters, some american import vehicles, but the majority have manual shifters.

    Like to see the guvmint here try to pass this through. Can you say “Revolution?”

    • I met a fellow in Mexico with a taxi fleet he was very proud of, mostly Nissan sedans of a model we didn’t have here. They were light, spacious, comfortable and really economical….and all manual transmissions. I was impressed with how dedicated the drivers were, how proud of their taxi’s and how clean they were.

  8. Automatic braking is going to inspire a new degree of laziness in the north american motorist coupled with trolling and rude behavior.

    They’ll cut off other motorists knowing the other driver’s car will force it to brake to gain advantage in traffic. Trolls will also play all sorts of games to force panic stops. The lazy will just ‘let the car’ do the braking.

    Building better idiots.

    • You are absolutely right!

      I admit I hadn’t thought that far ahead about it.

      But it will undeniably be yet another example of the “law of unintended consequence”.

    • I believe it will take quite a while for the idiots on the road to pick up which vehicles have that “onus”. You over-estimate a clovers intellect.

      But the part involving letting their car drive for them, a depressing eventuality.

        • BrentP, and everyone’s car will do whatever some programmer or a plethora of programmers program it to do, regardless if that’s the correct thing or what they suppose is the correct thing.

          If we get to the point where machines can outperform man in every aspect, I’ll retire and wait for my govt. supplied Cherry 2000 to fulfill my every desire. I’d even take a Melanie Griffith clone.

          • The point is that everyone’s car won’t. There will be older cars on the road if they aren’t banned. They act to people driving old cars with four wheel drum brakes the same as they do your truck. They expect everyone’s vehicle behaves like their own whilst doing their selfish thing.

  9. I was an EMT back in the 90s and there where car jackers that would push out empty baby carriages and stuff in front of cars to get them to stop. Now even those worldly enough to look see it for what it is will not be able to avoid stopping.

  10. The only two cars I’ve had with ABS both kicked in precisely when I did NOT want them to, usually under slick road conditions. I live in winter-snow country, and definitely was trained (by my father) how to apply proper braking under bad conditions, in big rear-wheel drive sedans, no less. And I’m long enough in the tooth to NOT want the braking system do my thinking for me, as every time it tries, I barely regain control to avoid complete disaster.

    But then one of the cars went in for some front-end work, and the guy told me that part of the ABS was broken on one of the wheels, and would I like it repaired, or disabled?

    Disabled…turns out disabling ABS is not actually illegal in my state. So you can guess what I did. That car is still running fine, at 250,000 miles.

  11. I had a ’95 Buick Le Sabre with ABS on it. Okay with a wet or icy or snowy road but horrible in dry weather if you needed to make an emergency stop. No way to turn it on or off. These automated systems are more dangerous than safe.

    I do recall a friend who had an old 80 something Audi that allowed the driver to turn ABS on or off.

    • sth_txs, I totaled my ’93 Chevy pickup plus a brand new ’08 Chevy pickup and a S-10 because my anti-lock simply didn’t allow me to brake hard. It felt like I was on ice and pushing the pedal to the floor had virtually no effect. I rebuilt the pickup since everything else about it was great. I unplugged the ABS and it would stop with brakes locked if that’s what you wanted and often, locking the brakes in slick mud or snow was exactly what I wanted. You don’t care what direction you’re pointed if you can keep from hitting that 3 foot deep washout that wasn’t there a couple days ago or that stupid person who pulled out in front of you and stopped.
      On another note, I saw yesterday in a local paper while waiting in line at the store, a woman in a new Lincoln SUV pulled out in front of a water hauler. The Lincoln looked bad lying on its side, The water truck had a big guard on front, looked fine. The woman driver wasn’t visible but was dead as a nit. They found her cell phone on the road with GPS instruction still on it(good phone or good protector(I use and Otter Defender, works wonders). Now if she’d just looked to her left before pulling out……..

  12. I don’t believe in government, much less government roads and regulations. However, the 99% that do believe in government are also driving. I trust computers much more than those nincampoops. The few stories above include those idiots making unsignalled dangerous moves. NASCAR drivers have the decency to signal with their hands when going into pits and sometimes when sudden braking. I’ll take Subaru engineers’ computers over those same Subaru engineers driving home later in the day. Obviously no government mandates but most drivers are dumb; dumb enough to vote, much less vote for the idiots they do. My two cents.

    • ” most drivers are dumb; dumb enough to vote”

      Right on, Eric. That’s a good way of putting it. It takes a total dumbass to buy into the whole voting scam. Reminds me of the Doobie Brothers tune, “What a Fool Believes”.

  13. Poppy cock,I despise airbags and abs ,the 99 Nissan pickup I once owned has 4 wheel ABS and on icy road you had very little chance of stopping( ABS system doesnt work on my 06 Dodge apparently ) anyway I started testing the Nissan to find out the pros and cons of the ABS system finally figured out how to circumvent it ,one Day with a snow covered road I did a test ,I did a full panic lockup ,stutter ,stutter , didnt seem like it would ever stop ,then just to make things fair ,I did a stop that was from a much higher speed (using the the Anti ABS technique ) I was amazed how much faster I was able to stop the pickup ,from then on out I said to myself ,I dont need ABS .
    However ,here is the caveat ,the real function of an ABS system is to help the driver maintain directional control .I have no problem with this ,most newer drivers do not know how to handle a skid . as for the Auto brake system ,naw ,what I would like was a bitchy voice or light to tell me if I was following to close . Not apply the brakes for me .

    • Doesn’t this mean there’s inadequate driver training?
      “the real function of an ABS system is to help the driver maintain directional control .I have no problem with this ,most newer drivers do not know how to handle a skid . “

      Do you give a loaded, full-auto Uzi to an untrained shooter? (Happened recently, the instructor was killed because he was stoopid. Shooter was an untrained 10-year-old, IIRC. Arizona. First shot or two missed, but by like the third shot, the barrel had climbed high enough to shoot him in the head…)

      Funny how when we ask for training, we’re trying to become Rambo, but when Das Boot demands the car be Carrie, we’re supposed to accept that.

      Anyone else remember why KARR was retired in favor of KITT?

      Not that that’s a LOT better, but still…

  14. Friend of mine has to travel on occasioni for his work, and instead of driving his rather cranky old Benz, he rents a car…. business write off. Guaranteed to work, more reliable, blah blah. His favourite to rent is the Crossfire, and his local Hertz yard has been great about getting one in when he gives them a few days’ warning, which he can easily do. One time the car failed to come in.. last rental excursion put it into the body shop. They substituted a new Cadillac sport coupe, a rough “equivalent”. Merging onto the turnpike, some hotdogger blased down the onramp and slid in front of my friend, in the Caddy, at speed… about twl lengths left between them. He started to drop off the throttle, having checked the glass, to leave more space…. but before he could the stupid Caddy was making a near full brake application… it was all he could do to keep the stupid thing in his lane, and the guy behind him nearly ate the rear plastic shell on the Caddy. Once the distance ahead matched the speed, accoring to the confuser, the brakes came off, but it was all so sudden he never flipped to what was going on. Heavy traffic, not long after someone else made a sudden unsignalled lane shift in front of him, not much space left, the caddy did it again…… so then he began to play with it, creeping up on the car ahead, sure enough, it braked (his car). After a a few more hair-raising simplar performances, he called Hertz and told them he was having problems with the automatic braking system on the car, and wanted to swap it for something else when he got to Albany….. ANYTHING else. GET ME OUT of this ridiculos thing. They did, no extrra charge. Whe he returned the subtitue to his local yard a few days later, he had a chat with his friend the manager…. the guy said Yeah, we get quite few people upset with that system. I’ve driven them too and I hate them….. I’ll make sure yhou never get anytong with the GM version of that system again, sorry. Next rental, an upgrade is on me.

    Is THIS really the future of driving? I may have to dig out the ancient Volvo 140 and plate it as a collector car……

  15. My daily driver is a big one ton van, and it had antilock brakes when I got it. In almost two hundred thousand miles I’ve put on the beast, I’ve had TWO close calls…. BOTH were the direct result of that infrenal ABS doing strange things… first locking up the steering tyres, then completelyh disabling the brakes. Wiring, sensors, rotor indicator gear, all in fine shape. Then one day I noticed a new warning lamp on at the bottom of the fascia… had to look upo the cartoon in the manual, it is the ABS system failure lamp. Hmm.. funny, the braks seem to work just fine, as they always have. Then, on dicey marginal traction situation I found that the brakes work just fine, as non-ABS brakes do. I could actually modulate pressrre to keep the wheels from locking up, no more mad pedal surging. mo more spontaneous locking up or, worse, not functioning at all. So, now I drive with the comfort of knowing I am back in control. and the brake computer or system is not. I like it better.

    There has to be a way of disabling that stupid sensor…. jury rigging something to bhypass the signal output, or fake a “no issue’ output so the brake brain never gets the signal “troub;e, lock em up”.

    • All this technology is idiot-proofing. It operates at the level of an idiot. A skilled/competent driver not only doesn’t need it, he can often outperform it.

      The automated braking systems, for example, brake when it’s either not necessary or so prematurely it’s preposterous. Like there’s an old lady (or a Clover) underneath the dashboard somewhere.

      • HA! When we build machines, safety is always a component. However, the standard joke in my industry is: Well we made the machine idiot proof, but they just came out with better idiots.

  16. Just bought a 2016 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. Base Rubicon model, no bells and whistles at all, and got the manual transmission. So happy that I did. Cheaper, more reliable, I can actually drive again, I can feel the Jeep do what it does. It’s a new car but it take me back. Get one now if your in the market before they ruin the Jeep with the new version.

  17. The death of the manual transmission and of driver-controlled cars may come to pass, and in their passing the fools who constitute the American public will no doubt let a gin-scented tear trickle down their faces. They will love Big Brother for his caring for them.

  18. I wonder if these systems will be linked to traffic lights for automatically braking when they turn yellow. Perhaps not, considering traffic tickets are a source of significant revenue to municipalities.

  19. I drive a peterbilt with automatic breaking. It has almost made me lose control a few times when someone cut me off in traffic. Here’s how it tends to go. Car comes flying around me and cuts across so close I can barely see it over my hood usually trying to make an exit. As soon as it starts into my lane, I instinctively let off the gas and prepare to brake. The car is usually in the exit lane safely while my foot is hovering over the brake. Sometimes I’ll brake lightly just to create a little more space. Then I get thrown into the steering wheel as the system beeps loudly warning me of the already gone obstacle and applies the brakes at panic level. Truck trailer and load can weigh up to 80000lb without permits (more with). A lot can go wrong with a loaded tractor trailer trying to stop suddenly even before yoy consider weather and road conditions. Then factor in that the driver is surprised (phantom obstacles happen).

    • from blue to, a driver I recently spoke with had a new Pete, the arrow in the wind model and as the owner, he hated it. He said that shape saved him a grand or two a month on fuel but didn’t say what he had before. I wasn’t aware new class 8 rigs had auto braking and don’t want to find out.

      I drive a long nose Pete every day, a 96 model. I cuss the electronic fuel management every day. At least that’s all that’s computerized. A friend has a ’97 Pete long nose with a 14 L 3406 Cat of the old style, mechanical injection. Standing beside it and hearing that engine purr is a treat. Another friend has two of the same but older models, one with the computerized injection 3406 and one fo the old mechanical sort. They don’t sound like the same engine in any way.

      The new “E” model won’t pull like the old “B’ model.

      I can see a new class 8 automatically trying to modulate the trailer brake when a jackknife happens. I don’t look forward to it and have only had two instances at speed happen in 50 years but it’s one of those things you never see coming. If you did, it wouldn’t happen.

  20. Microsoft. How many iterations of buggy operating systems have they produced? That’s the problem with automated anything, it only works properly as intelligent humans attentively man the helm when manual control is required. Three Mile Island is an example of automation with humans refusing to believe the cooling system had failed.

    There are many trains, planes and ships that have had catastrophic results thanks to automation gone haywire. And, of course, the much ballyhooed Toyota full-speed-ahead issue that manual braking somehow failed to nullify.

    Now consider the number of new automobiles suffering from minor electrical glitches that cripple all sorts of automotive systems. Egads. Automatic brakes.

    • Funny you mention Three Mile Island.
      I never knew it was an automation + stupid human event.

      My dad was an expert in fire and explosions. A favorite story was, talking to engineers at some plant or another…
      “You can’t DO THAT!” (Dad)
      “The model says…(Blah)”
      “THE MODEL IS WRONG BY AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE! WE DID THE TESTS, THAT WILL BLOW UP!!!!”

      Turned out the model was wrong… Wonder how many people would’ve died if he hadn’t happened to ask that question?

      +++
      Not to get religious, we’re DEFINITELY worshiping the wrong gods. Efficiency, Obedience, Mechanization.
      Not much room for meritocracy or intelligence or individuality. Our Technology has exceeded our Humanity. (Asimov, I believe.)

      Think of it this way: There are 8th grade tests out there from like 1950s, which require more thought and knowledge, and ability to explain and discuss concepts and topics, than a college grad can manage these days.
      I saw Bernie Sanders’s ad last night, talking about how we need the MOST CAPABLE, BEST EDUCATED people in the world, to maintain our place in world …!!!!
      So, “Free College”…..
      For people who are unable to read and write and comprehend, and are being taught to fit in nice little boxes and never think outside their box… to never THINK, in fact.
      What’s the point? (Besides to enrich TPTB.)

        • Hi Brent,

          Would you believe that as recently as the ’90s, editorial writers and reporters openly drank liquor on the job? I was there. And did so.

          Times change… not always for the better!

          • Of course I believe it. The engineering school I went to still had an on campus bar/pub in the 90s. Not only on campus but in the student union building and run by the university’s food service contractor.

          • On the job drinking managed to survive into this century in the real estate business. The agency even bought the booze for the Christmas party the first couple of years I was there. It only ended when several agents got arrested for DUI on the way home. The liability insurer told them no more company booze…………….. At least the company was still overlooking agents personal flasks and bottles, sometimes you just need that nip to get the job done.

            • Over a year ago I was the driver “du jour” bottlegging a too large dozer across four counties since I was the only one who knew the backroads, esp. since they had to have NO bridges. We’d been at it for a good while and it was hot hot hot and my water was too.

              Right before we had to use 3/4 mile of major highway to continue on backroads, there was an oasis with alkyhol. The operator and me both bought a six, didn’t need ice since it wouldn’t last that long.

              Less than 100 yds off that highway we both had a cold one, and since the blade was too wide to see behind, we just assumed no one was there.

              Once on location and unloaded we sent a volunteer to the nearest next cold six. As the sun set and the Cat roared, we smiled and tipped one to fate and a bit of luck.

              We parted after the operator said ‘I’m glad you knew where you were going…..it’s been a good day”…..and we both headed home. Some times alcohol is simply “the ticket” or in our case, no ticket.

  21. Soon we’ll all just be some Byzantine blip speed bump no one much remembers or care about. Don’t sweat the minutiae I’d say.

    Amyrrhica? I think I’ve heard about them. Some random assholes no one could stand to be around. Trump Bloomberg Musk sold them to the Cathay Cartel for 40 Quadrillion in 2026 Wikipedia-Siri is saying.

    Anyway where is the Hover Bowl Carnival this week again? My Taylor Swiftbot won’t give me anymore droidgasms until I take her there.

    Sheesh let it go already. Give me liberty or give me a dollar. WikiSiri says that’s there most memorable quote per Facebook Alphagorithm mind site.

    Let’s discuss something interesting please. How much was your Mileycyberus Pleasurematic. Is it true you only have to take her out once a year?

  23. They are going to regulate us driving ourselves out of existence. It’s a two pronged attack. Autonomous vehicles for those who can still afford cars (that aren’t exotics) and the bus for everyone else.

    Did you notice that they made a low volume replica car law? Exempt from most of the government requirements. Just has to use an emissions certified engine. So those who can afford six figure custom vehicles will continue to do just fine. Yes, I am cynical about that law because government usually refuses to do anything until it suits those who control it.

    PS: The Mark Twain quote sounds fake. There was no idiot-proofing in his time.

  24. “Obama’s transportation secretary, Anthony Foxx says”

    Is it just me, or does anyone else reflexively want to just pinch the head off of any asshole appointed by any president to the position of “czar” of this or that?

  26. These systems aren’t 100% accurate yet (and probably won’t ever be).

    I wonder what their owners will feel like when they apply the brakes *hard* while driving down the road because the computer thought a crash was imminent. Hope they’re wearing their seatbelt otherwise they’re going to get bruised up.

    Or maybe they are the cause of a crash by brake-checking the car following you, resulting in a rear-end collision where the driver wasn’t at fault (*they* didn’t do anything), yet are legally liable when the other driver’s dashcam footage is reviewed (“See officer – he did a panic stop from 65 mph for no reason”)

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