Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 9:05 am Post subject: Re: The Canary in the Mineshaft
BigTex wrote:
I also wonder what will happen to all of these prisoners that are locked up for LONG sentences at a cost of $50,000-$100,000 per year.
That's an expensive promise to try to keep.
At first I think that price will go down. We will stop worrying about overcrowding or expanding jails. We will stop arresting or jailing people for more minor offenses and keep the violent criminals in their 8' by 10' box.
Right before things fall completely apart, general amnesty. The state won't take the responsibility for letting them die behind bars.
I'll let your imagination tell you what happens after that. _________________ Nature is complete because it does not serve itself.
The sage places himself after and finds himself before,
Ignores his desire and finds himself content.
He is complete because he does not serve himself. -Lao Tze
Joined: Aug 03, 2006 Posts: 4309 Location: Graceland
Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 9:11 am Post subject: Re: The Canary in the Mineshaft
wisconsin_cur wrote:
BigTex wrote:
I also wonder what will happen to all of these prisoners that are locked up for LONG sentences at a cost of $50,000-$100,000 per year.
That's an expensive promise to try to keep.
At first I think that price will go down. We will stop worrying about overcrowding or expanding jails. We will stop arresting or jailing people for more minor offenses and keep the violent criminals in their 8' by 10' box.
Right before things fall completely apart, general amnesty. The state won't take the responsibility for letting them die behind bars.
I'll let your imagination tell you what happens after that.
If you're right then that will be both a very reliable canary in the mineshaft as well as a an accelerating factor to any oncoming collapse.
Should be fun.
Remember how in Iraq they turned all the criminals out near the time of the U.S. invasion? I'm sure the presence of that element has not made the U.S. occupation any easier. _________________
Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 9:17 am Post subject: Re: The Canary in the Mineshaft
mos6507 wrote:
The fact that people would drive these pieces of crap excuses for cars, risking ridicule and their safety, is a canary in the mineshaft to me.
I think you could apply that to anything. Eg, a compact is a crap car compared to a fullsize, which is that same compared to a truck, etc... Ironically enough, slow moving vehicles like bicycles tend to be the safest around, and I imagine a NEV would be similar. It may be more dangerous in an accident, but being unique and visible have their benefits, just ask anyone in a velomobile. _________________
Joined: Aug 03, 2007 Posts: 3740 Location: Boston Suburbs
Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 1:43 pm Post subject: Re: The Canary in the Mineshaft
yesplease wrote:
slow moving vehicles like bicycles tend to be the safest around, and I imagine a NEV would be similar. It may be more dangerous in an accident, but being unique and visible have their benefits, just ask anyone in a velomobile.
A bike rides along the side of the road so at least it won't likely get involved in a sandwich style pileup. Bicyclists also (if they are smart) wear helmets and other protective gear.
A NEV drives in-line with the rest of traffic. If you are driving a small NEV with no impact protection, maybe no roof or no side panels like in my two examples, and no helmet or anything, you're in a deathtrap. You'll get rearended, go flying, and smash your head open on the pavement.
I would not ride a quadricycle/velomobile in full traffic unless it were narrow enough to stay in the bike lane.
Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 9:34 pm Post subject: Re: The Canary in the Mineshaft
mos6507 wrote:
A bike rides along the side of the road so at least it won't likely get involved in a sandwich style pileup. Bicyclists also (if they are smart) wear helmets and other protective gear.
A NEV drives in-line with the rest of traffic. If you are driving a small NEV with no impact protection, maybe no roof or no side panels like in my two examples, and no helmet or anything, you're in a deathtrap. You'll get rearended, go flying, and smash your head open on the pavement.
I would not ride a quadricycle/velomobile in full traffic unless it were narrow enough to stay in the bike lane.
There's a ton of debate about whether bike lanes and similar make slower vehicles any safer. As a cyclist, w/o a bike lane I was afforded more room and was passed at much lower speeds on average, so I wonder how much of a difference there is between slower vehicles with their own lane and those mingling with traffic. Any ideas? In any event, in terms of safety equipment, more tends to be safer all things being equal, although IIRC someone using NTHSA stats figured that pedestrians would benefit as much from helmets as cyclists do/would. As for whether or not it's a death trap, anything is a death trap depending on circumstance. Since lower speeds tend to help with safety by default, thanks to the laws of physics, I'm not sure whether or not a NEV is any more dangerous than a bicycle regardless of whether it has a lane or not, or even a car, given how risky most people's behavior in them is. _________________
The FDIC is planning to beef up its staff, including temporarily hiring up to 25 retired FDIC employees who worked in the agency's more than 200-person division that handles failed banks. They will handle an anticipated increase in bank failures.
_________________ If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever."
-George Orwell, 1984
Joined: Aug 03, 2007 Posts: 3740 Location: Boston Suburbs
Posted: Sat May 10, 2008 3:31 am Post subject: Re: The Canary in the Mineshaft
yesplease wrote:
Since lower speeds tend to help with safety by default, thanks to the laws of physics, I'm not sure whether or not a NEV is any more dangerous than a bicycle regardless of whether it has a lane or not, or even a car, given how risky most people's behavior in them is.
Bear in mind that a NEV never goes through crash testing and is built like origami in order to get any sort of range out of the crap lead acid batteries that they are still using. So it may disintegrate at least as badly in a 35mph collision as a regular car involved in a freeway-speed accident. That's not even taking into account 3-wheelers where the single wheel is in the front like the Zap which is ultra unstable. I saw a Zap in person and my young daughter looked like she could roll it over with one hand.
I'm all for electric vehicles but NEVs are like the "special olympics" version of the EV.
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