IntenseDebate - gigabytousai

14 years ago @ National Motorists Ass... - Honda MPG Lawsuit: Wel... · 0 replies · +4 points

In a hybrid, the car company DOES have quite a bit of control over what mileage you get -- much more than in a normal car. The lawsuit was over a recall in which Honda reprogrammed the cars to make their batteries last longer -- which resulted in significantly worse fuel economy, not just for Ms. Peters, but for enough other drivers to warrant a class action suit. The firmware update in question fundamentally changed how the car worked, making it use the batteries less and the engine more than the original programming. That doesn't fall under the YMMV clause.

At first, I, too, couldn't believe that Ms. Peters won. Instead of just blowing it off as a short-sighted legal decision, I did research into what the claims were. Lo and behold, I learned that Honda did something dishonest and fraudulent and essentially returned to Ms. Peters a car that was different than the one she had purchased and the one that was tested by the EPA.

It's a shame, really. I'm used to seeing high-quality writing on this site. This, however, is just a shoddy editorial piece with no research done into the back story. Please, go back to writing intelligently.

15 years ago @ National Motorists Ass... - What States Are Driver... · 0 replies · +1 points

You guys must be doing something right, then. Around here, construction slows down traffic to the point where the limit signs aren't even needed most of the day.

I remember people rejoicing when we got electronic tolling and the because it meant that stopping every 12 miles to pay was a thing of the past. I much preferred the states that understood what limited access truly meant.

15 years ago @ National Motorists Ass... - What States Are Driver... · 2 replies · +1 points

Maybe no one gets a ticket there because they can't even reach the speed limit, what with all the tolls and construction and whatnot....

15 years ago @ National Motorists Ass... - California Considering... · 0 replies · +2 points

How long until this is hacked?
Imagine the black market for on-demand changeable plates--and not just for criminals, either. I wouldn't mind having a plate that changed to "$#!% OFF" if I were being tailgated.

15 years ago @ National Motorists Ass... - Courts Flooded With Ti... · 0 replies · +3 points

If you read the national news stories (in the right-hand column), you'd have read about the ruling that RLC "evidence" is closer to hearsay than anything that a conviction should be based upon. They are like the old snitches that provided "evidence" in criminal investigations before forensics became an accepted field. And hopefully, they'll go the same way and that one day, we'll look back at this with the same incredulity that we look back on what police work was in the 17th century.

15 years ago @ National Motorists Ass... - Guilty in Ohio: Speedi... · 0 replies · +3 points

What this ruling means is that, at least in Ohio, there is NO way to avoid getting a ticket. It won't matter if your speedometer is accurate to +/- 1 mph and that you're doing 2 under according to that gauge. If the cop says you're X mph over, then you're X mph over--even if he knows you weren't speeding.

I see this as the end of law enforcement even being able to pretend to be about safety.

16 years ago @ National Motorists Ass... - New Auto Safety Bill C... · 2 replies · +1 points

The question of ownership of the black box data IS why subpoenas are needed. What can be done with it, and under what circumstances it can be done, rests entirely on the answer to that question.

If I, as the owner of the vehicle, also own the black box data, then a subpoena (or warrant) is absolutely required to access it. It is testimony (evidence) that can only be surrendered with a valid court order. Supposedly, this court order is the result of a carefully thought out process that weighs the pros and cons of issuing such an order. Other than that, no one else has the right to so much as think about peeking at the data stored in the box.

On the other hand, if I, as the owner of the vehicle, do not own the data, then who is it owned by? The car manufacturer? The insurance company? The local police? How will that data be used against me? When (not if) will that happen? Can you even answer these questions?

Assuming that tampering with these devices will be illegal, the only way to minimize the possibility of my black box data being used against me is for me to be the owner. Either that, or I don't buy a new car--okay by me, since I've never wanted a new car.

16 years ago @ National Motorists Ass... - Florida Governor Crist... · 1 reply · +1 points

They'll pull out the answer to all of driving's other woes: <Problem> Enforcement Zones.

There's police departments that would have no problem funneling all area traffic through two or three enforcement zones. Impose a mandatory jail term on those who don't hang their plates; 90 days is more than enough time behind bars to ruin someone's life. Technically, you don't have to drive through these zones, but don't let the cops catch you turning around to avoid them. And if there's no alternate routes open, you've got no choice.

Just playing devil's advocate here.

16 years ago @ National Motorists Ass... - Florida Governor Crist... · 1 reply · +1 points

That would guarantee legal troubles, and they would come a lot quicker than playing camera roulette at red lights.

On the other hand, I can see a nice market for stealth anti-camera technologies--or monkey masks....

16 years ago @ National Motorists Ass... - Hot Under The Collar O... · 0 replies · +1 points

You forgot about emissions and noise checks (for motorcycles).

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