Category: Automobiles

Traffic questions

In Tucson they turn left after the light has been green. Everywhere else I know of the left turn signal routinely comes at the beginning of the cycle. I find Tucson’s system bizarre and dangerous, but maybe they are onto some awful new trend. Anyone know?

New Mexico has “Safety Corridors” in a few places on the interstates. In these miles long sections speeding fines are doubled. I don’t know why they do this. I assume these areas have just had more problems and this is an attempt to control speeding. One of the the safety corridors I drove through Wednesday also had a construction zone where speeding fines were also doubled. I got to thinking about quadruple fines and was very cautious.

Scarlet letter

Saturday both Albuquerque newspapers — The Albuquerque Journal and The Albuquerque Tribune — published photos of 180 people found guilty of drunken driving in local courts during June, July and August. It was quite an array.

The first thing everyone did, of course, was look to see whom they knew. Then the comparisons. There appeared to be at least one man arrested (and convicted) more than once. And sisters arrested, but on different dates.

What NewMexiKen found interesting was the blood alcohol content, which was listed for those who agreed to the test. Point-oh-six appears to be the level for conviction (at least for minors). There were some listed all the way up to .30. Funny thing was, the higher the BAC the better the mug shot. Still high I guess.

Rendevous

NewMexiKen has mentioned this nine minute film before. It was taken in Paris in 1976 when filmmaker Claude Lelouch mounted a gyro-stabilized camera on a Ferrari 275 GTB. No streets were closed, no permits were given.

The internet folklore on this is extensive. Lelouch drove; a friend, an acutal Formula One driver drove. Lelouch was arrested when the film was released; he wasn’t arrested. It was a Ferrari; it wasn’t a Ferrari. Speeds have been calculated (using Google Maps, etc.) at up to 140 mph.

It’s as exciting as any nine minutes of film you will find. Watch for the red traffic lights and pedestrians. It gets even more amazing as he nears his rendezvous.

If you prefer, here is the link to the video at Google Video.

Smile you’re on candid camera (no appeal rights need apply)

Santa Fe Country Sheriff Greg Solano explains his position on red light cameras. This from a longer post revealing that the red light camera industry is — surprise — the big impetus behind these revenue producing hazards.

As I stated in an earlier blog post that goes into more detail about the safety concerns, don’t get me wrong there are a lot of good reasons to have red light cameras and I would not be as opposed to them if they were put in such a manner as to not be a revenue generating scheme. Proper procedures must be put in place to protest the citation, and the driver is photographed also to prove who was driving. We must also look at the amount of time the yellow light is on, Many cities have reduced accident just by adjusting the timing of the yellow lights. We should also look at educational programs to educate the motoring public.

See also Red Light Cameras and More on Red Light Cameras.

C’etait un Rendezvous

If you missed this when NewMexiKen posted it a year ago, check it out. I downloaded the video and watch it every once in awhile.

On an August morning in 1978, French filmmaker Claude Lelouch mounted a gyro-stabilized camera to the bumper of a Ferrari 275 GTB and had a friend, a professional Formula 1 racer, drive at breakneck speed through the heart of Paris. The film was limited for technical reasons to 10 minutes; the course was from Porte Dauphine, through the Louvre, to the Basilica of Sacre Coeur.

No streets were closed, for Lelouch was unable to obtain a permit.

The driver completed the course in about 9 minutes, reaching nearly 140 MPH in some stretches. The footage reveals him running real red lights, nearly hitting real pedestrians, and driving the wrong way up real one-way streets.

Upon showing the film in public for the first time, Lelouch was arrested. He has never revealed the identity of the driver, and the film went underground until a DVD release a few years ago.

Now, thanks to the miracle of the Internets, you can watch it in your browser.

This footage is really rather incredible; more exciting than typical movie car chases because you see the view from the car the entire time.

Here’s a link. The film has the car noise, which isn’t to be missed, but be aware.

Source for information and link: Jerry Kindall: C’etait un Rendezvous.

Fighting DWI with a Song

The Soul Deacons, a Santa Fe-based band, will soon get the most radio play in their six-year history— but it will only be 30 seconds at a time.

The band has recorded its version of an old R&B song, “Christmas in Jail,” and a 30-second piece of that recording is the centerpiece of the state Department of Transportation’s anti-DWI messages for the holiday season.

The Albuquerque Journal has a player with the song currently on its free, public main page.

Best line of the day, so far

“To put it delicately, Kevin’s piñata is woefully short of candy.”

Dan Neil referring, of course, to Kevin Federline.

Neil continues, “And yet, that’s how this worthless-hubby, canceled-credit-card, Malibu train wreck narrative plays out, right? It’s K-Fed, David Gest, Ike Turner and Bobby Brown playin’ Texas hold ’em in celebrity man-mooch heaven.”

Oh, BTW, it’s also a great review of the redesigned Acura MDX.

A New Strategy to Discourage Driving Drunk

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 — The threat of arrest and punishment, for decades the primary tactic against drunken drivers, is no longer working in the struggle to reduce the death toll, officials say, and they are proposing turning to technology — alcohol detection devices in every vehicle — to address the problem.

In the first phase of the plan, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, backed by a national association of state highway officials and car manufacturers, will announce here on Monday a campaign to change drunken driving laws in 49 states to require that even first offenders install a device that tests drivers and shuts down the car if it detects alcohol.

Many states already require the devices, known as ignition interlocks, for people who have been convicted several times. Last year New Mexico became the first to make them mandatory after a first offense. With that tactic and others, the state saw an 11.3 percent drop in alcohol-related fatalities last year.

The New York Times

The first Dodge

… was completed on this date in 1914. When asked why the Dodge Brothers wanted to build their own car, John Dodge replied, “Just think of all the Ford owners who will someday want an automobile.”

Some background from This Day in History from the History Channel:

On this day, John and Horace Dodge completed their first Dodge vehicle, a car informally known as “Old Betsy.” The same day, the Dodge brothers gave “Old Betsy” a quick test drive through the streets of Detroit, Michigan, and the vehicle was shipped to a buyer in Tennessee. John and Horace, who began their business career as bicycle manufacturers in 1897, first entered the automotive industry as auto parts manufacturers in 1901. They built engines for Ransom Olds and Henry Ford among others, and in 1910 the Dodge Brothers Company was the largest parts-manufacturing firm in the United States. In 1914, the intrepid brothers founded the new Dodge Brothers Motor Car Company, and began work on their first complete automobile at their Hamtramck factory. Dodge vehicles became known for their quality and sturdiness, and by 1919, the Dodge brothers were among the richest men in America. In early 1920, just as he was completing work on his 110-room mansion on the Grosse Point waterfront in Michigan, John fell ill from respiratory problems and died. Horace, who also suffered from chronic lung problems, died from pneumonia in December of the same year. The company was later sold to a New York bank, and in 1928, the Chrysler Corporation bought the Dodge name, its factories, and the large network of Dodge car dealers.

NewMexiKen applied for a job at Dodge Main in Hamtramck in 1965 or 1966, but ended up in an electrical equipment factory nearby. Dodge Main was the original Dodge factory, ultimately demolished in 1980. Though I heard that work at Dodge Main was particularly tough and dirty I always thought it would have been cool to build cars, even if only for a summer. Or, more likely, especially if only for a summer.

Terrorists

Something fewer than 4,000 people have been killed by terrorists in the U.S.; most on September 11, 2006, but others in Oklahoma City, or by individual actions such as victims of the Unabomber. Each of those premature deaths is, of course, a tragedy.

However, something like 17,000 people are killed in alcohol-related traffic fatalities — each year.

17,000. Each year.

Friday night in downtown Denver, a drunk driver ran into a family as the parents — in a crosswalk with the green light — pushed a stroller carrying their two children across the intersection of 15th and Arapahoe streets. The mother, and two children ages 2 and 4 were killed. The father is recovering; as The Denver Post reported it: “Physically, he is doing well,” said Benny Samuels, spokeswoman for Denver Health. “Emotionally, he’s having a rough time.”

Well, I guess.

Saturday night on I-25 north of Santa Fe, a drunk driver going south in the northbound lanes hit a family returning from a soccer tournament in Bernalillo, New Mexico. The impact nearly separated the family’s van in two. The father, mother, two daughters and a stepdaughter were killed. The daughters were 11 and 10 and the stepdaughter 17. Another stepdaughter, age 15, survived. As reported by The Albuquerque Journal: “Arissa was recovering Sunday at St. Vincent Regional Medical Center from a broken left arm, fractured hip, and bruises to her head and chest— and from the loss of her three siblings, mother and stepfather.”

Well, I guess.

The New Mexico driver also died in the crash. The Denver driver, who fled the scene, is under arrest. Both were intoxicated. The New Mexico killer had five previous DWI arrests and a blood-alcohol content of 0.32.

17,000. Each and every year. Why does this madness continue? What is wrong with us?

Which type of terrorist are you more frightened of?

Catch 23

When Deputy Not Present

NewMexiKen is thinking that it would be impossible to get a traffic citation for violating this sign’s instruction.

If a deputy is present, it’s OK to turn left.

If no deputy is present, and you turn left anyway, who will write the citation?

BTW, regular gasoline is selling for a little as $1.94 around here (Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.).

Six Things to Think About

1. According to a report in Automotive News, Ford and General Motors discussed a merger in July.

2. The price of gasoline has gone down 50 cents in a month. How much lower can it go before the election? (Thanks to mjh’s blog for focusing my thought on this one.)

3. Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez‘s favorite books include “Les Misérables” by Victor Hugo and “Don Quixote” by Cervantes. Also “Dude, Where’s My Country?” by Michael Moore.

4. Charles P. Pierce thinks the president is on the edge:

This all came back to me because, quite frankly, I think the president of the United States is getting ready to slug somebody. And, based on several recent on-camera performances, all of them readily available to anyone who wants to watch, you wouldn’t have to say anything about his momma, his wife, his kids, his dogs, or the fundamental legitimacy of his pedigree to get him to throw down on your ass like the genuine Earnie (The Acorn) Shavers. It appears that all that would be necessary is for you push a question about his policies beyond the limits of whatever talking-points he has on the subject.

… There are presidents who can rise above it, and presidents who can’t, but none of them ever looked like they were ready to toss hands because people questioned their right to torture. It’s become truly startling how close we seem to be coming to the “Because I said so, that’s why” moment.

5. John Yoo understands American history a little differently than I learned it.

But the founders intended that wrongheaded or obsolete legislation and judicial decisions would be checked by presidential action, just as executive overreaching is to be checked by the courts and Congress.

6. Path to 9/11 writer Cyrus Nowrasteh is even more delusional.

I felt duty-bound from the outset to focus on a single goal–to represent our recent pre-9/11 history as the evidence revealed it to be. The American people deserve to know that history: They have paid for it in blood.

… Fact-checkers and lawyers scrutinized every detail, every line, every scene. There were hundreds of pages of annotations. We were informed by multiple advisers and interviews with people involved in the events–and books, including in a most important way the 9/11 Commission Report.

Cell Phone Bill

California joins Connecticut, New Jersey and the District of Columbia.

Under the law, which will take effect in July 2008, Californians risk a minimum $20 fine for driving while yakking into a phone — unless they are using a headset, speaker phone, ear bud or some other technology that frees both hands while they talk. Drivers in emergency situations would be exempt.

Los Angeles Times

This May Explain Ford’s Problems

From a report on new Ford chief executive Alan Mulally in The New York Times:

Company insiders say [Chairman William] Ford views the relationship as owner and manager, akin to a sports team such as his family’s Detroit Lions, where neither can be successful without the other.

The Lions are one of the least successful franchises in NFL history. They last played in an NFL championship game in 1957. Since then they have been in the post-season only nine times (in 48 seasons) and won just one post-season game out of ten.

William Clay Ford Sr. became president of the Lions in 1961 and purchased the team outright in 1963.

William Clay Ford Jr. is the chairman of the Ford Motor Company.

Passion takes a back seat

Dan Neil on the 2007 Lexus LS 460. Read the entire review — the car parks itself! — but here’s a taste.

The auto-parking feature is a headline-grabbing gimmick in a car run cheerfully amok with them. For your delectation, I submit the count-’em eight-speed automatic transmission, a world first. Finally, relief for the deprived owners of the quaint and rudimentary Mercedes S-class, who get along with a mere seven.

Perhaps your tastes run toward science fiction. The LS 460 L — the long-wheelbase model — offers the optional four-zone climate control, which uses an infrared camera to measure backseat passengers’ body temperature (and, one guesses, to scan for signs of incipient menopause). A fully optioned LS 460 L would also be equipped with 11 air bags (another record!), 19 surround-sound speakers, a 30-gigabit hard drive (storage for 2,000 music files with room to spare for the navigation data), and five powered sunshades, to tick off just a few of the car’s supernumerary excesses.

Organ donor wannabes

Two guys were gunning their motorcycles and doing wheel stands in traffic this afternoon — doing 70 or so in a 55 zone. What’s with these kidneys and livers on wheels?

Meanwhile half of the rest of traffic seemed to be signaling for turns they decided not to take. I should have guessed, as no one in Albuquerque signals for an actual turn or, god forbid, a lane change.

Then there was the woman at Costco who refused to back up a few feet (no one was behind her) so I could more easily get into a parking place. Instead she honked (it is easier to honk than to put a car into reverse I guess). It took me a reaaaaaaal long time to make it into the place — I’d probably still be maneuvering if other traffic hadn’t eventually come along behind her.

On the back of her car: “Be Loud for Christ.” I guess that explains the honking.

Holy mother-of-pearl

There’s a rainstorm at Casa NewMexiKen this morning that began around 3:30 that goes way beyond Biblical. Mercy! If it rained any harder a good swimmer could swim straight up. [Update: About an inch-and-a-half.]

43,443 people were killed on American highways and roads in 2005, the highest number since 1990 and the highest per miles driven since 1986. 4,553 were motorcyclists (10.5%).

But what is amazing is that 55% of the passenger vehicle occupants who were killed were not wearing seat belts. Fifty-five percent!

About 80% of people use belts, so the 20% or so who don’t are really giving above and beyond the call.

Buckle up!

Have you noticed that mens’ rooms are getting busier? Woman have been complaining for years about the unfairness of long waits while men just zip in and out. Not any more.

As the baby-boomer men age — the oldest are now 60, the youngest turning 42 this year — it’s taking guys a lot longer to get the job done. There’s much more down time in mens’ rooms. As a result, we’re starting to see lines at crowded venues. Some are standing-room only.

This situation can only worsen as the male population continues to age.

Adding injury to injury

Denise Jack got a good news-bad news phone call from an insurance company yesterday regarding her blue 1993 Nissan Pathfinder, which was buried by an avalanche in Upper Manhattan last year and has been sitting beneath the mountain of dirt on Riverside Drive ever since.

The good news was that after more than a year of waiting and frustration, her sport utility vehicle would soon be dug out.

The bad news was that she would have pay to have the S.U.V. — or the presumably flattened hunk of metal, glass and rubber that was once her car — towed away.

The New York Times

The car, one of several, was buried May 12, 2005, when a wall collapsed. The car owners were told by the insurer for the building whose wall collapsed that they couldn’t be paid until the cars were unburied and vehicle identification numbers verified, etc.

The Electric Car in Your Future

Via Andrew Tobias, a primer on electric cars from Tesla finanacial backer Elon Musk. Assuming Mr. Musk is credible, this is pretty interesting, including his polite take-down of hybrids.

Tesla is the all electric sports car that goes from 0 to 60 in 4.0 seconds and gets 135 miles per gallon EPA equivalent.

As Tobias notes, if Ford had been thinking this creatively they’d be hiring 20,000 workers instead of laying off that many.

NewMexiKen watched the video linked-to in the article. It’s a great looking car, range 250 miles on a charge, all the bells and whistles, etc., and NO SOUND. Hello guys, go listen to a Porsche and figure out how to reproduce THAT SOUND, and you’ve got something.

Which reminds me that I saw a tragic accident the other day near home. It didn’t appear anyone was injured, so it wasn’t a horrible accident, but it was tragic. A pickup had rear-ended a Porsche 911. Damage to pickup: None. Damage to Porsche: Lots and lots.