Driving Wishes

[Takumi]

In before Prelude Si 4WS.

[hotdogPi]

Electric cars becoming more common and being able to be charged for free (instead of a lot for gas for normal cars).

[corco]

You know that energy costs money no matter where it comes from, right?

Even if we decided to abandon fuel taxes for infrastructure, you're always going to have to pay to "fill up" because energy is never going to be free, barring something crazy happening or a car that somehow generates its own energy.

If you drive an electric car, when you plug it in you're getting power that comes from a power plant. These power plants typically require coal or natural gas or water force, and you pay for the conversion of those resources into the electricity that you can plug in. This happens at your house and everywhere else that there is electricity too, which is why you get an electric bill.

[hotdogPi]

Once we find a way to get usable energy from lightning, it will work.

[corco]

(Now you're just trolling)

You'll still have to pay somebody to convert the lightning into usable energy, just like with anything else.

[vdeane]

I don't think lightning would be enough power to keep the US running anyways.  Beaming solar from space via microwaves (a la SimCity 3000) might work for "free", but only if we socialized the power system, which will happen when hell freezes over.

That "feature" would cause people to flash their lights whenever a bug hit their windshield, or if it's not raining hard enough to keep the wipers on consistently and the driver didn't already turn their lights on.

In my last truck, with the wipers-on-lights-on feature, the headlights stayed on after turning the wipers off until I turned the headlight switch on, then back off.  The headlights did not come on when using the wipe-wash.

I sometimes have to flick the wipers on a time or two afterwards because of how they streak.  Not always though.

[NE2]

Corco is apparently a climate change denier. Not that electric cars are a panacea, but they're easier to convert to cleaner power.

[corco]

(Now you're just trolling)

Of course they are- the electricity for electric cars can come from wind just as well as it can from coal, but there's still cost involved in converting the energy from that raw form into the nice electricity that comes from power outlets and you'll always have to pay for that.

[NE2]

Sure, you'll have to pay for it with money. Would you rather pay for it with sea level rise, droughts, and other such bad shit?

[corco]

Please show where I indicated that I would prefer to continue with our current energy practices instead of switching to new energy (or the other way around, for that matter). All I said is that energy costs money, no matter what its source. There's no value judgment there on what energy we should be using.

1 indicated that with electric cars, it would be "free" to fill up, and in his case he was clearly referring to money. No matter your stance on electric cars or climate change, you have to be willing to acknowledge that it does and will continue to cost money to plenish your car with energy, no matter where that energy comes from.

[Molandfreak]

Well if you had your own personal wind turbine or solar panels, it technically would be free to fill up

[jeffandnicole]

My driving wish?

Jeff's lane.  All others get the hell out.

Unfortunately, with Jeff being too common of a lane, I'll probably be sitting behind some other Jeff who insists on going 10 below the limit.

[Brandon]

Corco is apparently a climate change denier. Not that electric cars are a panacea, but they're easier to convert to cleaner power.

You're talking out of your ass here.  Electric cars, yes, do run on electricity, but where do you think that electricity comes from?  Unicorn farts?  Most electricity in this country comes from the burning of fossil fuels, most of which is coal.  So, electric cars don't look quite so good when you realize the power source.  Also, as Corco pointed out, you will still have to pay someone to convert what ever source you use (solar, wind, nuclear, etc) into electricity.

[NE2]

but they're easier to convert to cleaner power.

I'm not reading.

And yes, rail is going to beat cars. So I guess that's my driving wish: cars become unnecessary for most everyday trips.

[Brandon]

but they're easier to convert to cleaner power.

I'm not reading.

And yes, rail is going to beat cars. So I guess that's my driving wish: cars become unnecessary for most everyday trips.

Odds are, with our development patterns, that won't happen anytime soon.  Get used to it.

[NE2]

Odds are our development patterns are shite.

[Brandon]

Odds are our development patterns are shite.

They are what they are, and you cannot change them.  Nice that you think you can wish something different into existence, but you can't.  Learn to accept what is here on the ground.  Otherwise, you'll blow an artery.

[NE2]

I accept that we're destroying the planet. Doesn't mean I have to like it.

[PColumbus73]

I'd like to see more revitalization of cities than sprawling out. If you can walk to the corner grocery store like people used to to (and still do in cities like New York), you won't have to rely on the car so much. I'd love to take a train instead of driving or flying. Building Suburbia is a bad concept when there is plenty of opportunity inside the city.

Anyway, back to the topic, I'd like to see roundabouts implemented more in the United States, it will make it easier for traffic to get onto busier roads from smaller streets.

[realjd]

Corco is apparently a climate change denier. Not that electric cars are a panacea, but they're easier to convert to cleaner power.

You're talking out of your ass here.  Electric cars, yes, do run on electricity, but where do you think that electricity comes from?  Unicorn farts?  Most electricity in this country comes from the burning of fossil fuels, most of which is coal.  So, electric cars don't look quite so good when you realize the power source.  Also, as Corco pointed out, you will still have to pay someone to convert what ever source you use (solar, wind, nuclear, etc) into electricity.

With power plants, the pollution generated is centralized and more easily contained/mitigated. Cars are much dirtier than a coal power plant.

[bugo]

Lincoln had this feature in 1981, as an option on the Town Car.  It should have caught on, and should now be mandatory.

GM had the Autronic Eye option in the '50s.

[bugo]

What I would like to see is higher speed limits on roads, especially little used 2 lane highways.  For example: US 59/270 from Hodgen, OK to Acorn, AR should be 90 MPH because it's safe to drive at that speed except for one nasty corner.

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

Anyway, back to the topic, I'd like to see roundabouts implemented more in the United States, it will make it easier for traffic to get onto busier roads from smaller streets.

As a truck driver, no...just no.  Especially small multi-lane roundabouts, as it's not possible for my vehicle to maintain lane around tight curves.

[realjd]

Anyway, back to the topic, I'd like to see roundabouts implemented more in the United States, it will make it easier for traffic to get onto busier roads from smaller streets.

As a truck driver, no...just no.  Especially small multi-lane roundabouts, as it's not possible for my vehicle to maintain lane around tight curves.

They're supposed to be designed with a drivable portion of the median so trucks can take a straighter path through them.

[PColumbus73]

I was thinking for suburban areas and minor residential streets and feeders to the arterials. I live in a subdivision and trying to get out on the main road takes a while at times. Using Myrtle Beach as an example, I'd like to see more roundabouts for Carolina Forest Blvd and some of the subdivision entrance due to the large amount of turning traffic. Obviously roundabouts won't work everywhere, but in cases like Carolina Forest, they'll be an improvement.