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from the everyone-must-carry-a-radio dept.
Trek joins with Ford to propose bicycle to vehicle communications, as an addition to already proposed vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure communications.
http://www.velonews.com/2018/01/news/trek-takes-a-high-tech-approach-to-save-cyclists-lives_454307
The system connects vehicles to a larger communications system, which means cars can communicate with other vehicles, pedestrian devices, bicycles, roadside signs, and construction zones.
A cyclist would ride with B2V-enabled equipment, initially manufactured by Trek or Bontrager. Or, he or she could have a mobile app with C-V2X. The driver would then be alerted by their car when a cyclist is present in a potentially dangerous area.
Trek partnered with a company named Tome, who also add in the buzzword, "AI-based" to make sure you know that they are really with it. No mention of the power requirements for this system, and how they can be met within the extremely small power capability of a bike rider, or even the small battery system used on e-bikes.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Sulla on Wednesday January 10 2018, @09:34PM (6 children)
http://www.myorego.org/about/ [myorego.org]
I opted into the program early on, although I chose the reader that did not contain a GPS.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Sulla on Wednesday January 10 2018, @09:37PM (5 children)
Thats was a really uninformative reply..
Back in like 2015/6 you could opt-in to test out the program. You had your choice of tracking device (ones that were full GPS and provided those abilities to you and one that only tracked direct mileage) and then you went and paid your taxes directly to the state on the OReGO website. The state estimates what your vehicles gas mileage should be and then whether you paid more in Gas Tax than you should have. The basis was that prius have the same effect on road wear as f350s based on DOT studies, so truck drivers can get money back and prius drivers can end up owning more.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 4, Interesting) by bob_super on Wednesday January 10 2018, @09:55PM (4 children)
> prius have the same effect on road wear as f350s based on DOT studies
Studies sponsored by Ford ? Everything I've read is that damage is proportional to an exponent of weight (4th is usually cited here).
My solution is to make people pay license plate fees based on the square of (weight of their vehicle / 1 metric ton). Taylor it or so that a Civic or Fiesta pays about a hundred bucks (less that what I pay now in CA), but people driving 2 or 3 tonnes around pay 400 to 900 bucks, properly accounting for the damage they do. Bonus: it's easier to implement than the current value-based fee, which doesn't match road wear.
(Score: 1) by Sulla on Wednesday January 10 2018, @10:21PM
http://www.community.myorego.org/blog/splitting-the-check-to-help-fund-our-roads/ [myorego.org]
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Grishnakh on Wednesday January 10 2018, @10:23PM
Studies sponsored by Ford ? Everything I've read is that damage is proportional to an exponent of weight (4th is usually cited here).
I was about to respond with the same thing. WTF? It's common knowledge that tractor-trailers cause immense damage to roads, and that's the very reason they have weigh stations, because if they're overloaded they cause even more damage. Obviously, heavier is worse, and an F-350 is a whole lot heavier than a Prius. I suppose this is neglecting the idea of pressure, which can vary depending on the vehicle weight and how many tires it's spread over and how wide those tires are, but still, the idea that a Prius is as damaging as huge pickup truck is just ridiculous. (And similarly, huge pickup trucks are nothing compared to semis.)
I agree with your proposal. People should be encouraged to drive smaller, lighter cars for many reasons, not only road damage, but fuel usage, the damage they cause to other vehicles in collisions, etc. And charging a plate fee is administratively very, very simple, unlike the absurd complexity that comes with having GPS devices in everyone's car and trying to accurately monitor all that data.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 10 2018, @11:30PM
It is proportional to the per-axle weight. But since the vehicles in question both have two axles, more weight => more wear.
Road wear and tear is completely dominated by large transport trucks anyway.
(Score: 2) by t-3 on Thursday January 11 2018, @08:16PM
And my '78 Caprice, lacking any weighty safety features, will be the cheapest of all!