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Old 05-08-2010, 07:57 PM   #57 (permalink)
artificer
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thymeclock View Post
On the first point we are in agreement.

How would having "computer controlled vehicles" solve anything?
The idea would be to have a computer controlled grid that knows where every car is, where they are going, and controls how they get there. No more blast and brake driving. No inattentive driving. Higher speed and closer/smaller lanes possible. Flow of traffic is optimized to keep everyone moving as quickly as possible, or with the most efficiency. Since the computer sees the entire grid, it can tell when it has to adapt to handle changes in the traffic pattern.

With the computer controlling the vehicles you wouldn't have to allow as much time between direction changes (stoplights) since you don't have to allow extra time for idiot drivers. You could also design lighter vehicles because accidents would be decreased if humans aren't controlling the system.

Considering that they can't even fix the pot-holes, I don't see the investment into the infrastructure necessary to do this within the next 20 years, or until we run out of oil.
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