Interesting movie

I had seatbelts in my cars before they were standard equipment (late '50's), probably better mounted than they are now.

I put *huge* backup plates under the floor... probably could pick up the car with them ;-)

...Jim Thompson

'Backup plates'? I'm not familiar with 'em. Are they for reinforcing the floorboards, or ...?

Cheers, James Arthur

Yes. Just a bolt, without a plate or a large heavy-duty "fender" washer, would pull right out.

...Jim Thompson

-- | James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens | | Analog Innovations, Inc. | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | | | E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat | |

You made me curious, so I looked and found it had just one cylinder, not three!

Perusing the specs, our Model 300 weighed 350Kg, had chain-drive, one cylinder, a whopping 10 horse output and ~85KPH top speed. Plenty for the island, where the roads were so twisty you never got going that nearly fast anyway, according to Dad. Roadhandling was reputed to be exemplary. And, the little one-cylinder fart got 80 miles-per-gallon.

Very clever, and cute.

James Arthur

for the last 5-6 years, every time the NZ cops have had a big drink-driving blitz (eg stopping 14,000 motorists), 1% have failed the breath tests.

when I was a teenager, drink-driving was not just de rigeur, it was pretty much compulsory :)

nowadays the converse is true. which is a good thing; people are lousy drivers, and a skin full of piss really doesnt help.

Cheers Terry

from a book on gyrodynamics. and some browsing on gyrocars.

actually, isnt it kinda obvious? think about the forces involved when you turn a corner. now turn said corner at speed. the faster you go, the wider and lower your vehicle needs to be to maintain stability.

whereas with a bike, the faster you go the more stable it becomes - until, of course, tank-slapping sets in ;)

Cheers Terry

But you said "COG"!

As for the bicycle... think about it. Go really fast, then try to turn ;-)

...Jim Thompson

thats pretty much what we have. Of course it doesnt stop people from doing it.

We had a hilarious crash early last year. some 18YO d*****ad plowed into a stand of big trees at 140kph, snotting himself and three mates. His parents had been paying for his numerous, expensive speeding tickets. and didnt see anything wrong with that. up goes the national average IQ.

another last year: 16YO driving, passes cars in silly place, oncoming bus appears, kid freezes, doesnt swerve or brake...splat. luckily nobody in the bus was injured.

Me, I drive 2-5 times per week on NZs worst road. I never speed (more than the allowed tolerance of 10kph), and I am *paranoid*. last year I caught a glimpse of something that looked wrong, thru some trees around a corner, so I braked sharply and pulled left as I came into the corner; the missus started to say "what the hell are you doing" when a red car passing a truck came around the corner on our side, at which point she decided to scream instead. I've dodged 3-4 headons on that road in the last 2 years.

Cheers Terry

Don't you just hate it when they scream ?:-)

...Jim Thompson

The only time I wear seatbelts when I'm driving my own car is when I'm going onto the freeway. In somebody else's car, I always belt up, because people drive like idiots. For around town, I drive a virtual car[1], and don't generally pull G's. ;-)

But, notably, the two times that I've had actual crashes, one one-car rollover where I was driving too fast for conditions, and the other I T-boned some guy while I was running a red light; in both cases I was belted in. Other than that, I've never had a crash.[2]

The epidemiological conclusion, of course, is that seat belts cause crashes. ;-)

Cheers! Rich

last 15 years, but

I don't doubt that there has been a decline in deaths - look at all of the safety crap that's been mandated - you could put a chimpanzee in one of today's SUVs and it could go anywhere and survive with all the air bags and crumple zones and side rails and s*it.

So, they're saving lives, but they're saving all of the wrong lives. The stupid survive in spite of their stupidity. The government is trying to repeal the law of survival of the fittest. This fits right in with their aganda of course, because stupid voters are easy to buy.

Thanks, Rich

bicycle? how quaint. 1000cc bicycle....professional riders go round corners PDQ.

I have seen a video of a bicycle with a small motor running a flywheel in the opposite direction; precession then works in the opposite direction - lean left to turn right. it was a pretty funny video.

Cheers Terry

Actually, there are times when it is quite satisfying...

all

By lowering their COG.

Particularly disconcerting when they scream about something they think you didn't see... I'm fond of closing fast on assholes who do stupid things in traffic just to scare them... but it also scares the wife ;-)

...Jim Thompson

On more than one occasion, I've avoided running over a child by doing nothing more than PAYING ATTENTION TO MY DRIVING!!!!!

Cheers! Rich

Now if your safety was ONLY your skill, you would have it made in spades.

Unfortunately, that is strictly wishful thinking .... as is the Darwin theory that those that kill others in the gene pool are somehow saving the race .... IE drunks that live thru their "fatal" crashes.

This is what I drive:

cost me AU$5 a week to get to work (petrol(gas) is nudging the $1.50 mark here) and I am usually moving faster than the traffic. PArking is free.

Only problem is that you spend your life avoiding cars pulling into your lane. A foot in their door ususally wakes the driver up to my presence.

What ever happened to the breathalyzer-in-the-car idea, where if it registers over .08 or whatever, the car won't start? I suppose then you'd have a "designated blower". Never mind. ;-)

Cheers! Rich