The cellphone paradox - where are all the accidents?

[Ashton Crusher]

On Sat, 22 Aug 2015 20:49:11 -0700, The Real Bev
<bashley101@gmail.com> wrote:

On 08/22/2015 07:32 AM, Mayayana wrote:

While we're at it, I'm curious how many accidents are
caused by ridiculous flashing light overkill on emergency
vehicles. Police and firefighters just can't seem to resist
the childish thrill of adding yet another light. Police cars
used to have a blue "bubble gum machine" on top. It
worked fine. Now they have dozens of flashing lights in
every color. The problem: It's impossible to tell where an
emergency vehicle is going. Even if they use turn signals,
there's no time to figure out which lights on this high-speed,
psychedelic Christmas tree are signalling.

Glad I'm not the only one. The stupid things aren't on long enough for
our eyes to focus on them, and the next one is in a different place.
And what about that stupid chartreuse color that some cities are
painting their fire engines? So it's NOT a natural color, that doesn't
make it stand out any better. FIRE ENGINES ARE RED. PERIOD.

The fire engine color is based on the same faulty logic of DRL's.
Studies have shown that you can see a Chartreuse colored fire engine
from farther away then a red painted one. Therefore, as the logic
goes, Chartreuse must be a better color to paint a fire engine. That
fallacy of that, as well as of DRL's, is that there is no need to see
a fire engine that is so far away that if it were red you would not
notice it. When it's that far away it's just not of any significance
to you. The same is true of DRL's. It's true that a DRL car can be
seen farther away. But no one needs to see a car that's a mile away,
they only need to see the ones within perhaps a quarter mile of them
and the worst drive is more then able to see a car without any DRL's
at that distance. That's why the studies of DRL's show that there is
no net safety benefit. Some types of accidents go down and other
types of accidents go up because while people look at the DRL's they
fail to see other cars coming crossways toward them, cars that they
would have normally noticed if those bright lights up ahead of them
hadn't distracted them from the actual danger that was just off to
their right or left.

And have any Los Angeles residents noticed how few lights there are on
the overhead freeway signs no? I suspect that it just costs too much to
replace them. I can read the signs at a reasonable distance if I have
my lights on high, but that seems really rude -- in spite of the fact
that perhaps 1/4 of the drivers don't understand that their high beams
are to be used only OCCASIONALLY.

The gvt doesn't want to pay for the electric to turn them on nor to
maintain them, it's strictly to save costs. There are better sign
materials that would make it so you don't need to use your high beams
as much but that stuff costs more so the gvt will either simply not
use it cuz they don't want to pay for it, or they will use it but not
before the old stuff is completely worn out. Since the sign sheeting
is expected to last around 10 to 20 years don't expect to see it
replaced any time soon.

And what about those banks of bright lights they use when working on the
freeways at night? They ALWAYS point them directly into oncoming
traffic. It's like they WANT to cause crashes.

Most of those workers have no idea about safety to the public, they
just stick em wherever it's convenient for themselves and a light that
shines ALL AROUND works a lot better, and you need less of them, then
a light that is directional and shines mostly downward so it won't
blind people. As you should know by now, gvt isn't there to serve
you, you are there to serve it. Pay your taxes and shut up.

 

[Neill Massello]

Stormin Mormon <cayoung61@hotmail.com> wrote:

Does braking with the left foot increase the
risk of accidents?

In a panic situation, do left-foot brakers tend to mash down both pedals
(brake and throttle) at the same time?

 

On Sun, 23 Aug 2015 18:48:37 -0600, nmassello@yahoo.com (Neill
Massello) wrote:

Stormin Mormon <cayoung61@hotmail.com> wrote:

Does braking with the left foot increase the
risk of accidents?

In a panic situation, do left-foot brakers tend to mash down both pedals
(brake and throttle) at the same time?

Some definitely do.
Left foot braking is generally hard on brakes,
One car I drove for a few months pretty well REQUIRED left foot
braking, or the car would stall at intersections. Replacing the
dash-pot solved that problem.

 

[Ashton Crusher]

On Sun, 23 Aug 2015 08:37:38 -0400, Stormin Mormon
<cayoung61@hotmail.com> wrote:

On 8/22/2015 7:19 PM, Ashton Crusher wrote:
It's been less than a week and we're almost up to 500 messages. Should
I start a "left foot braking thread"???





On Sun, 16 Aug 2015 06:10:23 +0000 (UTC), ceg
curt.guldenschuh@gmail.com> wrote:

The cellphone paradox - where are all the accidents?

The Fermi Paradox is essentially a situation where we "assume" something
that "seems obvious"; but, if that assumption is true, then something else
"should" be happening. But it's not.

Hence, the paradox.


Such is the cellphone paradox.

Does braking with the left foot increase the
risk of accidents?

Depends. Is the person left foot braking skilled at it? However,
knowing that would only let us speculate since there is zero data.
Speculatively, a skilled left foot braker will have less accidents
because they have, on average, shorter perception-reaction-braking
times then a right foot braker.

 

[Ashton Crusher]

On Sun, 23 Aug 2015 09:13:20 -0400, "(PeteCresswell)" <x@y.Invalid>
wrote:

Per Stormin Mormon:
Does braking with the left foot increase the
risk of accidents?

From what little I have read, there is disagreement on the answer.

The traditional answer is that left-foot braking is, somehow, less safe.

I can't remember the term-of-art for it, but there is a recognized cause
of accidents that consists of the driver stepping on the accelerator
when they were trying to step on the brake.

A driver that ALWAYS uses the right foot to Brake and Accelerate is
the one most likely to use that right foot on the wrong pedal. Someone
who is skilled at left foot braking is far less likely to try to push
the accelerator with the right foot with the intention of braking.
I'm sure there are always exceptions.

A few months ago there was an article in the New Yorker about vehicle
defect investigation and vehicle recalls from an engineering perspective
in which it was mentioned that some people think that left-foot braking
may actually be safer because it reduces the chances of a "wrong pedal"
error to nearly zero.

 

[Ashton Crusher]

On 23 Aug 2015 08:36:24 -0500, kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) wrote:

(PeteCresswell) <x@y.Invalid> wrote:

The traditional answer is that left-foot braking is, somehow, less safe.

I cannot say, but I can make some strong arguments against braking with
your nose.
--scott

What if you have hand controls?

 

[Dean Hoffman]

On Sun, 23 Aug 2015 07:37:38 -0500, Stormin Mormon <cayoung61@hotmail.com>
wrote:

Does braking with the left foot increase the
risk of accidents?

Didn't Toyota make some claims about that? There was a recall for
driver side carpets if I remember correctly.


--
Using Opera's mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

 

[The Real Bev]

On 08/23/2015 02:58 PM, Dean Hoffman wrote:

On Sun, 23 Aug 2015 14:53:16 -0500, The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com
wrote:

On 08/23/2015 12:40 PM, Dean Hoffman wrote:
On Sun, 23 Aug 2015 07:37:38 -0500, Stormin Mormon
cayoung61@hotmail.com> wrote:

On 8/22/2015 7:19 PM, Ashton Crusher wrote:
It's been less than a week and we're almost up to 500 messages.
Should I start a "left foot braking thread"???

On Sun, 16 Aug 2015 06:10:23 +0000 (UTC), ceg
curt.guldenschuh@gmail.com> wrote:

The cellphone paradox - where are all the accidents?

The Fermi Paradox is essentially a situation where we "assume"
something that "seems obvious"; but, if that assumption is
true, then something else "should" be happening. But it's not.

Hence, the paradox.

Such is the cellphone paradox.

Does braking with the left foot increase the risk of accidents?

Three on the tree? Four on the floor? One down, four up?

European or Japanese?

I got to ride a Norton once, long ago. I think there was some
odd critter with an actual hand gear shift.

And then there was the Harley suicide clutch...

For a while I rode a 1960 Ducati street bike and a 196x Honda dirtbike.
Even if I think about it now I can't decide which is the 'correct'
Japanese side to shift on, I have to find a picture. At the time, dirt
triggered one shift method and street triggered theother one. I still
can't remember which is 1 up four down or 1 down 4 up.

http://cybermotorcycle.com/gallery/ducati/images/Ducati_1968_Monza_250.jpg
.. It's not. The tank is just like mine, although I can't verify that
all my parts were stock. I painted it orange.

And then there were the two different Japanese metric threads...


--
Cheers, Bev
"At the core of liberalism is the spoiled child,
miserable, as all spoiled children are, unsatisfied,
demanding, ill-disciplined, despotic and useless.
Liberalism is a philosophy of sniveling brats."
PJ O'Rourke

 

[Stormin Mormon]

On 8/23/2015 8:48 PM, Neill Massello wrote:

Stormin Mormon <cayoung61@hotmail.com> wrote:

Does braking with the left foot increase the
risk of accidents?

In a panic situation, do left-foot brakers tend to mash down both pedals
(brake and throttle) at the same time?

Not me. I learned on a clutch car.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

 

[Neill Massello]

Stormin Mormon <cayoung61@hotmail.com> wrote:

> I learned on a clutch car.

If you've got a clutch pedal, left-foot braking is a non-starter -- er,
stopper.

 

[John Robertson]

On 08/23/2015 6:10 PM, Ashton Crusher wrote:

On Sun, 23 Aug 2015 09:13:20 -0400, "(PeteCresswell)" <x@y.Invalid
wrote:

Per Stormin Mormon:
Does braking with the left foot increase the
risk of accidents?

From what little I have read, there is disagreement on the answer.

The traditional answer is that left-foot braking is, somehow, less safe.

I can't remember the term-of-art for it, but there is a recognized cause
of accidents that consists of the driver stepping on the accelerator
when they were trying to step on the brake.


A driver that ALWAYS uses the right foot to Brake and Accelerate is
the one most likely to use that right foot on the wrong pedal. Someone
who is skilled at left foot braking is far less likely to try to push
the accelerator with the right foot with the intention of braking.
I'm sure there are always exceptions.

And the left foot break idiot(s) who rests his/her foot on the brake
pedal and thus drives around all day with their brake lights on? Not to
mention wearing out the brake pads or (even worse) overheating the
brakes so they fail at an inopportune time...

I see that a lot, so I vote no to left foot braking. Unless you can't
use your right foot, but we are talking about folks without any sort of
handicap (cast, missing foot, etc.).

John :-#)#

A few months ago there was an article in the New Yorker about vehicle
defect investigation and vehicle recalls from an engineering perspective
in which it was mentioned that some people think that left-foot braking
may actually be safer because it reduces the chances of a "wrong pedal"
error to nearly zero.

--
(Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
John's Jukes Ltd. 2343 Main St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 3C9
(604)872-5757 or Fax 872-2010 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
www.flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

 

[John Robertson]

On 08/23/2015 5:31 PM, J Burns wrote:

On 8/23/15 8:37 AM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 8/22/2015 7:19 PM, Ashton Crusher wrote:
It's been less than a week and we're almost up to 500 messages. Should
I start a "left foot braking thread"???





On Sun, 16 Aug 2015 06:10:23 +0000 (UTC), ceg
curt.guldenschuh@gmail.com> wrote:

The cellphone paradox - where are all the accidents?

The Fermi Paradox is essentially a situation where we "assume"
something
that "seems obvious"; but, if that assumption is true, then something
else
"should" be happening. But it's not.

Hence, the paradox.


Such is the cellphone paradox.

Does braking with the left foot increase the
risk of accidents?

It greatly reduces the risk of brake failure. I can't use that method
with my car because they're no hole in the floor.

Hi Fred! (Flintstone)...

John ;-#)#

--
(Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
John's Jukes Ltd. 2343 Main St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 3C9
(604)872-5757 or Fax 872-2010 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
www.flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

 

[Muggles]

On 8/22/2015 8:36 PM, Ashton Crusher wrote:

seems that such a "it's getting worse" view is hard wired into most
people as they age.

In many ways I can agree with you about things getting worse, but then
something happens in the world somewhere that gives me hope.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/24/europe/france-train-shooting/

The 4 men who stopped the terrorist on that France train, 3 of them were
young American men. There are still good people in the world who will
put themselves in harms way to protect other people, and stop something
horrible from happening that they actually had a chance to stop vs.
looking the other way and hiding.

The news is shining the light on an event that saved lives. I think
people are just tired of being terrorized and afraid.

--
Maggie

 

[Oren]

On Mon, 24 Aug 2015 10:50:22 -0700, John Robertson <spam@flippers.com>
wrote:

Does braking with the left foot increase the
risk of accidents?

It greatly reduces the risk of brake failure. I can't use that method
with my car because they're no hole in the floor.

Hi Fred! (Flintstone)...

Didn't Fred back pedal to slow down?

 

[Ashton Crusher]

On Mon, 24 Aug 2015 10:48:51 -0700, John Robertson <spam@flippers.com>
wrote:

On 08/23/2015 6:10 PM, Ashton Crusher wrote:
On Sun, 23 Aug 2015 09:13:20 -0400, "(PeteCresswell)" <x@y.Invalid
wrote:

Per Stormin Mormon:
Does braking with the left foot increase the
risk of accidents?

From what little I have read, there is disagreement on the answer.

The traditional answer is that left-foot braking is, somehow, less safe.

I can't remember the term-of-art for it, but there is a recognized cause
of accidents that consists of the driver stepping on the accelerator
when they were trying to step on the brake.


A driver that ALWAYS uses the right foot to Brake and Accelerate is
the one most likely to use that right foot on the wrong pedal. Someone
who is skilled at left foot braking is far less likely to try to push
the accelerator with the right foot with the intention of braking.
I'm sure there are always exceptions.

And the left foot break idiot(s) who rests his/her foot on the brake
pedal and thus drives around all day with their brake lights on? Not to
mention wearing out the brake pads or (even worse) overheating the
brakes so they fail at an inopportune time...

I've seen it maybe twice in 40 years. It's an imaginary problem. And
for all you know they were using their right foot and had it on both
the gas and brake at the same time... unless you have X-ray vision of
course and could actually see their feet. Or perhaps their brake
light switch was broken making the brake lights come on and off
without any one pushing on the pedal. Someone who rode their brakes
like that "all day" would be emitting smoke.

I see that a lot, so I vote no to left foot braking. Unless you can't
use your right foot, but we are talking about folks without any sort of
handicap (cast, missing foot, etc.).

No one has suggested that people should left foot brake if they don't
have the skills necessary. Some people just aren't trainable or don't
have the ability, or are too easily confused for anything above bare
minimum.

John :-#)#


A few months ago there was an article in the New Yorker about vehicle
defect investigation and vehicle recalls from an engineering perspective
in which it was mentioned that some people think that left-foot braking
may actually be safer because it reduces the chances of a "wrong pedal"
error to nearly zero.

 

[Ashton Crusher]

On Sun, 23 Aug 2015 18:48:37 -0600, nmassello@yahoo.com (Neill
Massello) wrote:

Stormin Mormon <cayoung61@hotmail.com> wrote:

Does braking with the left foot increase the
risk of accidents?

In a panic situation, do left-foot brakers tend to mash down both pedals
(brake and throttle) at the same time?

Seems unlikely. Do pilots mash the bottom part of the Rudder pedal
which also controls the front steerable wheel instead of the top part
of the pedals that controls the brakes when they want to stop on the
ground?

In my experience as a driver and pilot those things just don't happen.
Even if it did, there's no reason it would be any more likely than
right foot brakers mashing the accelerator instead of the brake in a
panic situation. Since with LFB each foot has a defined task instead
of the right foot sharing two tasks there is reason to think it would
be less likely.

 

[Ashton Crusher]

On Sun, 23 Aug 2015 20:16:39 -0500, "Dean Hoffman"
<dh0496@windstream.net> wrote:

On Sun, 23 Aug 2015 07:37:38 -0500, Stormin Mormon <cayoung61@hotmail.com
wrote:



Does braking with the left foot increase the
risk of accidents?


Didn't Toyota make some claims about that? There was a recall for
driver side carpets if I remember correctly.

That was for unintended acceleration, not foot confusion.

 

[rbowman]

On 08/24/2015 04:08 PM, Ashton Crusher wrote:

Seems unlikely. Do pilots mash the bottom part of the Rudder pedal
which also controls the front steerable wheel instead of the top part
of the pedals that controls the brakes when they want to stop on the
ground?

I flew an old Lark and got in the habit of pumping the brakes up on
final. Just another thing to add to the checklist...

 

[Scott Dorsey]

Ashton Crusher <demi@moore.net> wrote:

I've seen it maybe twice in 40 years. It's an imaginary problem. And
for all you know they were using their right foot and had it on both
the gas and brake at the same time... unless you have X-ray vision of
course and could actually see their feet. Or perhaps their brake
light switch was broken making the brake lights come on and off
without any one pushing on the pedal. Someone who rode their brakes
like that "all day" would be emitting smoke.

What if you are mutant with three feet? Then you could operate the brake,
clutch, and accelerator independently. It would make waltzing easier too.
--scott


--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

 

[MJC]

In article <mrhql5$eeb$1@panix2.panix.com>, kludge@panix.com says...

What if you are mutant with three feet? Then you could operate the
brake,
clutch, and accelerator independently. It would make waltzing easier too.
--scott

As in ### "I'm Jake the Peg, deedle, eedle, eedle, um" ###
(http://www.songlyrics.com/rolf-harris/jake-the-peg-lyrics/)

Mike.