HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: neilw@informix.com (Neil Williams)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Re: Tailgaters abound!
Date: 4 Sep 92 18:36:08 GMT
Organization: Informix Software, Inc.

In article <3SEP199214364172@zeus.tamu.edu> jmm2948@zeus.tamu.edu (Jeffrey M. Mayzurk) writes:
>In article <1992Sep03.030018.4358@eng.umd.edu>, russotto@eng.umd.edu (Matthew T. Russotto) writes...
>>In article <1992Aug30.181406.4622@access.digex.com> jimb@access.digex.com (Jim Brooking) writes:
>>>
>>>As a motorcyclist, I should add:  Don't get NEAR the back of a sportbike.
>>>We can outstop just about anything.  (JUST ABOUT...  Don't start arguing.)
>> 
>>If you do, it won't be _your_ lawyer suing the car driver.
>
>Actually, if memory serves me correctly, the law in most states is 
>written so that if you hit someone from behind, for whatever reason,
>you are at fault.  It doesn't matter if the guy in front of you locks 
>up his brakes or whatever -- it's your fault because either you "failed to
>maintain control of vehicle" (as it would say on the accident report), or
>you weren't paying attention or possibly following too closely.  Either way,
>fault is almost automatically assumed by the guy at the rear.

Reminds me of the time I came up behind a big truck at a light.  Evidently
he missed his turn about 30 yards back, because he put it in reverse
and blithely started backing into my front end!  I leaned on the horn
and frantically started looking around and backing up - there was only
one lane going in our direction, but fortunately no one was coming
up behind us.

I don't believe he ever did see me, or hear my horn which I was honking
continueously (sp) for the 30s or so we were backing up.

I was just envisioning me telling the cop: "Really officer, he
just started backing up into me!"

And the truck driver: "This young punk in the sportscar was going
too damn fast and plowed right into my back!"

Followed by my insurance going through the roof....

--Neil

-- 
Neil Williams: neilw@informix.com

Seen on my last trip on United: "If you are seated in an exit row 
and can not (sic) read this card... please notify a crew member."
From: ag@hpopd.pwd.hp.com (andy garton)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Re: what is a "jake brake
Date: 28 Aug 92 10:32:25 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard ISG-SBU-PWD, UK.

I've heard it called an 'exhaust brake' and believe it may actually be some
kind of engine brake???
From: gibbemeyer@cntrol.enet.dec.com (Alan Gibbemeyer)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: LIDAR absorbing paint availablity
Date: 1 Sep 92 16:39:28 GMT
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation

Hi,

Just wondering if painting the license plates and plastic reflectors
with IR-absorbing paint would work to minimize the lock-on distance for
the new LIDAR systems?

If so where can I find some clear paint that absorbs in the IR spectrum.
(Hobby stores and paint stores haven't heard of such a thing)  There
should be some sort of paint that absorbs IR-radiation.  I'm sure that's
what lots of paint protectants do.

Just for info--I know that the ProLaser's are now in use in the city of
Marlboro, Mass if anyone ever drives through there.  Those Marlboro police
LOVE speeders.

Alan Gibbemeyer
gibbemeyer@chieff.enet.dec.com
From: seanr@lobo.rmhs.colorado.edu (Sean Reifschneider)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Re: On the metric system...
Date: 3 Sep 92 16:53:13 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Rocky Mountain High School, Fort Collins, CO

In article <1992Sep2.161928.3485@cbfsb.cb.att.com> ashaw@cbnewsg.cb.att.com (andrew.shaw) writes:
>> In article <972@qa1.WichitaKS.NCR.COM> jhart@qa1.WichitaKS.NCR.COM (Jim Hart) writes:
>>I've often wondered...
>>Since the metric system is based on 10 and switching from the English
>>(American) system would take some getting used to, what a hassle it
>>would be if the metric change-over included **time**!
>
>Interestingly, base 12 is more useful for fractional calculations
>than base 10:
>
Is it just me, or does this remind anyone else of the skit on Saturday Night
Live where Dan Akroid (sp?) was promoting the use of the metric alphabet with
only 10 letters?  The 'Decibet' as I recall.

Sean
From: ehc29224@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (CBR600f)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Ka & Stalker
Date: 30 Aug 92 06:41:09 GMT
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana

Well, it's time to upgrade my radar protection.  I have what would now be
called a "Passport Classic 2700"  Instead of having to buy a new radar 
detector that detects X Y and Ka w/ stalker, i would rather just buy 
some ad on component that would just detect Ka w/stalker.  Is there anything
like this on the market?  I will be buying the laser detector from W]

from Escort.  This laser unit just adds on to whatever existing unit u have.
Wouldn't there be something like this for Ka w/stalker on the market?


			many thanks,

			eric

p.s.  have there been any comparitive ratings between laser detectors?
From: K.Buck@ma30.bull.com (Ken Buck)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Re: Mountain driving and brake failure
Date: 31 Aug 92 16:11:00 GMT
Reply-To: K.Buck@ma30.bull.com
Organization: Bull HN Information Systems Inc.
Originator: buck@granite.ma30.bull.com

In article <1992Aug31.075450.14889@colorado.edu> drew@ophelia.cs.colorado.edu
   (Drew Eckhardt) writes:
>Let's say you're driving in the mountains, up some moutain passes.
>We're talking real mountain passes, above 12,000 feet,
>that may involve 4wd-only, single lanes and no guard rails, that aren't 
>open every year because some years in August they still have a 5-10' 
>snow bank on top.  One side will be rock, the other a nice long freefall.

gee, this sounds familiar.  we travelled a bunch of the old
Colorado Midland and other abandoned railroad roadbeds that were
exactly like this, in a couple of different VW busses (a '65 and
later a '71).

never had the brakes fail :-)  but the engine did stall once while
climbing a steep hairpin with a nice thousand-foot drop on the edge.
pushing the thing around so it pointed downhill again was kind of
fun (Not).  we were able to roll-start it ok, though.


>To make things more interesting, let's assume that your brakes 
>fail.  What do you do?

hopefully the emergency/parking brake can contribute to the stopping
equation, but you didn't say what kind of brake failure we were
experiencing :-)


>How much braking can you get if you turn off the ignition?

depends, probably not much if you're going fast enough to strip
the gears when the engine stalls  :-(
also, if the shifter just pops out of gear, that'll make things
just as fun...
the problem is, you probably won't have noticed that the brakes have
failed until you're going fast enough to make stopping by stalling or
ramming it into a lower gear a problem.

of course, the unpleasant but usually reliable solution is to steer
gently (ha!) into the cliff wall at your side.  it may take off some paint,
and maybe some metal, and maybe some wheels, but it's better than the
alternative of flying over the edge...


>How bad is this on the engine, assuming that one wanted to test 
>it out in a non-critical situation?

boy, you really are looking for excitement, aren't you?!
the engine isn't going to like it that much, depending on how high you
end up revving, but what _really_ won't like it is the transmission
(*crunch*).


here's a fun variation:
you're going downhill in your all-new high tech vehicle with automatic
engine rev-limiter (but of course, no brakes).  you're in second gear
and moving faster and faster, but for whatever reason, you can't jam it
into first (maybe it just _won't go_).  as engine revs creep past 8000RPM,
the rev-limiter decides to save your engine by shutting off the fuel.
now what?

(i assume at this point the engine stays shut off unless we take it out
of gear, and the vehicle just keeps rolling even faster? sort of the
equivalent to just shutting the thing off manually, i guess.)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: pvmason@cco.caltech.edu (Peter V. Mason)
Subject: Re: On the metric system...
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 00:29:32 GMT

>sense than litres/100km.  BTW, keep that hours/100km quite or the politicians
>will be having them put in our cars.  I can see the cops writing the tickets...
>"do you realize you took too little time for your last 100km?"
>
>

When East Germany still existed, you could drive several corridors
from West Germany to Berlin.  The East Germans did indeed time you from
the moment you left the entry point to the moment you arrived at the
exit point.  (as I recall, it was stamped on the transit card you had
to carry.  Too short a time, and bingo, a ticket.  They were also very
suspicious of too long a time, because you might have driven off the 
autobahn or met an east German and given him a few necessities of life.

Peter Mason
Substitute fancy signature block here
From: geoff@ITcorp.com (Geoff Kuenning)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Re: Tailgaters abound!
Date: 1 Sep 92 09:59:01 GMT
Organization: Interrupt Technology Corporation, Manhattan Beach, CA

In article <1992Aug27.182155.3578@ctp.com> bpita@ctp.com (Bob Pitas) writes:

> Just remember that the car in front of you takes just as long
> as you do to stop, so unless you're talking about coming around corners
> and suddenly finding stationary objects in your path, you have roughly
> twice the distance you outlined.

Unfortunately, this sort of thing (suddenly finding stationary objects
in your path) does happen occasionally, in a number of ways -- things
falling off the backs of trucks, careening autos bouncing off of
embankments, stopped tractors, head-on collisions, etc.

When I'm in my "paranoid" mode, I drive under the assumption that the
guy in front of me may magically turn into a brick wall at any moment.
Extreme, to be sure, but it makes it pretty hard for him to do
anything that hurts me.

Expect the unexpected.
-- 
	Geoff Kuenning   geoff@ITcorp.com   uunet!desint!geoff
From: moudgill@cs.cornell.edu ( Mayan Moudgill)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Re: Illegal Acceleration?
Summary: Well, probably can do it in less....
Date: 28 Aug 92 13:31:51 GMT
Organization: Cornell Univ. CS Dept, Ithaca NY 14853

Whoops....if you've seen my article claiming less than 2.7 is improbable,
well I forgot to take one thing into account....

Aerodynamics.

You can build cars so that they behave like plane wing, only in reverse.
So the downward force could be a heck of a lot more than 1g.

:)
Mayan
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: tedebear@leland.Stanford.EDU (Theodore Chen)
Subject: Re: Indy 800
Organization: DSG, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 92 03:56:04 GMT

In article <25743@dog.ee.lbl.gov> jtchew@csa3.lbl.gov writes:
Somebody wrote:
>>WE ARE GOING METRIC...eating away at the foundation of our culture...
>Please... let's argue about important things, like whether a Mustang
>is better than a Camaro.  I'm old enough to think more intuitively
>in king's-toes and barleycorns than in SI units in most areas of life,
>but that's no reason to hobble the next generation in this manner.

you realize that this will have serious repercussions for drag racers.
somehow, "what'll she do in the 0.4 kilometer?" doesn't sound right.
and i don't think many people are going to start saying "there's no
substitute for cubic centimeters."

i can think in metric just fine.  for engineering stuff, we've always
used SI.  actually, i think we should have gone metric a long time
ago.  but there's a lot of tradition... the 302 has been around nearly
as long as i have (when exactly did it come out?).  actually, i came of
age when people were starting to talk about hp/liter and 5-liter V-8s. 
the rage was twincam 16-valve engines and fuel injection rather than
big blocks and quad carbs.  a six-pack was made by budweiser, not chrysler.

i think that if we go metric, the NMSL should be 100 kmh - a nice and
round number.  better than 88, though not as good as 200.  (if 100 is good,
then 200 is twice as good.)
-teddy
From: ham@wam.umd.edu (Scott Richard Rosenfeld)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Re: Flashing to Pass: An Observation
Date: 26 Aug 92 16:37:11 GMT
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park

In article <1992Aug26.014511.23047@eng.umd.edu> russotto@eng.umd.edu (Matthew T. Russotto) writes:
>In article <1992Aug24.024418.24310@leland.Stanford.EDU> tedebear@leland.Stanford.EDU (Theodore Chen) writes:
>>In article <23947@oasys.dt.navy.mil> bense@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Ronald Bense) writes:
>>>As for backups, try a truck accident at the beltway on i-95 north. The
>>>backups have been reported to start in Frederick, which is approximately
>>>45 miles south of the beltway. Or yesterdays twin accidents on the beltway,
>>          ^^^^^
>>>causing two sections of 17-25 mile stopped traffic, as the beltway was
>>>shut down in 2 places. (this was a first in 3 years for me)
>>
>>that's funny, i could have sworn i drove north from d.c. to frederick
>>yesterday.
>
>Northwest, and it certainly wasn't on I-95.  I-270 is more likely.
>
>-- 


Not Frederick.  Fredericksburg, VA, about 45 miles south of the beltway
on Interstate 95.  That should clear things up a little...

Scott
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: dicleli@trix.genie.uottawa.ca (Samuel Dicle)
Subject: How to shift without depressing the clutch?
Organization: Universite D'Ottawa
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 21:48:47 GMT

I am a new driver. I don't know how to shift gears without depressing
the clutch. Does this hurt the car? Anyone could help would be
appreciated.
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: russotto@eng.umd.edu (Matthew T. Russotto)
Subject: Re: Mountain driving and brake failure
Date: Thu, 03 Sep 92 02:58:07 GMT
Organization: College of Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park

In article <1992Aug31.184414.20283@berlioz.nsc.com> alan@lancaster.nsc.com (The Hepburn) writes:
>any power assist will be gone.  Steering will require a lot more effort if you
>have power steering.  Another option, which can be used in conjunction with others 
>is to use the rocky side of the road to scrub off speed.  Careful contact with the 
>rocks can do wonders for your speed! Again, considering the alternative, any sheet
>metal damage should be acceptable.

Is there is some possibility of the car bouncing off the rocky side
and heading over the brink?
-- 
Matthew T. Russotto	russotto@eng.umd.edu	russotto@wam.umd.edu
Some news readers expect "Disclaimer:" here.
Just say NO to police searches and seizures.  Make them use force.
(not responsible for bodily harm resulting from following above advice)
Xref: sparky rec.autos.driving:5256 rec.autos:21376
From: wwein@scott.skidmore.edu (warren wein)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving,rec.autos
Subject: Re: Driving school sought
Date: 3 Sep 92 18:57:49 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs NY


	I would suggest looking at Skip Barber. They're located in
Conneticut and have a wide variety of courses available.  They also
advertise in the Car mags.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Warren Wein

'83 Audi 5000s: sport sedan from hell!!!
'86 Toyota MR2: a real sports car, fun! fun! and more FUN!
'90 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX: "Atomic M&M"  Is this thing glued to the
                                          road? 	

" Insurance in Brooklyn costs how much ?! "

e-mail: wwein@skidmore.edu
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------



 
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: moudgill@cs.cornell.edu ( Mayan Moudgill)
Subject: Re: Illegal Acceleration?
Summary: Min 0-60 time is 2.7 sec
Organization: Cornell Univ. CS Dept, Ithaca NY 14853
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 13:24:29 GMT

Just as a matter of curiousity --- I think that the best acceleration
a wheeled vehicle can get is 1g (and that's assuming tires with a
coefficient of friction of 1). So, min time to get from 0-60 is 2.7 sec.
Are there any wheeled vehicles out there that claim a time lower than
that?

:)
Mayan
P.S. The physics:
Maximum force exertable by wheels 
F = u * m * g
Where:
u is coefficient of friction (<= 1)
m is mass of car
g is gravitational acceleration

Max acceleration of car
a = F/m
  = u * g
  = g (assuming u = 1)

t = v / a
  = v / g
  = 27 / 10   ( assuming 60 miles/hr = 27 m/sec, g = 10 m/sec^2)
  = 2.7

Actually, 60 miles/hr = 26.8 m/s g = 9.8 m/s^2 ==> t = 2.73 sec
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: wales@valeria.cs.ucla.edu (Rich Wales)
Subject: Re: On the metric system...
Reply-To: wales@CS.UCLA.EDU (Rich Wales)
Organization: UCLA CS Department, Los Angeles
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 92 01:38:11 GMT

Jim Hart wrote:

	Since the metric system is based on 10 . . .  what a hassle it
	would be if the metric change-over included **time**! . . .
	Now, if an "hour" was 100 minutes (or whatever) and a minute
	was 100 or 10 whatevers, that would make a day, logically 10
	"hours" long . . .

This very thing was in fact instituted during the French Revolution, but
it was abandoned fairly quickly (I don't remember how quickly).

	. . . and a year 10 "months".

A new calendar was also adopted during the French Revolution.  It didn't
have 10 months, but its 12 months were all 30 days long (with the extra
days added at the end of the year as needed).  I think this lasted a bit
longer than the 10-hour day, but it too was dropped.

--
Rich Wales <wales@CS.UCLA.EDU> // UCLA Computer Science Department
3531 Boelter Hall // Los Angeles, CA 90024-1596 // +1 (310) 825-5683
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: jwg@iedv7.acd.com ( Jim Grey )
Subject: Re: tires
Organization: Applied Computing Devices, Inc., Terre Haute IN
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 13:25:16 GMT

In article <1992Aug26.075805.1650@mr.med.ge.com> bednarek@picard.med.ge.com (Dennis Bednarek Mfg 4-6971) writes:
>
>
>I'm sold onn GoodYear Eagles,  I have had them on my Turismo, Chevy Van,
>and Corsica.  They repeatedly last over 40,000 miles improve cornering
>ability, and traction.  I ocassionally stray away from the Eagles but so
>far have been disappointed every time.

My 89 Beretta came with Eagle GAs.  I hated them.    In rain and snow, my car
was absolutely all over the road.  I ditched the car several times one winter,
when I had about 35Kmiles on the tires.  On fresh snow or rain, I just couldn't
keep the car on the road.  I learned to HATE braking in the rain.  I'd start
to brake for a light a half-block early, cuz if I didn't, sure shootin' I'd be
through the intersection.
 
At 40Kmiles, I ditched the GAs and replaced them with Michelins, standard 
radials.  It was strange to get in the car the first time after installing
the tires, because it felt like I was suddenly driving a Jeep - those tires
made it feel like I added serious height!  But those suckers grip like no
other tire I've ever driven.  
 
jim grey
jwg@acd4.acd.com
From: tafrakes@athena.mit.edu (T. Andy Frakes)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Power sources for radar dectectors
Keywords: radar detectors
Date: 4 Sep 92 19:25:52 GMT
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Does anyone have any advice on power sources for radar detectors
other than the standard lighter jack.  Can you run it straight from
the battery with a fused lead?  What about map lights, etc?  Could
someone who's done this give some advice on a plan of action (i.e.
installation pitfalls, etc)?  Thanks.

-Andy
From: Sstevens@oregon.uoregon.edu (Shirien Stevens)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: left lane for big trucks
Date: 1 Sep 92 16:12:57 GMT
Article-I.D.: oregon.Sstevens.122
Organization: University of Oregon

Yeah, I thought of that, too, a while ago, as I watched grandma and pa 
hogging the center lane; they didn't want to be in the far right lane:  too 
many on-off merges; they didn't want to be in the fast lane, so they stuck 
to the middle lane.  Big trucks can't go out into the far left lane, so when 
they have to merge left to avoid vehicles entering the interstate, they 
often cannot do so because Granny is going too slowly.  Granny freaks out 
upon  seeing the huge dinosaur on her back tail, trying to slow, and angrily 
honks, wondering why the brontosaurus doesn't get the heck out of her way 
and go into the far left lane, if he's in such a hurry.....  But of course, 
in some states, they can't be in that far left lane.

So I thought:  let's just change the whole scenario, and have the big trucks 
mostly stay in the far left lane, so that they don't have to deal with the 
on-off mergers.....

But then my sweetie, a driver of many years, pointed out that when they did 
change lanes for passing, etc., they'd be changing to lanes to the right 
much more often, and they don't see their right hand spaces as well as they 
do their left-hand spaces.......

So it was a good try, but no cookies.
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
From: jern@visual1.jhuapl.edu (Bob Jernigan)
Subject: Re: What is a "jake brake"?
Keywords: brake
Reply-To: jern@visual1.jhuapl.edu (Bob Jernigan)
Organization: Johns Hopkins University
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 92 12:13:13 GMT

In article <thos.715317483@suite.sw.oz.au>, thos@suite.sw.oz.au (Thomas Cohen) writes:

|> I  am constantly amazed at the number of times I see a truck leave
|> a nice gap in front coming up to traffic lights, only for some moron
|> in a car change lanes into the truck's braking area.

Trucks and cars on the same road is a poor mixture.  In the governments'
typical way of getting things upside down trucks are ofter banned from the left
or "fast" lane of interstate.  A real blue ticket ride in the Washington DC area
is to try to get to an exit when the right two lanes are crowded with trucks.
Lets give the left lane to the trucks, especially the thru traffic.
From: hhaas@RAIL9000.gatech.edu (Harry P. Haas)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Re: LIDAR, License plates, and ECM
Date: 31 Aug 92 19:03:47 GMT
Organization: Georgia Tech Research Institute

In article <w_hnc6=@dixie.com> jgd@dixie.com (John De Armond) writes:
>hh2@prism.gatech.EDU (Hap Haas) writes:
>>One way to absorb this return is to cover the trihedrals with a polarized
>>sheet.
>>If anyone has a hobby laser and a pair of polaroid
>>sunglasses, we could check it out . . . 
>Doesn't work.
>I suspect the reason
>is the glass beads form more of a specular reflector than a trihedral
>and thus return random polarization.
>John De Armond, WD4OQC               |Interested in high performance mobility?  

Oh well.

Thanks for trying.

hh
--
Harry Haas  GTRI/RIDL/SB    |    Georgia Tech Research Institute
Research Engineer II        |    225 North Ave.
hh2@prism.gatech.edu        |    Atlanta Georgia, 30332
"I know engineers . . . . they *love* to change things"  - Bones
From: singh@r-node.gts.org (Rajendra Singh)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Driving to NYC
Date: 27 Aug 92 15:54:32 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Public Access UNIX Information System

Hello:

I am planning to drive down to New York City soon.  I have never done so
before, and I was wondering if anyone out there can suggest the best
route to take, not necessarily the fastest, but the easiest.  I am
driving from Toronto (Canada).

Thanks in advance.
-- 
Raj (singh@r-node.gts.org)
E-Mail:  tcomsing@bluffs.scar.utoronto.ca (University of Toronto)
From: ggg@hpsad.sad.hp.com (Gary Goodlund)
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 21:58:36 GMT
Subject: Re: Mountain driving and brake failure
Organization: HP Signal Analysis Division - Rohnert Park, CA