Self-stopping car tours Western Washington

ercant said on July 30, 2010 at 3:33 PM

I am one the drivers who tested new S60 yesterday. I am really impressed with the safety technology Volvo put into the new S60. It is leap forward. I agree that a driver should always pay attention to the road and be in defensive driving mode. However road and weather conditions may not always cooperate with you on this. These systems work in any light condition. In my opinion, Volvo is doing a great job with these technologies. They are trying to reduce the reaction time and collision severity.

kingcountryvoter said on July 30, 2010 at 1:46 PM

So do the pedistrians get to pay the $2000 for this? Given the choice I would upgrade the stereo. Useless technology as it isn't needed since the cell phone law was passed.

emansnas said on July 30, 2010 at 11:36 AM

A few years ago near my neighborhood a teen age kid stepped off the curb right in front of an on coming car. The woman driving (at the speed limit) had no time to react and hit and killed the kid. The kid's family and friends went screaming to the local council about what a great kid he was and demanded that a radar controlled lighted crosswalk be put in at the location where the kid was killed. This was done at considerable expense. They all went away happy and self congratulatory. The crosswalk's location is such that it is seldom or never used (I've never seen it used). The woman who hit the kid was grief stricken and remains emotionally damaged. As far as I know little if anything was done by nearby schools to increase awareness in kids, and I still see teen age kids frequently stepping out onto the roadway without looking. Yep, that crosswalk is a fine monument alright - but a monument to what I'm not exactly sure.

dakotanative said on July 30, 2010 at 9:27 AM

I think the system is a great idea. Not so much to save stupid pedestrians, but to save drivers the hassle of dealing with killing stupid pedestrians. Not all are stupid, but usually it is the stupid ones being run over.

omgrofl said on July 30, 2010 at 6:35 AM

I think this is a great concept and I sincerely hope it helps save lives. However, has anybody else noticed how pedestrian's are increasingly ASSUMING they have the right-of-way and often walk out into traffic without looking? When I was growing up, I was taught to stop and look both ways before stepping off the curb and then checking again as I proceed to cross the street. Maybe between the two, live can be saved as well. TEACH YOUR KIDS TO LOOK BOTH WAYS AND THEN CHECK AGAIN!

hologram5 said on July 30, 2010 at 6:35 AM

@rite2post: Good post, I agree completely. Complacency is a serious problem while driving. Most get too comfortable and don't pay attention.

dieselmatt said on July 29, 2010 at 11:41 PM

I like the when Volvo had the media come down to watch it test the system and it drove into the back of a truck, just like Mercedes with the S-Class a few years ago when they wanted to show off their car stopping on its own, forgetting to turn the system on before the test is an issue though.

rite2post said on July 29, 2010 at 10:45 PM

I can see a really bad negative consequence with this vehicle. If you let your guard down for just one second, and your speed is above 25 mph, there will be a dead pedestrian. Since you rely on this system to work at low speed, you place less attention on the road and more on being distracted with other things like a cell phone. This system may seem really cool, but it cause people to become lazy. If you're drive, then drive. Nothing really innovative about this, only the Lexus self parallel parking is cool.