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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCv4UZHkAdo The car was wrong for driving up to the cycle box. But the cyclist was even more wrong for catching up to him and insulting him (called him a fucking prick). In the end, I think they both got what they deserve. Cyclist - A punch to the ground Driver - A nice shiny Audi to drive in :stirthepot:
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Traffic management: APPlied logic
un sujet a posté mtlurb dans Urbanisme, architecture et technologies urbaines
Traffic management APPlied logic Sep 13th 2011, 16:10 by The Economist online TRAFFIC lights are crucial tools for regulating traffic flow. They are not, however, perfect. Drivers exchange the gridlock that would happen at unmanaged junctions for a pattern of stop-go movement that can still be frustrating, and which burns more fuel than a smooth passage would. Creating such a smooth passage means adjusting a vehicle’s speed so that it always arrives at the lights when they are green. That is theoretically possible, but practically hard. Roadside signs wired to traffic lights can help get the message across a couple hundred metres from a junction, but such signs are expensive, and have not been widely deployed. Margaret Martonosi and Emmanouil Koukoumidis at Princeton University, and Li-Shiuan Peh at the Massachussets Institute of Technology, however, have an idea that could make the process cheaper and more effective. Instead of a hardwired network of signs, they propose to use mobile-phone apps. For a driver to benefit, he must load the team’s software, dubbed SignalGuru, into his phone and then mount it on a special bracket attached to the inside of his car’s windscreen, with the camera lens pointing forwards. SignalGuru is designed to detect traffic lights and track their status as red, amber or green. It broadcasts this information to other phones in the area that are fitted with the same software, and—if there are enough of them—the phones thus each know the status of most of the lights around town. Using this information, SignalGuru is able to calculate the traffic-light schedule for the region and suggest the speed at which a driver should travel in order to avoid running into red lights. Tests in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where five drivers were asked to follow the same route for three hours, and in Singapore, where eight drivers were asked to follow one of two routes for 30 minutes, revealed that SignalGuru was capable of predicting traffic-light activity with an accuracy of 98.2% and 96.3% respectively, in the two cities. This was particularly impressive because in Cambridge the lights shifted, roughly half-way through the test, from their off-peak schedule to their afternoon-traffic schedule, while in Singapore lights are adaptive, using detectors embedded under the road to determine how much traffic is around and thus when a signal should change. In neither case was SignalGuru fooled. Fuel consumption fell, too—by about 20%. SignalGuru thus reduces both frustration and fuel use, and makes commuting a slightly less horrible experience. -
Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/School+crashes+into+building+Penfield/3099570/story.html#ixzz0pfhIUE1k Just another reason why cyclists should be forced to abide by the exact same laws as drivers. What if someone had been killed?
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Montreal snowplow driver suspended for burying car Vehicle's owner had been in argument over parking space Last Updated: Monday, February 2, 2009 | 11:29 AM ET CBC News A Montreal couple found their car covered with snow after an argument with a plow driver over the weekend near McGill University.A Montreal couple found their car covered with snow after an argument with a plow driver over the weekend near McGill University. (Kristy Rich/CBC) A Montreal snowplow driver has been suspended for dumping a whopping pile of snow onto a car after a dispute over a parking space. Now the couple who found their car looking more like an igloo than a sedan want an apology from the driver. "I think [he] should be sorry for what he did. He caused a lot of trouble for a lot of people," Roy Dudley, the owner of the car, told CBC News. On Friday night, Dudley parked his Volkswagen Jetta on Lorne Crescent near his home east of McGill University. A private snow-removal crew contracted by the city was clearing snow off one side of the street, so Dudley chose a spot on the other side. 'It was amazing how much snow there was on it. Obviously, it was deliberately done.' —Car owner Roy Dudley Dudley said one of the drivers ordered him to move his car because it could get in the way of their efforts to clear the narrow roadway. However, Dudley refused, saying there were no signs prohibiting him from parking there. The plow driver's boss arrived on the scene and suggested a truce: He offered to clear out a space for Dudley's car on a street nearby. Satisfied, Dudley moved his car to the new space and returned home. But he awoke Saturday to a frosty surprise. The entire street was clear except for two mountains of hard-packed, dirty snow covering his car. "It was amazing how much snow there was on it. Obviously, it was deliberately done," said Dudley. Roy Dudley found his car snowed-in on Lorne Crescent in Montreal.Roy Dudley found his car snowed-in on Lorne Crescent in Montreal. (Kristy Rich/CBC) His wife, Margaret Thompson, was dumbfounded. She said it would have been impossible for the couple to shovel out their car because the snow was so hard and compact. "Why would they do that?" she asked. "I realize their job is stressful and everyone is on their case about clearing the snow. But … where else are we supposed to park? Parking down here is really hard in the winter." City orders contractor to dislodge car The couple called police and the city, and by Saturday evening a city supervisor arrived on the scene. The supervisor ordered the contractor to clear the snow off the car. The crew returned Sunday and used a front-end loader and a tow truck to free the car from its snowy tomb. 'That is a rare problem, but it could happen. We have a very large operation.'—Yves Girard, Montreal's director of snow removal "I was happy that in front of my eyes, less than 24 hours later, the problem was being taken care of," said Dudley. Montreal's director of snow removal, Yves Girard, described the incident as an isolated one. "That is a rare problem, but it could happen. We have a very large operation," said Girard. "We have 3,000 employees, many pieces of equipment working on sidewalks and streets, and sometimes there are complaints because people don't want to move their cars." Entreprise Michaudville, a private snow-removal company, employed the driver. Gilles Gauthier, the driver's supervisor, told CBC News he'd never before seen a situation like this involving one of his employees. He said the company is taking responsibility for the incident and has suspended the driver for the rest of the season. Montreal has received near-record levels of snowfall this winter. Click on the link for pictures: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2009/02/02/mtl-plowrage-0202.html
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US DOT Report Confirms Speed Not Major Accident Cause
un sujet a posté Malek dans Discussions générales
US DOT Report Confirms Speed Not Major Accident Cause US Department of Transportation study finds only five percent of crashes caused by excessive speed. As lawmakers around the country continue to consider speed limit enforcement as the primary traffic safety measure, the most comprehensive examination of accident causation in thirty years suggests this focus on speed may be misplaced. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigated 5,471 injury crashes that took place across the country between July 3, 2005 and December 31, 2007. Unlike previous studies automatically generated from computerized data found in police reports, researchers in this effort were dispatched to accident scenes before they were cleared. This allowed a first-hand comparison of physical evidence with direct interviews of witnesses and others involved in the incident. NHTSA evaluated the data to determine the factors most responsible for the collision. "The critical reason is determined by a thorough evaluation of all the potential problems related to errors attributable to the driver, the condition of the vehicle, failure of vehicle systems, adverse environmental conditions, and roadway design," the report explained. "The critical pre-crash event refers to the action or the event that puts a vehicle on the course that makes the collision unavoidable, given reasonable driving skills and vehicle handling of the driver." Overall, vehicles "traveling too fast for conditions" accounted for only five percent of the critical pre-crash events (page 23). More significant factors included 22 percent driving off the edge of a road, or 11 percent who drifted over the center dividing line. When driver error was the primary cause of a crash, researchers went further to identify the "critical reason" behind that error. Distraction and not paying attention to the road accounted for 41 percent of the errors. Ten percent of errors were attributed to drivers lacking proper driving skills and either freezing up or overcompensating behind the wheel. Eight percent were asleep, having a heart attack or otherwise incapacitated. A similar eight percent of errors were attributed to driving too fast for conditions and five percent driving too fast for a curve (page 25). The NHTSA findings are mirrored in accident statistics provided by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. The agency's most recent report lists "speed too fast" as the driver error that caused 2.9 percent of crashes in 2007 (view chart, see page 19). More accidents -- 3.8 percent -- were caused in Virginia by drivers falling asleep or becoming ill behind the wheel. Another 14.6 percent were caused by bad weather such as fog, rain and snow. "Speed too fast" was a more significant factor -- 13.7 percent -- in fatal accidents, as compared to 18 percent of fatal accidents involving alcohol and 9.6 percent caused by sleepiness and fatigue (PDF File view full Virginia report in 1.9mb PDF format). In the NHTSA and Virginia reports, "too fast for conditions" does not mean exceeding the posted speed limit. A vehicle driving 10 MPH on an iced-over road with a 45 MPH limit would be traveling too fast for the conditions if it lost control, but it would not have exceeded the speed limit. The UK Department for Transport isolated cases where only the posted limit was exceeded and found that, "Exceeding speed limit was attributed to 3 percent of cars involved in accidents" (view UK report). "Four of the six most frequently reported contributory factors involved driver or rider error or reaction," the Road Casualties Great Britain 2007 report stated. "For fatal accidents the most frequently reported contributory factor was loss of control, which was involved in 35 per cent of fatal accidents." A full copy of the NHTSA report is available in a 400k PDF file at the source link below. Source: PDF File National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey (U.S. Department of Transportation, 7/15/2008) ----------------------------------------- Bon les politiciens devraient lire ça avant de proposer d'autres conneries du genre 40-50kmh en ville, et notre 100kmh national. -
Taken For A Ride In Montreal Warning: Loyal reader ripped off by taxi driver at Montreal Airport. by Wendy Perrin Frequent globehopper Joe_Kayaker reports that he was "taken for a ride" when he landed at Montreal International recently: "It was late in the evening, the shuttle bus to the Airport Novotel had stopped running at 10:00 p.m., and none of the taxis would take me on such a short trip. Grrr. I finally found a taxi driver who would take me. As we were driving to the hotel, he said he didn't understand why the Novotel was called an "airport hotel," since it's not really that close to the airport. We drove for quite a while, and the ride cost $30. When checking into the hotel, I asked how much a cab ride from the airport is supposed to cost and was told, 'No more than $15.' I overpaid by only 15 bucks (well, Loonies), but how does one avoid being taken in by unscrupulous taxi drivers? Thanks, Joe" Joe, you paid $15 in what I call "tourist tax." I've been taken on circuitous routes and overcharged by cab drivers in many a city -- Cairo, Beijing, Moscow, New York -- but I have to say I'm surprised to hear of this occurring in orderly and lawful Montreal. Here's my test-driven advice for avoiding unscrupulous airport cabbies: 1) Ask the hotel in advance how long a taxi ride it is from the airport and what the cost should be. The Hotel Novotel Montreal Aeroport's web site says it's "just 10 minutes" from the airport and provides a map of the route (see left). 2) Before getting into a cab, ask the driver how much the ride will cost. If he quotes a price higher than what the hotel told you, offer your price. Negotiate and reach an agreement before stepping into the cab. 3) When you arrive at your destination, if the driver demands a higher price than was agreed to, ask for a receipt with the driver's name on it, write down his ID number (make known to him that you're recording it), and take out your camera to snap a picture of him and the car. Often, as soon as you pull out the camera, the driver will drop the price. One more thought: If the hotel has a doorman or bellman, see if he can hold the cab while you notify the front desk that you're in the process of being ripped off. I've never done this myself, but I bring it up because a few weeks ago a hotel in Madrid happened to suggest just this. When I called the Tryp Atocha a few days before my arrival in Spain to confirm my online reservation and find out what the length and cost of a cab ride from the airport should be, the front-desk clerk volunteered that if the driver tried to overcharge I should tell the front desk and they would deal with him for me. I got the impression that they had done so for other guests in the past. Hope this helps, Joe. Always good to hear from you. http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/blogs/perrinpost/2008/04/taken-for-a-rid.html?mbid=rss_cntperrin
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Driving in Montreal is an experience Posted By Marshall, Scott Updated 1 hour ago Driving in different places can be difficult to many people. The fear of not knowing where you're going can be very overwhelming. Roads you've never seen before and higher than normal traffic can lead to high anxiety. I was recently in Montreal and if you've ever driven there you'll already know it's an experience of a lifetime. The cab ride from the airport to my hotel was interesting to start with. The driver didn't use his turn signals. Most people will use them at least most of the time. It lets other road users know your intentions. In Montreal, it lets other drivers know what your plans are early enough so they can speed up and block your move. If you're in Montreal you don't signal. That way nobody knows your moves. We all know that fuel prices are higher than we would all like, so the drivers in Montreal decided to work together to save fuel. They follow each other very closely so they can cut down on wind resistance. Race car drivers call this 'drafting'. The cab driver was driving close enough to the traffic in front of them that it looked like they were being towed by the driver in front. I thought it was very nice of the lead driver, or drivers, to avoid suddenly stopping. That was nice of them, don't you think? Most drivers would understand they need to have some response time from the driver in front if they stop suddenly. Wouldn't you? You should leave more of a following distance if the driver ahead of you is unsure of where they are going so they'll have enough room to turn around as necessary. As a side note, following further back also give you more to stop if the lead driver stops suddenly. We should all know that, right? Now, I enjoy playing and watching sports like a lot of people do. I like the competitiveness of sports. Being a pedestrian in Montreal seems like it's a sport to many of the drivers in Montreal, though. When the cab driver was driving along the road and was about to enter an intersection, a pedestrian stepped off the curb right in front of us. There was no horn honking and only a slight swerve was done to avoid hitting them. Maybe you need to drive as close as possible to a pedestrian when you're driving there? I didn't see the rules for this one, so maybe I'm wrong. I may have exaggerated my thoughts here, but every event did actually happen. The bottom line here is no matter where you drive, keep space around your vehicle and communicate to other road users. Plan your route so you know where your turns are and get into the proper lane well in advance. If you do all of this, you'll be safe driving - even while in Montreal! Scott Marshall is the director of training for Young Drivers of Canada. He has spent almost 20 years in driver training. For questions or comments regarding this column e-mail Scott directly at smarshall@youngdrivers.com http://www.wellandtribune.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=920904
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Punisher 2 Shooting in Montreal Movie The Punisher 2 Posted By: Michael / Source Related News : Comic Flicks , Crime , Thriller Movie News , According to my anonymous scooper who has proven to be very accurate in his past scoops, The Punisher 2 film will be shooting in Montreal very soon. It invites alot of questions however. For instance who will play the Punisher now that Thomas Jane has quite the film. According to DarkHorizons Punisher 2 has a new director and its an interesting choice. Lexi Alexander who directed Green Street Hooligans has reportedly been tapped for the film. I am not excited at all for Punisher 2. With Thomas Jane having quit the project and the first one having sucked horribly. Thomas Jane reportedly sent a letter to AICN letting them know that he has dropped out of Punisher 2. He has lost faith in the project and feels it does not do the fans justice, so he is dropping out of the project. And no doubt burning some bridges in the way he is coming out (if the letter is legit ) Quote: What I won't do is spend months of my life sweating over a movie that I just don't believe in. I’ve always loved the Marvel guys, and wish them well. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to search for a film that one day might stand with all those films that the fans have asked me to watch. The Entire letter is here. BigFanBoy.com talked to Thomas Jane about Punisher 2 and a very cool bombshell got dropped. The writer who worked on the Pirates of the Caribbean films Stuart Beattie is on board to write the new Punisher film. He also worked on a draft of 30 days of Night so to say this is some kick ass news is an understatement. The sequel is going to have a Taxi Driver feel according to Thomas Jane. Quote: "It's more of a Taxi Driver kind of a feel which I think we'll go for in the second movie," he says. "I think that's where the first one succeeded, where we were doing more realistic type stuff. And if we can, [we should] get away from the lighter aspects of the first film. Because I think that's where the movie failed." We will see how it progresses. The big question is where Marvel stands on the sequel, and not so much what Thomas Jane wants
