[PLUG-TALK] Re: [PLUG] OT License plates and covers.

[Michael C. Robinson]

> On the other hand Jeme, if you believe that a pedestrian has the right
> to step out in front of a moving vehicle then you maybe are unfamiliar
> with Oregon's law covering this. Any pedestrian crossing a street may
> not step onto the street if there is less than 50 feet between him and
> the oncoming vehicle. That is on a city street where the speed limit is
> 30 mph. I personally think that isn't far enough. I would like to see at
> least 75 feet or even 100 feet just to increase the margin of safety to
> offset the massive stupidity of pedestrians. I can't tell you how many
> times I have seen people dart out onto the street in the middle of the
> block because they just can't spare the time to walk to the crosswalk
> and LEGALLY cross the street. Cars slamming on their brakes to avoid the
> idiot is such a wonderful sight to see. Sorry, but my life is worth more
> than the few seconds that I have to spend waiting at a light to cross
> safely. I would think you feel the same way about your life.
 
Don't discount mental illness from the standpoint that some people
aren't responsible if they step in front of a moving vehicle.  

In some ways it would be neat if computer technology got to the 
point where your car could drive itself, the driver only having 
to tell it where to go.  Better yet, if our cars could 
hover, we could fly over pedestrians in the street.  Until 
there is an economical shuttle that uses some form of anti 
gravity engine operating: cheaply, with low environmental 
impact, and at reasonable speeds, there will be cars, 
trucks, trains, and airplanes.  The other possibility is
transporters but they are really an ethical can of worms
if you think about the whole idea of taking someone's
molecules apart and reassembling them.

Trains are underutilized where one of the biggest problems I 
see with them today is that the infrastructure is in poor shape.
Some of the tracks are in such poor shape that you can't go
over 25 miles an hour.  One change I would like to see is a
ban on triple trailers, they're nothing more than
a more dangerous version of trains operating less 
efficiently.  The railroads have seen a lot of automation,
unfortunately, the lack of interest in trains in this 
country in contrast to Europe is quite striking.  The 
Europeans not only have trains, they have train buses,
hybrid vehicles that go on track to charge up batteries 
and then come off tracks to travel down ordinary streets.
 
For long trips, or even for 30 to 45 minute commutes, driving onto 
a flat bed car and letting a train take you has a certain appeal 
to it.  You have your car that way for convenience, but you don't
lose the benefit of mass transit lightening your driving demands 
and reducing pollution.  If such a car taxi is convenient and
inexpensive, that vehicle can be electric.  The efficiency of a 
diesel electric train is well known.  You could probably give 
drivers an electrical hook up while on the train so that they 
can run an air conditioner, heater, radio, or charge the batteries
they may run their car on.  Trains are famous for their engine
efficiency.  They produce a lot of power for the fuel they use
and are well suited to heavy loads.

The Portland Street Cars are impractical trains.  The tracks they 
run on are light gauge unlike Max which probably could go down a
well maintained standard rail line.  They have to make a lot of 
stops where for all practical purposes, you can out walk them.
Do they go where the people need to be?  

I rode a bus for a while between Sauvie's Island and downtown.  
It lengthened the trip by quite a bit, an hour and a half or 
worse verses half an hour plus 15 minutes parking time, on a 
good day.    A major problem was the bus service stopping early 
and also the fact that Tri-Met labels all bus 17's the same so 
that you don't know whether or not you'll get out to the Island 
or if you'll have to wait at Montgomery Park.  The Island is a 
good place to park, unfortunately it's day use only.

The biggest problems with transportation today involve people's
dissatisfaction with commuter cars leading to disproportionate 
number of gas guzzling, heavy, unstable vehicles on the road.
Add to this the taxes on the glut of inefficient SUV's going 
towards much needed, or perhaps unnecessary, road repairs,  
the chances of transition to hybrid, alternative fuel, 
and eventually fuel cell vehicles isn't very realistic.
A lot of SUV's are not supposed to be running gasoline because
they didn't pass DEQ tests burning it but the fuels they are
supposed to run, alcohol based fuels, are not available at
most stations.  What is needed is environmental leadership
at DEQ for starters, we should charge people higher 
registration and tag fees because their vehicle burns less 
gasoline.  There is a disincentive to drive cleaner cars.

Not too surprising considering the same can be said for compact
flourescent light bulbs, solar collector installations, etc.  
We've wasted a lot on all the power lines out there, we should
have more aggressively spread the power production out a long 
time ago.

-- 
-----------------------------
Michael C. Robinson

Associates of General Studies 
PCC March 2003.

Views held by me do not 
necessarily coincide with 
every view posted on a 
mailing list this message 
appears on.
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