I don't hear from Genius often. He's busy working, still programming driverless vehicles. Working from home comes with some distractions. He sent me a picture Tuesday afternoon.
"Garbage truck just caught fire outside our window."
"Maybe garbage truck fire is the new dumpster fire!"
Then Genius sent me a closeup of the side of the garbage truck:
"Your Trash is Our Gas is a rather unfortunate slogan in this light."
Genius said he was riding in a Tesla recently, and the driver asked the passengers if they wanted him to put it in the self-driving mode. Of course they did! Genius was not impressed.
"It made two lane changes without signaling, and almost hit a car during one of them. Then it tried to run through a red light, and the driver had to slam on the brakes."
Genius was appalled. He says that's what you get, when you try to add the self-driving feature later, and not build it from scratch, then manufacture the car around that technology. Or something like that.
Genius is braver than I am. I would not want to ride in a driverless car, or ever a drivered car on the driverless feature. Not even a driverless car programmed by Genius.
We get warnings, regularly, about not putting lithium batteries in our garbage because of several different garbage truck fires. People have also put hot ashes in their garbage and evidently they don't get enough oxygen to catch fire, but when they get dumped, it will then and with other dry garbage, can catch fire. It has become a ridiculously serious problem. Ranee (MN) And I do not have any desire to ride in a driverless car or a car with a driverless feature.
ReplyDeleteOne of my 9th grade students "accidentally" discovered a fire starting in the middle of the night. She was up to get a glass of water, stepped on a GoBots toy from her little brother, and while hopping around holding her foot, smelled the smoke. Her mom had dumped an ashtray into the wastebasket before bed, and it had smoldered a while before flaming up.
DeleteFire on a bridge, not sure I'd trust that structure without an inspection. Mrs. C wouldn't like a driverless car unless they make one that curses in Italian at other drivers!
ReplyDeleteDon't you worry about Genius getting around in Pittsburgh! According to my estranged BFF Google, there are 445 other bridges he can use.
DeleteI'm sure Mrs C could order such a feature on a new car. At least I'm sure a salesman would TELL her she could.
That is a little scary.
ReplyDeleteI would be worried about the gas tank exploding, but those trash trucks are probably built with safety features to prevent that.
DeleteI wouldn't be happy in a driverless car either. I'll stick with the buses. We've had several garbage truck fires here in the past year. it's usually a problem with people not knowing what is allowed in the bins, so combustibles end up in the truck and get compacted where they then generate heat and burst into flames.
ReplyDeleteI don't know which would be more frightening, a ride in a driverless car, or a ride in a garbage truck!
DeleteDefinitely the driverless car. A garbage truck would have a driver to stop the vehicle and let you out.
ReplyDeleteSo you could burst into flame?
DeleteI will not be riding in a driverless car unless it has brakes I can use. I like to be in control. The fire reminds me of HeWho and his brakeless dump truck hauling cedar roofing shingles that were over 30 years old. His only job was to haul the shingles away from the front of the building. He tossed a cigarette out the window and it landed on the shingles and caught fire. He raced back to the office yelling for me to get a hose. My Daddy was visiting and he turned and looked at me, laughing and said, "He's your idiot!" I miss my Daddy. We had the same sense of humor.
ReplyDeleteHeh, heh! Better yours than mine. Your Daddy was a wise man!
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