Skier speed trap hell

[deadheadskier]

If you all didn't stop driving manual transmissions we wouldn't have the problem of autonomous vehicles on the horizon.

I vastly prefer manual transmission. my personal vehicles are manuals. However, if we could flip the switch to autonomous vehicles tomorrow, I'd be first in line. I spend 20+ hours a week on average in my van for work. The increase in efficiency at my job and weekly work hours reduction would be massive. As much as I love driving, it's an absolute waste of valuable time.

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[bdfreetuna]

I vastly prefer manual transmission. my personal vehicles are manuals. However, if we could flip the switch to autonomous vehicles tomorrow, I'd be first in line. I spend 20+ hours a week on average in my van for work. The increase in efficiency at my job and weekly work hours reduction would be massive. As much as I love driving, it's an absolute waste of valuable time.

If I was driving a work van I'd rather have it be automatic too. Autonomous, never. Even if I ended up liking it, I'd hate it anyway. Something about reducing the human species to the level of hive-mind pond-scum, rather looking at any number of screens than paying attention to the road and natural scenery.

Maybe you could be studying for a licensing exam or learning how to cook better macaroni while it drives you around; this I could see in balance.

Imagine if instead they were offering brain interfaces which allowed non-autonomous control of the vehicle through thought. Then your wife and kids start yelling in the vehicle... :lol:

My primary objection is that my own choice to drive a vehicle with as much manual control as possible is going to sooner or later come to head with the autonomous stuff. Conflict will occur. I feel like driving a stick shift is a more fundamental freedom in the auto world when it boils down to it.

 

[VTKilarney]

On the one hand, I get what you are saying. I really don't need any more screen time in my life. And reading would likely make me car sick anyway.

On the other hand, I would LOVE to be able to get into a vehicle at 9:00 PM, sleep, and wake up somewhere in the morning. How they will buckle you in safely while you are sleeping is another question that needs to be answered.

 

[deadheadskier]

On the one hand, I get what you are saying. I really don't need any more screen time in my life. And reading would likely make me car sick anyway.

On the other hand, I would LOVE to be able to get into a vehicle at 9:00 PM, sleep, and wake up somewhere in the morning. How they will buckle you in safely while you are sleeping is another question that needs to be answered.

In my case the time I could spend on screen time in the car traveling from hospital to hospital would only serve to reduce my screen time when I'm not driving. I could cut most all of those hours out of my work week.

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[MEtoVTSkier]

Would these be the same apps that show you wandering a squiggly line in the trees when riding the lift, and show 81mph from a guy not wearing a speed suit on a blue slope?

No. Not skiing apps. Speedometer apps. Pretty darn accurate on normal level ground, not ascending/descending steep slopes. I've checked one agpsgainst my vehicles, and my other handheld GPS's and it was within .5mph or less of everything else. Close enough on my S6 to use instead of a vehicles speedometer.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.coolniks.niksgps

 

[mikec142]

Not returning to the Catskills to ski seems a little drastic, especially since the cop cooled down and did let you go (as he should have, and as would be your Constitutional / natural / God-given right, having committed no crime and no intent to do so).

I don't think what I wrote was clear. I've skied at Windham numerous times since this incident and will continue to do so. But this incident occured in a nearby town. I won't spend money in that particular town. If I need gas, I'll get it in the next town. If I want food, I'll find another place in the next town. Even though the hotel was clean and met my needs, I'll find a similar hotel in another town the next time. A lot of the towns we are discussing are rural and struggling. And if your first impression is an out of control policeman...that's hard to shake.

As an aside, I get that being a police officer can't be easy, but this was over the top and scary.

 

[spiderpig]

Good news, CDOT is raising the speed limit on that stretch soon,so now you can do 80. Whoever designed 84 should be in jail for incompetence, worst highway anywhere.

Good news! I noticed the change last weekend and was pretty pleased since I didn't know it was happening. The concurrence with Route 72 is up to 55 from 50, as well.

 

[SkiingInABlueDream]

It's things like the above that I find disturbing.

Two years ago my family and I had a terrible experience in Coxsackie, NY....

Maybe someone else actually did fly past the cop as claimed and he mistakenly thought it was you? Whatever the case that sucks.

 

[Glenn]

On the one hand, I get what you are saying. I really don't need any more screen time in my life. And reading would likely make me car sick anyway.

On the other hand, I would LOVE to be able to get into a vehicle at 9:00 PM, sleep, and wake up somewhere in the morning. How they will buckle you in safely while you are sleeping is another question that needs to be answered.

Some school's of thought are that safety systems will be greatly reduced in vehicles since the likelihood of crashing does down significantly. This is with everything on the road being autonomous, vehicle to vehicle communication, vehicle to infrastructure communications and I'm sure a few others I'm missing.

 

[SkiingInABlueDream]

I'm really split on autonomous vehicles. I consider myself a former car enthusiast and still generally enjoy driving. I'm buying a car in the next few months and a requirement is manual transmission. Every car I've owned has been manual. That all said on ski day trips I would love to be able to check out on at least the uninteresting (dark highway) hours of those road trips.
And I agree that we are a very long time away, 20 yrs min, from the point where human piloted vehicles are mostly gone, and that transition where there's a mix of autonomous and non- is the biggest challenge.

 

[crank]

Troy VT on the way to Jay. Yes I always slow down to conform with lower speed limit coming into town and was glad I did that day as there was a Patroller sitting there in wait. However, I sped up to 50 too soon leaving the other side of town and was in sight of the 50mph speed limit sign when ticketed by the patroller lying in wait on the other side of town. Lesson learned.

 

[bdfreetuna]

I'm really split on autonomous vehicles. I consider myself a former car enthusiast and still generally enjoy driving. I'm buying a car in the next few months and a requirement is manual transmission. Every car I've owned has been manual. That all said on ski day trips I would love to be able to check out on at least the uninteresting (dark highway) hours of those road trips.
And I agree that we are a very long time away, 20 yrs min, from the point where human piloted vehicles are mostly gone, and that transition where there's a mix of autonomous and non- is the biggest challenge.

Lots of cars have lane-keeping assist and adaptive cruise control. Not sure how many of those offered in 6MT at the moment. But from what I hear the new Honda Accord, for example, you can drive near hands-off on the highway and it's very accurate. It requires *some* steering feedback like 3x a minute or so, basically it just wants to know you haven't totally abandoned the steering wheel, but it will steer itself.

IMO a good compromise between being able to relax on the highway effectively and still driving an otherwise engaging vehicle.

 

[mikec142]

I know that some people love to drive. I personally can't wait til I can take a self driving car from NJ to VT with me reading a book or taking a nap. Beam me up Scotty!

 

[drjeff]

A nicely balanced car on a winding road is pretty darn close to a pair of GS race skis on some smooth corduroy when you know how to arc them!

Put me in the category of people who never want to give up my steering wheel!!!!

 

[bdfreetuna]

Just remember you'll be rolling along at the speed limit ... or less

 

[Smellytele]

I know that some people love to drive. I personally can't wait til I can take a self driving car from NJ to VT with me reading a book or taking a nap. Beam me up Scotty!

It would get rid of all drunk driving

 

[x10003q]

This has nothing to do with what the State authorizes; any cop can give a ticket for any speed over the speed limit. It has to do with how much work the cop wants to do to prove your were speeding for the level of fine that the judge can levy. State troopers on highways "usually" don't bother with anything less than 15mph over, or a 3 point infraction: so in a 65 mph zone, a speed of 80 gets you a ticket while 75 usually doesn't. Depending on the jurisdiction, the cop usually needs to show up in court and plead the state's/town's/county's case. State cops don't want to show up to court for a 5mph over infraction and a 1 point fine; it's just not worth their time, but there's no rule on that and one day they could be ordered by their superiors to go after, let's say 10mph over in a 65mph zone. For town cops in small towns with not a lot to do, a 5 mph over infraction is just ripe pickings for them. The town brings in extra revenue and the cop gets overtime pay for going to court, not to mention the judge is probably local and tough and won't play ball either.

Speedometers can be plus or minus 5mph at highway speeds. Also, sometimes people put the wrong size tires on their vehicles and that also changes speedometers. This is why cops generally let you slide for 10 mph over. I have seen cops write tickets down to under 10 over in order not to bury people in fines and insurance increases.

In NJ - if a state trooper writes the ticket, NJ gets 100% and if a municipal/town officer writes the ticket, the town gets 50% and the county gets 50%. Tickets written for bad lights, expired inspection, etc, go 100% to NJ no matter who writes the ticket. There are court costs on every ticket, limited to $33.00, of which 27.50 (max) goes to the municipal court where the ticket was written.

In NJ, if somebody figured out that speeding tickets where being written in a closed school zone, there would be a lawsuit and quite possibly a refund and/or a points reduction for people caught in such a scam.

 

[ThinkSnow]

A nicely balanced car on a winding road is pretty darn close to a pair of GS race skis on some smooth corduroy when you know how to arc them!

Put me in the category of people who never want to give up my steering wheel!!!!

+1 Love manual transmissions.

 

[mister moose]

A nicely balanced car on a winding road is pretty darn close to a pair of GS race skis on some smooth corduroy when you know how to arc them!

Put me in the category of people who never want to give up my steering wheel!!!!

"If you like your car, you can keep your car"

 

[bdfreetuna]

A nicely balanced car on a winding road is pretty darn close to a pair of GS race skis on some smooth corduroy when you know how to arc them!

Put me in the category of people who never want to give up my steering wheel!!!!

The Koni Yellow struts and H&R black springs I installed a couple months ago has really made for some fun drives to and from the mountains. Pretty firm but still dampens broken pavement and even potholes well. Body roll basically eliminated.

Considering I often spend 5 or 6 hours in any given ski day driving... about the same as actually skiing... I consider the before and after experience pretty important as well