Petrolheads

I had that radar system in my 2009 A6.
Never activated by mistake.
was able to "see" motorbikes but I've never been close to run a pedestrian over, so don't know if it would see them.
This radar system was also able to follow cars at a set distance when cruise control was activated, braking and speeding up accordingly to car in front.
Made a very relaxed drive.

Yes, I had it on a Sharan some years ago. However, that was the manufacturers developing the technology. These regulations are much later. It's doubtful whether your Audi (or my Sharan) would actually have passed today's type approval tests. The fact that you never had any false alarms, probably suggests that it wouldn't have done. Like you, mercifully, I never had to really put the system to the test!
 
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The same raft of EU regulations that brought this auto braking system in, also mandates something called "Intelligent Speed Assist". Basically, it uses GPS and traffic sign recognition to limit the car's speed to whatever the limit is, in a particular area. That's on all new cars registered in the EU as of last July. At present, the system can be disabled by the driver, (or in an emergency, pressing hard on the accelerator to overcome the detent) but there's also a "black box" that records the fact that the system has been disabled or overridden. The regulations apply to EVs and ICEs. There's no distinction between powertrains.

Now, that's not QUITE what you said, because you talked about limiting the car to a safe speed for the type of road ahead, but it's clearly where things are headed.
Interesting: the link Avocet provided jammed my browser, so the details escape my grasp, although i specified the type of road because speed limits vary - hardly makes sense to use it on a 20mph road, does it? It all seems to be heading into a future where the car basically drives itself using advanced technology: such as a modern fighter jet flies beyond a pilots capability to keep it in the air without sophisticated software.
 
Interesting: the link Avocet provided jammed my browser, so the details escape my grasp, although i specified the type of road because speed limits vary - hardly makes sense to use it on a 20mph road, does it? It all seems to be heading into a future where the car basically drives itself using advanced technology: such as a modern fighter jet flies beyond a pilots capability to keep it in the air without sophisticated software.

Strange? It's just a PDF of the regulation. It's quite a big file, (in terms of pages), but not megabytes.

I'd have thought that 20 limits would probably be the MOST useful application? As the speed limit increases, it's easier to keep within it. Whether 20 limits are a good idea in themselves, is, of course, another debate!

But yes, ultimately, the aim is to take the human out of the loop, because machines don't get road rage. It will be a sad day for any driving enthusiast, but most people already regard cars as "white goods" and just want them to get from A to B. Traditional petrolheads will just have to get their kicks from "classic" cars.
 
Strange? It's just a PDF of the regulation. It's quite a big file, (in terms of pages), but not megabytes.

I'd have thought that 20 limits would probably be the MOST useful application? As the speed limit increases, it's easier to keep within it. Whether 20 limits are a good idea in themselves, is, of course, another debate!

But yes, ultimately, the aim is to take the human out of the loop, because machines don't get road rage. It will be a sad day for any driving enthusiast, but most people already regard cars as "white goods" and just want them to get from A to B. Traditional petrolheads will just have to get their kicks from "classic" cars.
My wheezy pc has it's days when the page just takes too long and gets timed out: maybe i try another time after a clean-up.
The 20mph idea is to keep fatalities down because reduced speed is less likely to cause them, unless you're v.unlucky. Another generation of car users will clutter up the roads even more - 5m more people in the UK by 2030, i think, so having further safety measures becomes even more important as the odds increase on accidents occuring. I like the idea for bio-fuels to run those classic cars in future as EV ownership becomes predominant. Fewer cars were made last year than in the last 70 years and although it's taking far too long for the Green Lobby's liking, it seems the switchover is progressing nicely.
 
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Hell, no, not science fiction at all! As of 7/7/24, all new cars registered in the EU, needed to be fitted with a collision warning radar capable of detecting other vehicles. This will automatically apply the brakes if it detects another vehicle (or similarly large solid object with a decent radar echo) and thinks there's going to be a crash.
Would be better if it applied the brakes if you get closer than 2 seconds to the car in front in dry weather, 4 seconds when wet.
 
My wheezy pc has it's days when the page just takes too long and gets timed out: maybe i try another time after a clean-up.
The 20mph idea is to keep fatalities down because reduced speed is less likely to cause them, unless you're v.unlucky. Another generation of car users will clutter up the roads even more - 5m more people in the UK by 2030, i think, so having further safety measures becomes even more important as the odds increase on accidents occuring. I like the idea for bio-fuels to run those classic cars in future as EV ownership becomes predominant. Fewer cars were made last year than in the last 70 years and although it's taking far too long for the Green Lobby's liking, it seems the switchover is progressing nicely.

I'm not sure about numbers. The number of cars on UK roads is rising, but quite slowly now:

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However, the annual mileage covered by each of them is falling.

1738265386668.png


So I'm guessing the amount of time each of those cars spends on the road is dropping. It's hard to say whether it will recover from the Covid lockdown period, but doesn't seem to have quite done so yet.

Yes, I agree that slower speeds will result in fewer fatalities once a collision has occurred, but that argument ultimately takes us back to the man with the red flag. If we are to enjoy the benefits that the motor car brings to society, we can't really "hobble" it with ever-reducing speed limits. Rather, we need to concentrate on stopping the accidents from happening in the first place. It's a bit like when the Titanic hit the iceberg. One solution would have been to impose a ridiculously low speed limit across the Atlantic. A much better solution, was to develop better weather forecasting techniques and radar. This is what we need to do with cars, I feel. My fear, is that simply reducing speed limits might result in an increase in collisions with pedestrians and cyclists, albeit with reduced severity of each one - but time will tell.

And yes, bio or synthetic fuels for classics - probably bunkered and distributed by car clubs, in the future, because there won't be the petrol stations around the country like there are today. They're likely to be very expensive, and used sparingly for shows and the like - which is fine.
 
Would be better if it applied the brakes if you get closer than 2 seconds to the car in front in dry weather, 4 seconds when wet.

Maybe. I'm actually surprised at how LITTLE distance these systems tend to leave (wet or dry) between cars. You can adjust it on most of the cars that I've driven with such systems fitted, but even on their most "cautious" setting, they're nothing like 2 seconds!
 
Maybe. I'm actually surprised at how LITTLE distance these systems tend to leave (wet or dry) between cars. You can adjust it on most of the cars that I've driven with such systems fitted, but even on their most "cautious" setting, they're nothing like 2 seconds!
Mine could be adjusted from 1 to 4 lenght.
I always kept it on 1.
Great on motorways and in traffic at the mind gobbling speed of 20mph...
 
And yes, bio or synthetic fuels for classics - probably bunkered and distributed by car clubs, in the future, because there won't be the petrol stations around the country like there are today. They're likely to be very expensive, and used sparingly for shows and the like - which is fine.

@Avocet - took that quote as it reminded me of a news item i saw the other day - The new version of the Austin Arrow, updated for the 21st century with an electric motor...


...so perhaps bio-fuels won't be necessary after all: an efficient electric motor giving you all the motoring pleasure you can handle. Only three hours to charge up, and off we bally well go!
 
And yes, bio or synthetic fuels for classics - probably bunkered and distributed by car clubs, in the future, because there won't be the petrol stations around the country like there are today. They're likely to be very expensive, and used sparingly for shows and the like - which is fine.

@Avocet - took that quote as it reminded me of a news item i saw the other day - The new version of the Austin Arrow, updated for the 21st century with an electric motor...


...so perhaps bio-fuels won't be necessary after all: an efficient electric motor giving you all the motoring pleasure you can handle. Only three hours to charge up, and off we bally well go!


That's cute, and I love the fact that the Austin name is back in British ownership! However, if I had £30k to spend on a "toy", I think I'd probably go for a real classic. These "small production run" EVs worry me, to be honest. Bth the retrofit classics and designed-from-scratch ones like this. They don't have to go through the same rigorous tests that mass-produced cars have to go through. They get "individually" approved, which is a non-destructive "visual assessment" by a DVSA inspector, who then has the unenviable task of deciding whether it "looks" like it might meet the requirements.

Leaving aside the obvious one (crashworthiness), how do they integrate the electric drivetrain's regenerative braking with the car's hydraulic braking? It looks like it's rear wheel drive. If I lift off in my rear wheel drive EV, the back wheels do most of the braking at first. If I'm on a bit of ice, the ABS sensors will spot the rear wheels starting to slow faster than the fronts and kill the regenerative braking instantly so I don't spin. What do these guys do?
 
That's cute, and I love the fact that the Austin name is back in British ownership! However, if I had £30k to spend on a "toy", I think I'd probably go for a real classic. These "small production run" EVs worry me, to be honest. Bth the retrofit classics and designed-from-scratch ones like this. They don't have to go through the same rigorous tests that mass-produced cars have to go through. They get "individually" approved, which is a non-destructive "visual assessment" by a DVSA inspector, who then has the unenviable task of deciding whether it "looks" like it might meet the requirements.

Leaving aside the obvious one (crashworthiness), how do they integrate the electric drivetrain's regenerative braking with the car's hydraulic braking? It looks like it's rear wheel drive. If I lift off in my rear wheel drive EV, the back wheels do most of the braking at first. If I'm on a bit of ice, the ABS sensors will spot the rear wheels starting to slow faster than the fronts and kill the regenerative braking instantly so I don't spin. What do these guys do?

Hit the brakes til they squeal and pray like Hel their insurance is up-to-date! :D

Can you get a real classic for that kind of money, though? In that price range i'd assume some work would need to be done on it and that don't come cheap.
 
Hit the brakes til they squeal and pray like Hel their insurance is up-to-date! :D

Can you get a real classic for that kind of money, though? In that price range i'd assume some work would need to be done on it and that don't come cheap.
Depends on what a perspective buyer regards as a classic.

I browse the ads. extensively (sad or what?) & can find plenty of candidates that would suit me for well under that price, but of course if you are seeking something that is 'trending' ie a fast Ford you will have to shell out.
It also depends on the usage, for me it's one that can be used as a second car & rare/smart enough to raise public interest at local classic car shows in the summer, but if you want a show pony that only comes out of it's climate controlled garage in dry weather ..
 
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