A Driverless Future?
It has come to my attention through the British press that a new scheme is beginning to take shape within the UK. A pilot scheme in the planned city of Milton Keynes is seeing the development of driverless cars that will ferry people around the city on planned trackways. It has been predicted that more and more of these will be brought into use over the next decade. Driverless cars have already been introduced at Heathrow airport for passengers in the high flying (see what I did there?) business class. This whole concept of driverless cars is fascinating, and having read up on the topic I believe the time has come for me to set forth unto the world my views on this issue.
Are driverless cars the future of the motoring world? Or are they more trouble than they are worth?
Tyred Out Yet?
They’re the four pieces of rubber that are the most important part of your car as they are the only part of the vehicle that touches the road. Tyres, a criminally underrated part of your chosen chariot, are also responsible for confusion and angst. There’s numbers on the side and people hear about different…things about compounds. Here’s the skinny on what they’re all about.
The numbers: On the sidewall of a tyre will be information about the tyre, with the simplest being something looking like 
this: “225/60/17”. Tyres are, naturally, wrapped around wheels. The wheels will have a diameter and in a metric age are still listed by inches. Smaller cars will generally have wheel diameters of 14 to 16 inches, medium cars generally up to 17 whilst large cars can be up to 19 as standard and certain cars can be fitted with up to 22 inch diameter wheels. The tyres then will have that info and will be showing the diameter as the last number. The other two work hand in hand, with the biggest number being the width across the tread of the tyre in millimetres (225) and the sidewall height or profile, from the rim of the wheel to the tread, expressed as a percentage of the tread width. This means that our 225/60 tyres will have a sidewall being equalling 60 percent of the width of the tread.
The Global Superstar: The Taxi
The modern world is dominated by technology, corporation and progress; it is situated within the context of world superpowers secretly fighting it out for power and control. However, what overrides all of these thing is the vital need for communication and contact, without which this global society would not be possible. But do not worry, I am not going to launch into a political rant about the capitalist agenda and the weakness of democracy (I am not Russell Brand after all, much as that saddens me to say). Instead, I wish to talk about what began as a small local endeavour has evolved into a worldwide institution. They provide the communication and contact we so crave. Despite their importance, we often take them for granted. And yet, here they remain. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to take these few moments to examine the truth behind the majesty of the taxi.
Throughout my life, I have had the privilege of travelling to a wide range of countries, which has meant that I have had the pleasure of riding in a multitude of taxis. These rides have ranged from the normal to the downright ridiculous, but that is for another day. I cannot hide the fact that I am a London boy at heart, and so my life has been dominated by the London Black Cab. Therefore, I shall focus my attention on probably one of the most famous cars on the planet. The Black Cab has been so engrained into British culture that I am surprised it has not yet been adopted into the Royal Family.
What Distracts Drivers?
There are a number of arguments made in favour of raising the speed limit and not getting too picky about km/h. My fellow bloggers have explored this topic considerably (here’s one example). However, the fact still remains that if things turn pear-shaped, less speed means less momentum, which means less force that gets transferred to the occupants of the car. If all goes well and everybody keeps their mind on their driving, speed doesn’t really matter. The trouble is, people don’t keep their mind on their driving, their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road ahead. They get distracted, and that’s where things start going pear-shaped.
Level 2, 9 Help Street