# Future road trai



## lotsasteam (Jan 3, 2008)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/t1gTzc7-IbQ


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

That thing would be a cause of accidents. 

I was stopped at a stop light once and the car next to me suddenly backed up and I about broke my brake pedal off trying to "stop" because of the visual sensation that I was moving forward into cross traffic.

Can you imagine driving down the street and have that thing catch up to you, surround and cover you, and then maybe stop while you are moving at a uniform rate? The visual sensation would be that you have slowed down when it surrounds you, and maybe you would think you have started to go backward if it accelerated past you... then when it stops you would visually sense that you have shot forward at an accelerated rate.

What happens if you are driving your car and are trapped by traffic "in" the thing and you want to continue straight and but it is following the curved rails and so it turns "around" you.

Or even if you are turning with it, the straight sides will become cords of the arc and encroach on your lane; if the car in the lane next to you remains centered in their lane, your lane is now much narrower.

Then there is the vehicle with the extra tall load that attempts to go "under" it, or it attempts to go over.

No thanks!


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## BigRedOne (Dec 13, 2012)

Very interesting concept, and that video is nicely done.


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## BigRedOne (Dec 13, 2012)

Semper,

Technology already exists for autonomous, situationaly-aware automobiles. With congestion, pollution, fuel consumption concerns ... I'm sure we'll live to see small, automated vehicles become commonplace, especially in the huge cities.

That thing looks like an innovative idea - and with its high cabin and exceptional visibility, could be a quite pleasant commute.


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## Ironton (Jan 2, 2008)

I think I saw something the other day that Cadillac is going to offer a very limited autonomous vehicle in 2017. Mostly capable of long distance expressway driving. It should have no problems with this people mover.


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## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

Interesting idea. I wonder if the designers have ever been on the roads in L.A. or New York where drivers routinely straddle lanes... Or in Italy, where drivers appear unable to see any lane lines 

I think that there are a lot of interesting proposals out there that, like this one, will become practical once *all* cars are autonomous. Given the rate at which cars leave the road, I don't see that happening in my lifetime (hint: there are still numerous Model A's and Model T's driven for weekend pleasure--cars that are 80-100 years old)


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

Semper Vaporo said:


> That thing would be a cause of accidents.
> 
> I was stopped at a stop light once and the car next to me suddenly backed up and I about broke my brake pedal off trying to "stop" because of the visual sensation that I was moving forward into cross traffic.
> 
> ...


All those points will be non-issues! 
because by the time something like this bus is in use, all cars will be self-driving and computer controlled anyway. (im being completely serious..self driving cars in regular use are a decade away, or less.)

Scot


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

I'm holding out for Walt Disney's People Mover.....

How many visions of the future bear fruit?

John


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I like how the unit is made of rubberized glass and rubber sides and everything flexible.

Watch it go around the tight curves, the whole thing flexes to match the curve.

By the time they can make huge panels of glass and metal that will flex and stretch like silly putty, we won't have cars, we'll have transporter beams like Star Trek.

Seriously, they should have done a little more realistic approach on curves, like no way something that large will turn at a corner.

Greg


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