David_Gerard comments on The Singularity Institute is hiring an executive assistant near Berkeley - Less Wrong

14 Post author: Louie 22 January 2012 07:47AM

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Comment author: David_Gerard 22 January 2012 07:21:44PM *  4 points [-]

Smart Cars are not as deadly as motorbikes, but way deadlier than most cars. They don't have crumple zones, relying on the crumple zone of the other car. (That's the manufacturer's actual justification.) So good thing trees have crumple zones, hey.

(I don't know their stats off the top of my head; I'm going by having glanced at a crash test report. Crash test reports are great things to read. VicRoads in Victoria had them in the waiting area for licence renewal. I'm so glad I don't need a car in London.)

In general: whoever's in the smaller car, comes off a whole lot worse. Driving something the size of a tank is good for you. (Unless it's an SUV, their higher centre of gravity means they roll more.)

I dunno. What are the accident stats like on your planned route?

Comment author: gjm 26 January 2012 02:46:58AM 3 points [-]

In general: whoever's in the smaller car, comes off a whole lot worse. Driving something the size of a tank is good for you.

And bad for everybody else. Total utility is probably negative because the process where people drive larger and larger cars in order to be safer (at the expense of others) leaves everyone roughly equally safe, but driving more expensive, more fuel-hungry, less-manoeuvrable cars.

Whether this is reason not to buy a larger car depends on one's level of altruism, of course.

Comment author: arundelo 26 January 2012 05:53:15AM 1 point [-]

"A Nice Morning Drive" is a (very) short story that takes place in a future where this process has been taken to an extreme. (It was the inspiration for Rush's song "Red Barchetta".)