"Piloting London’s distinctive black cabs (taxis to everyone else) is no easy feat. To earn the privilege, drivers have to pass an intense intellectual ordeal, known charmingly as
The Knowledge. Ever since 1865, they’ve had to memorise the location of every street within six miles of Charing Cross – all 25,000 of the capital’s arteries, veins and capillaries. They also need to know the locations of 20,000 landmarks – museums, police stations, theatres, clubs, and more – and 320 routes that connect everything up." Acquiring
The Knowledge changes the brains of those who acquire it.
posted by vidur
on Dec 8, 2011 -
73 comments
How do people die in motor "accidents"?
I'll tell you.
With the Christmas "Silly Season" is upon us, the Age has republished
And this is how you die by journalist Roger Aldridge.
A warning - it's pretty graphic. Scroll up for the rest of the article.
posted by mattoxic
on Dec 2, 2011 -
95 comments
Moving Beyond the Automobile is a series of ten short videos by
Streetfilms that highlights new directions in urban transportation. It shows how cities in the U.S. are encouraging a shift away from car dependency and making it easier and more pleasant to get around by other means.
[more inside]
posted by parudox
on Apr 26, 2011 -
36 comments
Joe Simonetti is a 57-year-old psychotherapist who lives with his wife in Pound Ridge, New York. His commute takes him from the northern reaches of exurban Westchester County to his office just south of Central Park. It's about three and a half hours each way.
By bike. [more inside]
posted by zarq
on Feb 22, 2011 -
72 comments
I’m Jonathan Klinger and I’m spending one full year driving a 1930 Model A everywhere I go. (Starting October 13, 2010) Why? Because not everything a person owns should contain a computer.
365 days of A
posted by fixedgear
on Feb 12, 2011 -
38 comments
Heading out for a drive this weekend? Live near Lake Biwa in Japan? Then head over the O-hashi ('Big Bridge') and sing along with the music your car will make as it runs over the
'Melody Road'. These attractions (distractions?) - created by carving ridges into the surface of the road, causing your tires to play 'music' - have popped up all over Japan in recent years (
here's an English-language news clip on the phenomenon). But if you are a road engineer, and are thinking of perhaps making one of these, you had better do the math properly, something the engineers on a similar project for
a Honda commercial spectacularly failed to do. (Analysis of what went wrong on
this interesting blog post).
posted by woodblock100
on Jan 6, 2011 -
11 comments
Too pissed to drive? ("An interactive urinary experience - not to be mistaken with the Wii.") Those naughty but practical Germans have come up with a way to discourage men from driving drunk using a video game embedded in a urinal. I don't know how successful it's been in the real world, but it did win a silver
Clio award for
Innovative Use of Technology. If you don't plan to be in a Frankfurt bar any time soon, or if you lack the necessary
equipment to play, you can try the wee-free simulation
here.
posted by maudlin
on May 19, 2008 -
11 comments
Virginia woman could get 2 years in prison for throwing McDonald's bag - a jury in Stafford County, Virginia has recommended a two-year prison sentence for Jessica Julia Hall, a 25-year-old mother of three, for throwing a bag with a soft drink inside into the car next to her. She was convicted of a felony offense after getting into an altercation with another driver on
I-95 between Fredericksburg, VA and Washington, DC - widely considered to be one of the most congested stretches of
road on the East Coast. Anyone who drives in the DC area can tell you how
overcrowded the highways are. It gets worse in the summer when the tempratures rise and
tempers flare. This could be an example of excessive justice, or perhaps juries in this area
have had enough.
posted by smoothvirus
on Jan 5, 2007 -
146 comments
Are you annoyed with careless, rude, or stupid drivers? Instead of obscene gestures, obscenities, and aggressive tailgating, now you can snitch on them at
PlateWire.com, a site where you can enter the license plate, vehicle make & model, and a description of the offensive behavior. Members can search for repeat offenders' license plates and contribute to
the blogs.
posted by fandango_matt
on Dec 20, 2006 -
37 comments
Grandma's Little Helper Tired of bluehairs clogging up the left lane doing 20? Apparently, there are companies who feel the same way. Aware Car has developed
a computer system that tracks other cars and compensates for the losses in reflex that accompany aging. This is only one example of the new industry of providing technology to the elderly, who will reach record numbers in the next 20 years as
the Baby Boomers continue to age. Pictures show GPS tracking for wheelchairs, "caller ID on steroids", and the new driving system in action.
posted by PreacherTom
on Dec 5, 2006 -
17 comments
The Road Rage Quiz Take this test to gauge your ability to create rage in yourself & others. How do you deal with ragers? Here's two sites which advocate carrying & displaying
Signs.
This site likes the "Sorry" sign, while
this site offers cards of a different nature.
posted by Mack Twain
on Jul 1, 2005 -
52 comments
never get stuck on the 405 again? serving
los angeles, san diego, san bernadino and riverside counties along with san francisco and miscellaneous cities throughout california,
sigalert.com will give you up to the minute traffic information on almost any freeway in california, including average speeds, closed roads, detailed info re: traffic accidents, etc.
(if you're living in LA county, the only con is that it doesn't have information on the canyons...)
posted by mgkaelen
on Mar 12, 2005 -
24 comments
