Sat Sep 23, 2017 4:26 pm
#1560554
I am reminded of a piece on the late and lamented 'Monday Night at Home'. (Monday Night at Home (MNAH to aficionados) was a radio programme of the late 1950s, broadcast on the BBC Home Service. MNAH was about as near to satire as the 1950s BBC allowed).
To solve the problem of (pre-motorway) road congestion, the 'Over-Car' was proposed. This vehicle would allow traffic to operate in both directions on both sides of the road - thus immediately doubling the UK's road capacity.
This would be achieved by mounting a ramp on top of all cars - a ramp running from road level at the front of the car, over the car and back to road level at the rear.
Thus, a car approaching head-on would go either over or under your vehicle. The over or under choice was solved by having small road-touching wheels at the front of each ramp. If you paid a higher rate of vehicle tax, you were allowed to fit smaller wheels - thus you would have a smoother ride.
To overcome the possibility of two cars with the same size of ramp wheels meeting head on, the front ramp wheels would be mounted eccentrically - so there was a random chance of going over or under.
Perhaps a random element would solve the autonomous car's ethical dilemma?
To solve the problem of (pre-motorway) road congestion, the 'Over-Car' was proposed. This vehicle would allow traffic to operate in both directions on both sides of the road - thus immediately doubling the UK's road capacity.
This would be achieved by mounting a ramp on top of all cars - a ramp running from road level at the front of the car, over the car and back to road level at the rear.
Thus, a car approaching head-on would go either over or under your vehicle. The over or under choice was solved by having small road-touching wheels at the front of each ramp. If you paid a higher rate of vehicle tax, you were allowed to fit smaller wheels - thus you would have a smoother ride.
To overcome the possibility of two cars with the same size of ramp wheels meeting head on, the front ramp wheels would be mounted eccentrically - so there was a random chance of going over or under.
Perhaps a random element would solve the autonomous car's ethical dilemma?
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