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Report: New Yorkers get spooky LED skeleton reminder to obey speed limits

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Safety

Skeleton Speed Board Drivers in New York City can expect to be met with a new reminder of the local 30-mile-per-hour speed limit this summer. According to The New York Times, the Big Apple’s transportation department will unveil a speed board that will flash a custom skeleton animation toward drivers who are over the limit. You’ve likely seen the technology employed before with slightly less morbid effects.

Municipalities routinely use mobile, radar-based speed boards to make drivers aware of just how fast they’re traveling in low-speed zones. Typically, the onboard LED screen simply flashes an offending vehicle’s speed in big red numerals. NYC is taking it one step further.

The transportation department already employs skeletons in its “That’s why its 30” advertising campaign, which underscores just how much more lethal a vehicle traveling 40 mph can be over its slower counterpart. The new speed boards are intentionally attention-grabbing, though since traffic slugs along at an average of 9.3 mph in most parts of the city, we don’t think anyone will have a hard time obeying the law.

New Yorkers get spooky LED skeleton reminder to obey speed limits originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 May 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Study: Making roads safer has led to bored, risk-taking drivers

Filed under: Etc., Safety, Australia

Bored driver in traffic

A new study from researchers in Australia may have dug up one of the reasons why drivers exceed the speed limit on their way to work. According to the Toronto Sun, a new study has found that drivers who are bored behind the wheel are more likely to put the right pedal to the floor. Researchers at Newcastle University asked drivers to answer a few questions about their driving habits and found that 31 percent of those behind the wheel are inattentive and dangerous. More surprisingly, 35 percent of those polled were classified as enthusiastic and attentive. These are the motorists that enjoy driving, but go faster when their stimulus levels decrease. The study also found that 21 percent of those polled dislike driving and move slower, while members of the smallest group, just 13 percent of the total respondents, were branded slow and safe.

Interestingly, researchers concluded that the influx of devices designed to make driving easier has led to the impression that operating a vehicle is akin to a chore. Rather than making drivers safer, the gadgets have actually led to increased inattentiveness. Basically, the perception of safety has increased the likelihood of risk taking.

Sounds like it’s high time that vehicles made drivers fear for their lives once again. In all seriousness, the researchers have apparently recommended adding more turns to roads and incorporating shared space to force drivers to pay attention, among other actions.

[Source: The Toronto Sun | Image: Alexander F. Yuan/AP]

Study: Making roads safer has led to bored, risk-taking drivers originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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North American Car/Truck of the Year shortlists led by Ford, GM, Hyundai/Kia and Nissan [w/poll]

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Etc.

A pool of 50 U.S. and Canada-based automotive journalists from various news outlets has cut down the list for the 2011 North American Car and Truck of the Year awards to 14 possible winning vehicles in each category.

Among the manufacturers, Ford, Hyundai/Kia, General Motors, and Nissan lead with the most nominations, and the lists run the gamut from the inexpensive (Ford Fiesta, Mazda2), to the sybaritic (Audi A8, Jaguar XJ, Porsche Cayenne), to the groundbreaking (Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf).

Car	Truck
Audi A8	Dodge Durango
Buick Regal	Ford Edge
Chevrolet Cruze	Ford Explorer
Chevrolet Volt	Honda Odyssey
Ford Fiesta	Hyundai Tucson
Hyundai Sonata	Infiniti QX56
Infiniti M37/M56	Jeep Grand Cherokee
Jaguar XJ	Kia Sorento
Kia Optima	Kia Sportage
Mazda2	Lincoln MKX
Nissan Juke	Mercedes-Benz R-Class
Nissan Leaf	Porsche Cayenne
Volkswagen Jetta	Toyota Sienna
Volvo S60	Volkswagen Touareg

Jurors will cull each list down further in December, and the finalists will be displayed when the winning car and truck are announced at the Detroit Auto Show in January.

What car and truck do you expect to win? Check out our galleries of the finalists below, then click through the jump to place your vote for the car and truck you expect to win. If you like, you can also drop your fellow commenter a line as to what vehicle you’d most like to see take home the heavy hardware.

(*Full Disclosure: Author is a member of the NACTOY voting jury)

Gallery: 2011 North American Car of the Year Short List

Gallery: 2011 North American Truck of the Year Short List

[Source: North American Car of the Year]

Continue reading North American Car/Truck of the Year shortlists led by Ford, GM, Hyundai/Kia and Nissan [w/poll]

North American Car/Truck of the Year shortlists led by Ford, GM, Hyundai/Kia and Nissan [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM board member Kresa retiring, led automaker as interim chairman last year

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, GM

General Motors board member Kent Kresa has reached the ripe old age of 72, and as such, he is no longer eligible for re-election to the company’s controlling body.

Kresa originally came to GM after retiring from Northrop Grumman Corp. where he helped lead the aviation giant through troubled waters of its own. Kresa joined ‘old GM’ in 2003 and served on the board until the company’s bankruptcy in 2009. You might best recall that Kresa stepped into the chairman slot left vacant when former CEO Rick Wagoner left the company just prior to The General entering into Chapter 11. When ‘new GM’ formed its board, the executive was there to lend his experience in leading a company through difficult financial decisions.

Kresa was also instrumental in bringing in a wide array of new talent onto the GM board, including the company’s 13th board member, Cynthia Tulles. Don’t expect Kresa to be spending his days playing shuffleboard, though. He also serves on a number of other corporate boards, including Fluor Corp in Irving, Texas and MannKind Corp in Valencia, California. Hit the jump for the GM press release.

[Sources: General Motors, The Detroit News]

Continue reading GM board member Kresa retiring, led automaker as interim chairman last year

GM board member Kresa retiring, led automaker as interim chairman last year originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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