21.3.2013

No-death cars

News is that Volvo is developing 'no-death cars'. I.e. vehicles in which no one can be killed.

With some irony, we can note that these cars ought to be very popular
a) in Afghanistan (to replace tanks which are vulnerable to giant IEDs)
b) in use by criminals, who are otherwise gunning each other down
c) among senior citizens, considering that a substantial part of Finnish road deaths are actually just deaths on the road, i.e. old and sick people who die of a heart attack or other illness - the deaths are still counted as traffic deaths, because the traffic death numbers need to be inflated to justify taxation.

Most importantly, the cars should be used in hospitals, as replacements for emergency rooms. If the patients cannot die there, it will be a significant improvement for hospital performance.


This month's Moottori (3/2013) tells us that there were 21 road deaths in March 2012. One of them was a pedestrian (who stepped in front of a truck on a highway, from behind his car). Ten of them were killed by illnesses or seizures, not really any accidents. In some of these traffic deaths, the driver just died and the car stopped, without being damaged. A "zero vision" in road deaths will have to change its base of statistics some day.

Some miscellaneous notes, March edition



  • The governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus is called Panicos Demetriades. No wonder their banking system has Los Panicos. I am not making this up.
  • In many U.S. universities, room names are for sale. Not just lecture rooms have sponsors, but so do even bathr... I mean toilets. Lavatories. Loos. So who's the sponsor for a men's room in a Harvard building? Professor Falik. I am not making this up.
  • The Head of Sports at City of Helsinki wants to have a company car whose emissions are larger than the allowance in the car policy of the city. His grounds for exception request? In case there is an oil disaster at the coast, he'd be able to drive to the site. What he'd do there, no one has an idea. I am not making this up.
  •  Bjørn Lomborg argues how the Earth Hour is harmful. Well, he's finally seen the light.
  • Vatican published a tribute to Benedict XVI... in Comic Sans, the most misused typeface ever. They made this up, not me.
  • I just realised that Jerry Pournelle is still alive. And kicking.
  • To those who are repeating the Supersize Me party line: man eats his 25000th Big Mac. He is slim, trim, and well. I am impressed. The supersizing problem is not with the Big Mac, it's the fries and soda.