Posted on 06/21/2013 7:27:07 AM PDT by BenLurkin
A driver who witnessed the fiery crash that killed journalist Michael Hastings says the vehicle the 33-year-old was driving shook his car "like a freight truck" as it flew by early Tuesday morning in Los Angeles.
"Was stopped at a red light tonight when a pearl white Mercedes flew past," Michael Carter wrote on Facebook a few hours later. "It shook my car like a freight truck going by. Saw it burst into flames a quarter mile down the road when it hit a tree."
In a Facebook message to Yahoo News, Carter explained in detail what he saw:
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
new kind of bait car?
Engine speed, transmission gearing, and brakes, but not steering - not yet, anyway. However, in theory you could steer somewhat by applying differing pressures to individual brakes - if that was possible with braking/traction systems to write code to single out a particular corner to slow/stop. Not sure if that's possible at this time.
bump
Hold the phone.... when this guy first bought it, I read a whole lot of “good riddance” posts, because everyone assumed he was a lefty (since he brought down McCrystal), and that he was one of those Journalists who would protect Obama at all costs. Now all of a sudden he’s an Obama opponent? The knee jerking around here is giving me a headache.
The traction control in my car works by applying the brake on the individual wheel that is spinning faster than the other three. Only after the brake loses effectiveness does it reduce engine power.
Jill Kelley is the Elizabeth Taylor of the Government. She must of had Grand Central Station between her legs.
I think Nissan, with their Infinity seris, is the only company that has steer-by-wire with no mechanical link between the steering wheel and the turning wheels. I don't think they're in production yet. So, right now, I don't think there is a single production automobile out there that could be steered by remote by just plugging into the vehicle's computer. Maybe somehow, they could do it with the ABS/stability/traction control systems, but I doubt it. They'd have to install some type of servo to override the mechanical link from steering wheel to wheels.
Yes, but I'm not certain you can effectively steer a car this way. It would turn (I know I used to race on dirt tracks, and had the brakes set to apply more pressure to the driver's side front than passenger side), but it only helps by slowing the tire a bit more than the other, I still had to actually turn the steering wheel to get it to go. It was a gradual thing, not like making a 90-degree turn. Without a physical connection to steering, I don't think you could effectively remove pilot the car by just plugging into the computer.
I know some cars have auto-park functions, but those are still mechanical links, as you have to take your hands off the steering wheel while the car parallel parks for you, because the steering wheel turns while the car is performing the parking function. It may be possible, however, to get to that code. Does the Mercedes he was driving have auto park?
Note that the Fire Hydrant was hit BEFORE the tree - as evidenced by the gusher erupting ahead of the tree - that likely caused the gas-tank to puncture and spray fuel, thus creating a fuel-air bomb for the impact at the tree.
The impact was so severe the engine and tranny were blown out of the Mercedes and tumbled down range..
This more resembled a plane crash. As usually the case, the first responders were the witnesses several of which attempted to put the flames out with garden hoses, but the vehicle was immediately engulfed. He was likely dead on impact. Debris was scattered over a 200' area.
Occam’s Razor.
Did he have a history of driving really fast?
See #69
See #69
I wonder if he had his computer with him.
I do not know how fast he was going but the video and the timing of the intersection looks like well over 100mph.
This could be assesed by calculation. Visual it looks more like 120 or 130 mph.
Most newer vehicals are fly by wire no physical connection to throttle. Brakes and steering I think would be another thing. However at the speed he was going any slip and it’s toast.
The engine and tranny our of the car seems unreal but I would guess depending on angle of impact it may be true. It has happend in high impact crashes in auto racing.
Yes.
The exact same sequence was reported in the Kathrine Smith fatality.
License suspect had WTC repair pass, but Port Authority did its own work [Tennessee License Scandal]
* Images of the burned car owned by Katherine Smith * alternate title: How Arabs Kill Witnesses
I'm sure Mercedez-Benz is not looking forward to spinning that as a feature. Love to hear what Jeremy Clarkson would say about it.
I'll believe remote start/stop engine but I call BS on "directed remotely" (driven?) by computer. Who would want such a feature and why.
Yes, I know that the Military is/was working on totally autonomous vehicles for convoy duty, however, they don't drive on crowded streets nor do they travel at 100 mph! More to the point, they are festooned with sensors, left, right, fore and aft to enable them to react to the local conditions. Such hardware would likely survive a cash and be evidence of tampering with the original vehicle.
Regards,
GtG
Never saw anything about it.
And if you do have a really raging “need for speed”, you tend to have a rep to go with it.
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