Thread: Autonomous Vehicles

Originally Posted by BMKal

I can tell you from personal experience - you wouldn't be taking your eyes off the "road" even if you were on rails.

A few years back, I was driving a Toyota Troopy "Hi-rail" vehicle on one of BHP's iron ore railways - was taking a mining crew out to one of the satellite pits at night for shift change when the access roads were flooded after heavy rain. Standard procedure was to get onto the tracks at a level crossing close to the camp and reverse about a kilometre up through a cutting and a set of points, then stop & call up train control in Port Hedland to change the points - then drive forward through the points and out to the satellite mining operation about 18km away.

As I was reversing up through the top of the cutting, someone in the back of the vehicle reached up and turned on the interior light above the rear barn doors. All I saw in the rear vision mirror was a bright light behind me.

I can tell you that the brakes came on pretty quickly (they don't work too well when your tyres are running on steel railway tracks though) and my arse took a firm grip on the drivers' seat.

The person who had turned on the light got yelled at - and had to front up at the bar with a carton the next day.

Ha! Totally off topic here, but this reminds me of a prank we pulled a few years back... Land Cruiser inspecting a local line at about 10kmh.. We let rip with a K5LA as he passes... His right foot went hard down when he heard the horn!! Hell it was funny!!

Originally Posted by Sitec

Ha! Totally off topic here, but this reminds me of a prank we pulled a few years back... Land Cruiser inspecting a local line at about 10kmh.. We let rip with a K5LA as he passes... His right foot went hard down when he heard the horn!! Hell it was funny!!

I can just imagine it .................... particularly after hearing you let one rip when I was walking across the oval just before the "photo shoot" at Melrose last year.

(Well at least I think it was you - if it wasn't, somebody has been blaming you for it).

Originally Posted by Sitec

Ha! Totally off topic here, but this reminds me of a prank we pulled a few years back... Land Cruiser inspecting a local line at about 10kmh.. We let rip with a K5LA as he passes... His right foot went hard down when he heard the horn!! Hell it was funny!!

You need to write a book - '101 uses for a set of K5LA's'

1 and 2 are already sorted

1 - Scare the crap of line inspector.
2 - Really **** off grumpy old fart at Land Rover show...

I'm sure 3 to 101 could just about write themselves....

Can't be me you're talking about Gav. I wasn't ****ed off - I thought it was hilarious.

And I'm only a young fella ...............

Originally Posted by BMKal

I can just imagine it .................... particularly after hearing you let one rip when I was walking across the oval just before the "photo shoot" at Melrose last year.

(Well at least I think it was you - if it wasn't, somebody has been blaming you for it).

It was him.

Originally Posted by BMKal

Can't be me you're talking about Gav. I wasn't ****ed off - I thought it was hilarious.

Nope, there was only one that was - it was a delight to watch...

It was even more fun giving him a serve back.. as I don't think it was something he was expecting!

Some Tesla models have a hand free option, which while demanding the driver remains vigilant, will drive the vehicle without driver input. However in May there was a fatal accident involving one of these vehicles and the hard questions are now being asked.