Lots of interesting stuff baked into this one. Personally I really enjoy the bitching about the cashier who weighs the vegetables as if slow checkout lines don't exist in the west

  • KobaCumTribute [she/her]
    ·
    3 years ago

    America invented weighted intersections whereas in most of China they're timed.

    I feel like most intersections in the US are on timers too, and where there are sensors aren't they some electromagnetic thing to detect a giant piece of metal over them, not any sort of scale since scales have moving parts that would wear and break in short order?

    Or do they mean the timers are weighted to favor the busier road?

    • WorthlessLoser [des/pair]
      ·
      3 years ago

      Just toss it all out and go with a fucking roundabout instead.

      I realize this isn't universally applicable, but holy shit, everywhere in my area where they recently replaced big intersections with roundabouts has been a clear and significant improvement.

      • Orannis62 [ze/hir]
        ·
        3 years ago

        I thought roundabouts were supposed to be significantly less safe

        • WorthlessLoser [des/pair]
          ·
          3 years ago

          Everything I've ever seen, including stats I trust, says the exact opposite, that roundabouts are significantly safer both in terms of number of accidents and the severity of the ones that do occur. A quick search seems to confirm this.

          • SoyViking [he/him]
            ·
            3 years ago

            Roundabouts are safer because they reduce speed. They also have higher capacity than intersections.

            Car-brained people tend to dislike them though. They don't like the idea of having to slow down or something.

          • spectre [he/him]
            ·
            3 years ago

            What I've seen is that the severity goes way down, but the number goes up (which may be limited to places like North America where they aren't as common) which would be fine anyway.

    • JuryNullification [he/him]
      ·
      3 years ago

      where there are sensors aren’t they some electromagnetic thing to detect a giant piece of metal over them, not any sort of scale since scales have moving parts that would wear and break in short order?

      That’s right. Induction sensors, not weight. It’s just a big coil of wire set into the asphalt.

      • spectre [he/him]
        ·
        3 years ago

        Not sure what the plan is in Chinese cities (I could probably guess), but even in the U.S., computer vision is being tested to make this even more accurate than the coils, and you don't even need to dig up the road.

    • The_Walkening [none/use name]
      ·
      edit-2
      3 years ago

      The weighted thing is true, but it's kinda useless if you're on a motorbike. (I think it's kinda like one of those things at the gas station that ring the bell rather than a real scale). Regardless you only really need those on rural roads where there's no real traffic anyways.

      • JuryNullification [he/him]
        ·
        edit-2
        3 years ago

        They are induction sensors. Just a big coil of wire set into the asphalt. The reason why motorcycles often don’t trip them is a combination of the use of non-ferrous materials to save weight (aluminum doesn’t induce electromagnetism as well as steel) and the significantly smaller amount of ferrous material on the vehicle (smaller engines, frames, etc).

      • culpritus [any]
        ·
        3 years ago

        you can get magnets that you stick on the bottom of your bike to trigger the sensors just like a car