Moving already?

That's right.  I got myself one follower (hi Cliff) and got all excited.  I started thinking about scaling this blog up big time....I want 1000's and 1000's of followers....or more...

So I'm moving this blog over to a more "upscale" blog host - WordPress.com

Come find 2cargarage and my rants on traffic here - http://2cargarage.wordpress.com/

Later,

Ryan

Google Street View - What's the point?

I know Google has a lot of money - a lot of money.  Enough money to pay someone (or many someones) to drive all the roads of the world and take 360 degree photos every 5m or so...and develop the software to stitch the photos together and get them working with Google Earth.

But why?

Who's using this "tool"?

I know I am...but I'm a traffic engineer.  When I first saw street view, I honestly thought Google's target market was me.  But there aren't enough transportation professionals out there to justify the massive cost to put Street View all together - and then just give it away for free.

I can think of just a couple of ideas why regular "civilians" would use Google's Street View:

• Real Estate.  This one makes the most sense.  Moving to a new city or a new neighborhood, Street View can save you lots of time and money by showing you the "curb appeal" of your potential new home.
• Navigation.  If you print out directions from google maps, you can get the Street View of all your turns.  Adds a new dimension to.....take your 4th right...2nd left...

"Anonymous" answers the question of Street View - What's the point?

It gives the googlegeeks some idea of what Outside looks like.

 So how do you use Street View?  Is it a distraction or a useful tool?  I'd love to find out...

Blue. No yel-- Auuuuuuuugh! Judging your car by the color of it's skin.

Insurance companies - the only people that crunch more road safety data then traffic engineers.

Your premiums are based on a plethora of "risk factors".  The risk factors are all based on probabilities (from real collision data) that you'll make stupid decisions in your car, crash, and wind up costing the insurance company big money.  So they need to make big money from you so they can pay big money for you.  Got it?

Some of these risk factors are:
- where you live (live in a big city with lots of traffic - premium goes up)
- how old you are (are you 16 years old - premium goes way up)
- your gender (no comment)
- your marital status (pre bachelor party vs post bachelor party - big difference)
- your driving record and collision history (best way to judge future performance is with past behavior....they use this technique in job interviews too)
- even the make and model of your car (convertible sports car vs minivan? - no brainier)

But what about the color of your vehicle?  Are red cars really the most dangerous on the road or is it just an urban legend? 

Studies have shown that red cars are involved in more accidents than their blue, green, or gold counterparts, and it is a fact that, on average, drivers of red cars pay higher car insurance rates.

One car insurance company explains that color doesn't really affect premiums - it's the drivers of the red sports cars that pay more. Duh.

But perhaps insurance companies should take another look at the numbers.  Dr Stuart Newstead a researcher at Monash University Accident Research Centre has found that you really can judge a car by the color of it's skin.

His study found that gray cars have 10 percent higher likelihood to be involved in a collision then the safer white car.  Add the staggering volume of gray cars on the road, and you've got some concerned professionals.

So the next time you go car shopping - stop and think about how the color you choose may end up costing you money and maybe even your life.

Gary Lauder's new traffic sign: Take Turns | Video on TED.com

Although Gary is a Venture Capitalist, in another life he'd had made an excellent traffic engineer. A traffic engineer doesn't just see a stop sign. He (or she) see's numbers - that, in this case, tell a story of inefficiency and waste. Gary does a great job of showing the thought process and math (easy math, at that) of how one stop sign can cost society over $2 million. If more people saw the traffic world like Gary, we'd have much less waste.

Welcome to 2cargarage.com

No. 2cargarage.com is not my first choice. I don't think it even cracked the top 20. But with like a gazillion blogs out there in the wold wide web, it's incredibly difficult to find decent names. Try it yourself - you'll see.

You know what name I really wanted for my blog? --- gridlock.com

2nd choice? --- roadrage.com

I could have chosen roadfury.com - but it just doesn't have the same ring to it as roadrage.com.

gridlock.com sounds pretty cool though, doesn't it? It's tough...which I'm not...which is why I like it - obviously.

Anyways.

So 2cargarage.com it is. Or more precisely, 2cargarage.blogspot.com. I'm ok with the name, actually. It's my little inside joke. My little poke at the suburban dream and the congestion nightmare it casts on the millions. We'll get to that in another post.

So what's this blog going to be all about? Well, we'll (why do I think I now have a team working for me on this??) ---- Well, I'll be talking about those 2 little cars and what happens to them...and their drivers...when they take little trips from their safe garages out into the world.

I am going to delve into the bizarre world of traffic --- the drivers, the laws, the governments, the decisions, the roads, the signs, the lines, the crashes, the stats, the photos, the videos, the laws, the arguments, the suffering, the humour, the innovations, the evolution, the history, the culture.......all of it.....

In addition to being fascinating to me - I hope it's fascinating to you too.

Make no mistake about it --- Traffic Engineering is a dark art. It appears so simple when you're driving your regular route to work or school.....but there are layers and layers of artness and darkness just waiting to be uncovered.

I hope you stick around to see what I mean...