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Post by the light works on Nov 29, 2019 3:49:24 GMT
on the surface, this seems like an easy myth to test. get a car with the capability to plug in a computer, obscure the speedometer from the driver, and have him drive on an open road and try to maintain a steady speed. I'm thinking most drivers will fluctuate, and some will fluctuate more significantly than others.
of course, where do we find a road where outside forces will not cause the fluctuations?
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Post by rmc on Nov 29, 2019 13:04:07 GMT
on the surface, this seems like an easy myth to test. get a car with the capability to plug in a computer, obscure the speedometer from the driver, and have him drive on an open road and try to maintain a steady speed. I'm thinking most drivers will fluctuate, and some will fluctuate more significantly than others. of course, where do we find a road where outside forces will not cause the fluctuations? What wide open surface is there to test this? Bonneville salt flats? Other than that, as to the premise about drivers having difficulty telling what speed they're at? -- Absolutely. Most drivers I see seem to be driving by the seat of their pants [BADLY]. In other words, they totally fail to take into account things like the sensations brought about by the nature of inertia. They seem to think that they aren't really going all that fast at times (I think because they feel stationary in some sense -- couple that with their being up high in an SUV, further away from the surface of the road than some other drivers). Meanwhile, on other occasions they seem to fear accelerating enough to catch up to highway speed when merging (because, "oh no! can't stomp on that accelerator! I will feel like I am going far too fast!... I'll wait til a few moments later, when I am actually out on the open highway itself... then, I'll slowly continue to press on that ol accelerator until I approach the speed of light!") |
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Post by GTCGreg on Nov 29, 2019 16:04:56 GMT
I agree that the speed you normally end up driving without looking at the speedometer depends on two factors. One is the vehicle you are driving, and two, the music you were listening to. I find that when driving my wrangler, I seldom go over 70 mph. But when I’m driving my wife’s excursion on the open road, if I’m not careful I’ll look down at the speedometer and I’ll be doing 90.
I think your myth, however, is maintaining a constant speed in any given vehicle. Again I have to agree that most people do not maintain a constant speed. Just observing my own driving, I have noticed that, if all things remain constant search as road conditions and lack of other traffic to reference off of, my speed can vary ass much as plus or minus 5 mph if I’m not watching the speedometer. Observing other people on the road, that also appears to be the case. I guess that’s why God gave us cruise controls.
Here’s a little twist, I wonder if drummers are better at maintaining speed than most other people. The drummer is the person that sets the temple throughout a song. A good drummer will end a song at exactly the same tempo that it was started. I wonder if this skill also translates when driving.
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Post by rmc on Nov 29, 2019 16:49:11 GMT
I agree that the speed you normally end up driving without looking at the speedometer depends on two factors. One is the vehicle you are driving, and two, the music you were listening to. I find that when driving my wrangler, I seldom go over 70 mph. But when I’m driving my wife’s excursion on the open road, if I’m not careful I’ll look down at the speedometer and I’ll be doing 90. I think your myth, however, is maintaining a constant speed in any given vehicle. Again I have to agree that most people do not maintain a constant speed. Just observing my own driving, I have noticed that, if all things remain constant search as road conditions and lack of other traffic to reference off of, my speed can vary ass much as plus or minus 5 mph if I’m not watching the speedometer. Observing other people on the road, that also appears to be the case. I guess that’s why God gave us cruise controls. Here’s a little twist, I wonder if drummers are better at maintaining speed than most other people. The drummer is the person that sets the temple throughout a song. A good drummer will end a song at exactly the same tempo that it was started. I wonder if this skill also translates when driving. If on a flat surface like the flats, it is arguable that all one need do is keep the pedal at the same level of engagement, I'd think. But, if you had to maintain the same speed on hills and flat spots, without looking at the gauge, it may be more difficult. After all, you'd be expecting a large drop off in speed if you kept the pedal engaged the same way you did on the flats while traversing up a hill. And, much like you said, other vehicles movements could cause you to misjudge things a bit. And, again like you said, driving a taller vehicle or shorter vehicle than you are used to may make speeds seem different than they actually are. |
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Post by the light works on Nov 29, 2019 18:10:14 GMT
I agree that the speed you normally end up driving without looking at the speedometer depends on two factors. One is the vehicle you are driving, and two, the music you were listening to. I find that when driving my wrangler, I seldom go over 70 mph. But when I’m driving my wife’s excursion on the open road, if I’m not careful I’ll look down at the speedometer and I’ll be doing 90. I think your myth, however, is maintaining a constant speed in any given vehicle. Again I have to agree that most people do not maintain a constant speed. Just observing my own driving, I have noticed that, if all things remain constant search as road conditions and lack of other traffic to reference off of, my speed can vary ass much as plus or minus 5 mph if I’m not watching the speedometer. Observing other people on the road, that also appears to be the case. I guess that’s why God gave us cruise controls. Here’s a little twist, I wonder if drummers are better at maintaining speed than most other people. The drummer is the person that sets the temple throughout a song. A good drummer will end a song at exactly the same tempo that it was started. I wonder if this skill also translates when driving. If on a flat surface like the flats, it is arguable that all one need do is keep the pedal at the same level of engagement, I'd think. But, if you had to maintain the same speed on hills and flat spots, without looking at the gauge, it may be more difficult. After all, you'd be expecting a large drop off in speed if you kept the pedal engaged the same way you did on the flats while traversing up a hill. And, much like you said, other vehicles movements could cause you to misjudge things a bit. And, again like you said, driving a taller vehicle or shorter vehicle than you are used to may make speeds seem different than they actually are. I was thinking more of road courses, but a large unmarked expanse would give a good result, too. I also like the thought of testing not only whether you can maintain a consistent speed - but whether people can maintain a target speed. I'd add other musicians as well as drummers - after all, the tempo of an engine is faster than most drummers normally play. but will a person with good pitch recognition be able to translate that to a consistent driving speed? should we start a new thread for the myth that a good drummer can keep musicians on tempo? I've met some musicians that are pretty resistant to being held on tempo. |
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Post by wvengineer on Dec 2, 2019 17:52:49 GMT
It would be interesting to play with the visual cues that people may use to judge speed.
For example, a dashed line in the middle of the road. Does a person slow down when the dashes are shorter and closer together and go faster when they are longer and further apart? How does a person judge their speed when it is a solid double yellow line?
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Post by the light works on Dec 2, 2019 17:54:58 GMT
It would be interesting to play with the visual cues that people may use to judge speed. For example, a dashed line in the middle of the road. Does a person slow down when the dashes are shorter and closer together and go faster when they are longer and further apart? How does a person judge their speed when it is a solid double yellow line? true. the lines (skips) on the road, fence posts, guardrail posts, power poles... |
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