Jim Kenzie's The Driver's Seat

Mythbusters and Roundabouts

Don't know if you all watch 'Mythbusters' or not, but it's a terrific and entertaining TV show that takes commonly-held beliefs and puts them to the scientific test.

They decided to see if roundabouts really were more efficient than four-way stops.

You can watch the episode here.

But - SPOILER ALERT!!! - you must know that I of all people would hardly include it in my blog if the roundabouts didn't win...

In this instance, they were measuring 'efficiency' only from a traffic-flow perspective - how many cars get through an intersection in a given time period.

They did not factor in safety - you have to work pretty hard to get into a Tee-bone or head-on crash in a roundabout, and Waterloo Region has recorded as many as 70 percent fewer collisions in roundabout intersections compared to stop signs; or fuel efficiency - stopping, idling and re-starting are the three of the worst things your car can do to waste fuel, and they're all part and parcel of a stop sign.

Roundabouts are s-l-o-w-l-y making their way into the consciousness of traffic planners in some North American municipalities.

Yes, there is a bit of a learning curve for drivers unfamiliar with the concept.

But if ROW (Rest Of World) can figure them out, surely we can too.

My question, as it has been since my first visit to Europe many years ago: What's it going to take to make it the 'default option' for ALL intersections here?

Science has spoken.

 

MINI Makes a Big Bang

Does anyone else watch Big Bang Theory?

Yeah, pretty much everybody - it is at or near the top of Canada's TV ratings charts every year, and not just because Toronto's own Barenaked Ladies sing the theme song.

The episode I saw last week (originally shown last fall, according to CBS's web site) revolves around Howard Wolowitz getting a new car and taking over Sheldon Cooper's parking spot at the University where they both work.

Even though Sheldon doesn't even have a driver's licence, let alone a car, he decides Howard should not have 'his' spot, and tries to take it back.

First, he tries to push the car out of the spot - hard to do with the car presumably locked, in gear, and with the parking brake on.

You'd think a guy as smart as Sheldon professes to be would have known that...

Then he tries to prove he does 'use' the spot by setting up a work space there...

...and by painting his name over Wolowitz's on the curb stone.

I am ashamed to admit that even I didn't get this part of the joke, so thanks again to an 'alert reader':

Howard's car was a MINI Countryman Cooper S.

This might have been one of the most clever if most subtle product placements in television history...

Baseball Hero Needs to Set a Better Example

I just watched the 'Up Close Open Mic' feature on Sportsnet with new Blue Jay R. A. Dickey.

Not only is this guy a fabulous pitcher - the current National League Cy Young award holder is expected to lead the Blue Jays to heights not seen since the early 1990s.

But in this series of interviews, and in all cases where he has dealt with the public through media contacts, he appears to a most thoughtful, intelligent, serious and articulate man.

His references to his wife and children also reveal him to be a God-fearing family man.

He notes how his family is looking forward to getting to know their new country, learning our culture and our customs.

Welcome to Canada and to Toronto, R. A.

But allow me to introduce you to one Canadian custom with which you do not appear to be familiar.

In part of this TV show, Dickey is shown driving his car through downtown Toronto traffic. He comments that it is not as congested as the New York City he is used to.

But as you can see from this still clipped from that show, Dickey is not wearing his seat belt.

By the way, this is not merely a Canadian custom, my man.

It is our law.

It stuns me that someone apparently this smart and this devoted to his family would do this. If he wants to grow old to enjoy those children that he loves so much, I beseech him to wear it at all times.

Even religious people will say that God helps those who help themselves.

If you get hit head-on by some drunk - it happens - your seat belt will help a lot more than faith in any god.

We have lost too many athletes who thought they were above the laws of physics. Former NHL defenceman Steve Chaisson immediately comes to mind.

Dickey's knuckleball may appear to be defying those laws.

But if his unbelted body is hurtling towards his steering wheel and dashboard at 50 km/h - about half the speed of his knuckleball - it is going to end very badly.

Given that Dickey is a public figure and stands to be a role model for all our children, I beg of him: please R.A. - set the right example.

Oh yeah - and win 20 games.

 

Truck Fuel Economy - Who Cares?

Have you noticed that pick-up truck advertising always seems to stress fuel consumption?

Ford is boosting its EcoBoost turbocharged Direct Injection Engine (that's one of them, left).

Ram (not Dodge any more) says it has Best in Class fuel consumption, thanks to its eight-speed transmission.

Chevy talks about 'unsurpassed' V8 fuel consumption, by which they mean the GMC equivalent does as well on that count.

But do customers for this type of vehicle give a flying wahoo about fuel consumption?

Not so's you'd notice.

It seems to me whenever I see a pick-up truck on the highway, it's a huge four-by-four going a billion km/h.

Fuel consumption - who cares?

BTW, if you didn't see that episode of MythBusters, they proved it doesn't help fuel consumption in a pick-up to run with the tailgate down.

And another thing, to all pick-up makers - Canada switched to the Metric system shortly after the last Ice Age. Why are you still advertising fuel consumption in miles per gallon?

 

Motoring TV's Car of the Year Show

Do we need another Car of the Year?

Sure, why not?

Well, its not really 'another' Car of the Year.

It's been a feature of TSN's Motoring televsion - if not from the very beginning, way back in 1988, then from a long way back.

I always kid host Brad Diamond and road tester Graeme Fletcher that they almost always pick the wrong car - while I am a commentator on the show, I don't participate in this choice.

Motoring's 2013 Car of the Year will be announced on a one-hour special episode of the show, debuting Saturday Jan. 25, at noon EST.

On TSN, of course.

Because I was part of the taping of this show, I know whether they got it right this year.

But am I gonna tell you now?

Of course not.

So, take a few minutes off from wheels.ca and tune in!

You can also check out the Motoring web site at www.motoringtv.com .

Even SWAT guys have to eat...

There I was, enjoying my grande latte on the outdoor patio at a FourBucks in Leaside, when up pulled the least inconspicuous 'unmarked police vehicle' ever.

It was a massive Suburban (is there any other kind?), black as coal, big black tires, plain steel wheels, tiny little silver-painted hubcaps, and those two massive nerf bars sticking out of the grille.

Nope; the perps would never see THAT coming.

It looked like something out of an American police-procedural TV show.

Or the Canadian-made Flashpoint. Actually, that's where this picture came from - I didn't figure the guys climbing out of the vehicle I saw would be crazy about me taking a shot of them and their truck...

I joked with them about how 'un-stealthy' their ride was.

“At least we have 'POLICE' on our uniforms!” one of them replied.

Uniforms - yes, those black and gray camo suits the Emergency Task Force wears.

These were serious cops.

Then another black 'Burb pulled up, two more ETF guys got out, then a third 'Burb, this time a white one with Metro Toronto Police markings on it.

“Geez,” I asked them, “did I stumble onto a high-risk take-down? Somebody smuggling Unfair-Trade beans in here?"

“No,” replied one of the officers, adding somewhat sheepishly, “we're just here having breakfast.”

Then one of them said, “Hey, I know you! You're the guy on TV!”

(If I get recognized 'on the street' at all, it's usually from being on TSN's Motoring TV. Don't know what that says about my photo in the Wheels section...).

“Yeah, STAY OUT OF THE LEFT LANE!” I yelled.

(I am not a curmudgeon; I just play one on television. We figure Don Cherry stole that shtick from me...).

Another ETF guy said he agreed with me on that.

“So why don't you pull them over?” I asked. “Cops tell me the Justices of the Peace won't convict if they write the tickets, but the JPs tell me they CAN'T convict if the cops won't lay the charges! Chicken and egg; we got to get everybody in the same room at the same time...”

My new-found friend said he once did pull a woman over on the 401. She was in the right lane, but was going just 60 km/h, in broad daylight, no weather issues.

I can't imagine what these guys must see every day.

Well, I sort of can, because I see it too.

But that's just the traffic detail.

What THESE guys must see in the performance of their SWAT duties...

By now, the ETF teammates were back in their trucks.

“You do know there's a Toronto law against idling for so long?” I quipped. Pretty cheeky telling that to guys with guns - with BIG guns.

“Yes, but we have an exemption because we have to maintain power to all the computers we have on board.”

“Fair enough,” I said, as they started to pull away.

“And don't forget to put your seat belts on!”

“Doing that now!” the driver said with a big grin.

Terrific examples of “Toronto's Finest.”

 

Clever Marketing or Lucky Break?

I don't know if you're following the Olympics (or even give a flyin' wahoo; I am not, and don't particularly, respectively...).

BTW, spoiler alert - if you DON'T want to know who won the 100m Gold Medal because you'll watch it on PVR later, quit now! Otherwise, scroll down...

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I was just told by someone who is and does (respectively) that Usain Bolt of Jamaica won as expected, breaking his own Olympic record and - here's the good part - the first commercial after his victory was for the Chevy Volt!

Bolt for Volt!!

Now, did GM's clever marketing types set that up??

Or did they just get lucky?

I guess you'd have to call Mr. Bolt 'electrifying' - bet he's never heard THAT one before hahahahahahaha...

Sorry...

And you might have noticed in the 'Categories' for this blog posting, I included 'Current Affairs'.

Please, somebody stop me before someone gets hurt...

Tom Hnatiw

Tom Hnatiw, the very definition of a 'Car Guy', has passed away.

I have very few details at this point - I'll update as more information becomes available.

Perhaps the best way for you all to stay in touch with respect to memorial services would be at the web site of his company, Internal Combustion Group.

In addition to being the nicest guy you ever met, Tom had an amazing voice. Being a radio announcer was what he dreamed of growing up in Dauphin Manitoba.

He lived his dream, and then some.

Even his outgoing telephone voice mail message sounded like a K-TEL commercial.

He also had a terrific singing voice, and sang with my band on occasion.

Tom leaves his wife Debbie and two young sons.

We will all miss him.

 

UEFA versus NASCAR

OK, so this is a blog on cars.

But some people think NASCAR racing is boring - round and round they go, where they crash, nobody knows...

So I figure that opens it up.

As a general sports fan, I thought I'd better watch the biggest sports event in the world (until the London Olympics open later this month).

The UEFA Euro Cup.

In the parlance of the text-iverse / tweet-iverse:

O.

M.

G.

Really, people.

Grass is growing out there, and you're missing all the action!

Paint is drying out there, and it has to be watched!

Did I really hear that one Spanish player made four hundred and forty-five passes in this tournament? Most of them laterals or towards his own goal?

The first shot on goal in the final - a decent chance from out front - after ten minutes of play?

Six shots in total on the poor Italian goalie, four of which went in?

Casillas of Spain may be the best goalie in soccer today. He had to stop four shots. Martin Brodeur should have it so easy.

And don't even get me started on the diving.

They don't even know how to celebrate the win in soccer. Everyone just milling about for half an hour, their kiddies running around aimlessly on the field, no formal handshake between the teams.

Nobody does that better than hockey.

In the "credit where credit's due" department, there does still seem to be a role for the little guy in soccer. Some of these dudes didn't look much more than 5'8", 160 pounds. Legs like Colossus, but you'd expect that.

And what they can do with their feet is amazing.

One aspect of the celebration they did get right - the guy with the engraving tool was on the spot and 'Espana' was put on the trophy before it was handed over.

I get it - soccer is popular.

Celine Dion sells a lot of records; it proves nothing.

I understand that in the third world, they don't have ice, and can't afford anything but running shoes.

Maybe not even running shoes.

But once you CAN afford skates - people, move on.

No wonder there's so much rioting at soccer games - there's nothing to watch down there.

With a few minutes to go, a 4 - 0 lead in soccer is like 10 - 0 in hockey. But Spain kept pressing for another, with Italy a man down due to injury (only three subs? What's up with that?...)

Even Don Cherry would be right on this count - the game is over; don't run up the score.

Nothing 'beautiful' about that aspect of the game.

The four goals probably set some sort of record. The usual inevitable 0 - 0 score (as it happened, the result of the Spain - Portugal semi-final) indicates that scoring a goal in soccer is one of the most difficult things to do in all of sport, never mind that the net is about the size of Rhode Island.

So how do they settle ties?

They stand on the dock and kick the ball into the water.

Twenty guys run their butts off for 90 minutes (the two goalies don't run all that much) and it's pretty much always decided by a goal post (they actually keep a stat on "attempts against woodwork"'! You could look it up...) or by the goalie guessing wrong and the shooter chipping the ball over his prone body.

Shoot-outs ('penalties' in the soccer vernacular) of course make even less sense in soccer than they do in hockey. My daughter has a vastly better suggestion, for either sport - a two-on-one, thirty seconds to score, then the other team gets its chance. Three chances each, then one at a time until a winner is declared.

Brilliant. More like the Canadian Football League's tie-breaking system - genuine football (or in these cases, soccer or hockey) plays.

Actually, they could probably just start soccer games like that, save us all 90 minutes of boredom and we could all get home in time to watch the NASCAR race.

Let the flaming begin!

 

High School Students Fight Distracted Driving

SMARTRISK is a terrific non-profit organization whose purpose is to encourage people (largely but not exclusively young people) to prevent injury by smart thinking and intelligent risk management.

 

SMARTRISK was started some two decades ago by Dr. Robert Conn, a paediatric heart surgeon whose job had largely evolved into taking the hearts out of dead teenagers and sticking them into the chests of fat old men.

 

Even as I get older and fatter, I can't help but agree with Dr. Conn who realized he could save more lives - certainly more 'person-years' - if he could find a way to keep the young people from dying in the first place.

 

He learned that trauma - most significantly, car crashes - was the major cause of premature death for Canadians.

 

So he quit what must have been a six-figure gig to start SMARTRISK. It has developed a wide range of educational and awareness programs to further its goals.

 

This wasn't some sort of retirement project either; Dr. Conn was only 37 years old when he started SMARTRISK.

 

It's hard not to be impressed by a young guy who gives up such a lucrative career to try and save the lives of my kids - and yours.

 

Which is why I donate half of the proceeds of my annual car photography calendar to SMARTRISK.

 

(Yes, it is a bit late in the year to buy a calendar, but I'll give you a discount - click HERE to visit my web site.

 

Dr. Conn only figured to run SMARTRISK for ten years or so; he retired a couple of years ago after seventeen years at the helm. The organization is now in the capable hands of Dr. Phil Groff.

 

One of SMARTRISK's latest programs is called “Is It Worth It?” With support from the State Farm Youth Advisory Board - State Farm Insurance is a major sponsor of SMARTRISK - and building on an idea developed by students at Northern Secondary School in Toronto and Leo Hayes High School in Fredericton New Brunswick, high school students were invited to produce Public Service Announcements - short videos - emphasizing the dangers of distracted driving.

 

Whether texting, calling on a cell phone, eating, putting on make-up, even playing music too loud or having too many people in the car, can seriously impair the driver's ability to focus on the issue at hand - namely, driving.

 

Over 60 videos were received, many of them showing considerable degrees of creativity and imagination.

 

A committee of ten “celebrities and driving experts”, according to the organizers (not sure which category they thought I fell into, but I was one of the jurors) was charged with evaluating the submissions, with the criteria being clear and accurate delivery of content, creativity and originality, use of positive messaging, strength of impact, and technical quality of the PSA.

 

The original plan was to narrow the field down to ten videos, which would then be judged by you, the viewing public.

 

But there were too many good entries, too many ties to break, so the finalist group was enlarged to fifteen.

 

Click HERE to visit the "Is It Worth It" web site  to view these finalists, and to cast your vote. You have the entire month of April to vote. Voting rules are listed on the site.

 

Be prepared to be impressed by the passion and imagination of Canada's high school students.

 

Also, to learn more about SMARTRISK, click HERE.