Welcome to Must Read, where we single out the best stories from around the automotive universe and beyond. Today, we have reports from Vermont Public Radio, Motherboard and Ate Up With Motor.
Is It Illegal To Take Selfies While Driving? Depends On Your Definition Of 'Negligent' – Vermont Public Radio
Much like the smartphone navigation app lawsuit in California, anti-texting laws in states such as Vermont are just not sophisticated enough to cover what people are doing with their phones these days. But above all else, it's still a stupid thing to do.
The law bans "the reading or the manual composing or sending of electronic communications, including text messages, instant messages, or e-mails, using a portable electronic device" while driving.
Bram Kranichfeld is a former prosecutor who now serves as the executive director of the Vermont Department of State's Attorneys and Sheriffs. He doesn't think the texting and driving law would necessarily apply to selfies.
Driverless Cars Can Never Be Crashproof, Physics Says – Motherboard
So what's the point, then?
The only way to truly create a driverless car that never crashes would be to first turn driverless cars into devices that can perfectly predict the future, according to a recent look at the realities of physics and space and time and that sort of thing by French computer scientist Thierry Fraichard. In a new paper, Fraichard spells out the mathematics and physics behind "what if some idiot jumps out in front of the Google car at the last second?"
Thunder and Lightning, Part 1: The Toyota Corolla Levin and Sprinter Trueno – Ate Up With Motor
Remember when the Toyota Corolla was a fun car in the lineup? No? Well, read up.
Although the Toyota Corolla is one of the world's bestselling automotive nameplates, it's not one that generally arouses much enthusiast interest. Twenty years ago, however, the Corolla Levin coupe and its near-twin, the Sprinter Trueno, were sporty rear-wheel-drive cars that are still coveted by street racers today. We'll get to the legendary AE86 in part two; in this installment of Ate Up With Motor, we examine the history of the early DOHC Corolla and Sprinter coupes, their Yamaha-developed 2T-G engine, and the more mundane cars on which they were based.
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