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Category: transportation – Page 485

Mercedes-Benz breaks ground on new battery factory for electric vehicles in the US

Mercedes-Benz makes good on its previously announced $1 billion investment to bring electric vehicle manufacturing in the US – starting with breaking ground on a new battery factory in Alabama.

Last week, the German automaker held a ceremony to launch the construction of the factory, which is located seven miles from the Mercedes-Benz Cars vehicle production site in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Markus Schäfer, Member of the Divisional Board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain, attended the ceremony:

Cleanup Begins After Ships Collide Causing Fuel Spill in Mediterranean Sea

  • A pair of merchant ships collided causing a fuel spill in the Mediterranean Sea.
  • No injuries were reported in the collision.
  • French and Italian authorities are working to contain the spill.

French and Italian maritime authorities ays they have begun cleaning up a fuel spill that has spread 12.5 miles in the Mediterranean Sea after two cargo ships collided north of the island of Corsica.

Italy’s coast guard said Monday it’s recovering some of the polluted material and monitoring the spill amid changing weather conditions.

China to train African scientists as part of $60-billion development plan

But some policy experts and scientists worry that African nations might become too reliant on other countries to provide training. Others doubt that the initiatives will truly boost African science, as similar projects planned at past forums have yet to produce noticeable benefits.

But critics worry the investment will make African countries too reliant on an outside power.

US will rewrite safety rules to permit fully driverless cars on public roads

Under current US safety rules, a motor vehicle must have traditional controls, like a steering wheel, mirrors, and foot pedals, before it is allowed to operate on public roads. But that could all change under a new plan released on Thursday by the Department of Transportation that’s intended to open the floodgates for fully driverless cars.

The department, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “intends to reconsider the necessity and appropriateness of its current safety standards” as applied to autonomous vehicles, the 80-page document reads. In particular, regulators say they will look to change those safety standards “to accommodate automated vehicle technologies and the possibility of setting exceptions to certain standards — that are relevant only when human drivers are present.”

The Insane Physics of Airbags

I can imagine the meeting: A dozen engineers are gathered around a conference table to discuss automobile safety. How can we protect people during a car crash? We have already added seat belts and crumple zones to cars. Is there anything else we can include? One attendee reluctantly raises their hand with a suggestion: “How about we add an explosive in the steering wheel?”

Safe, efficient self-driving cars could block walkable, livable communities

Almost exactly a decade ago, I was cycling in a bike lane when a car hit me from behind. Luckily, I suffered only a couple bruised ribs and some road rash. But ever since, I have felt my pulse rise when I hear a car coming up behind my bike.

As self-driving cars roll out, they’re already being billed as making me – and millions of American cyclists, pedestrians and vehicle passengers – safer.

As a driver and a cyclist, I initially welcomed the idea of self-driving cars that could detect nearby people and be programmed not to hit them, making the streets safer for everyone. Autonomous vehicles also seemed to provide attractive ways to use roads more efficiently and reduce the need for parking in our communities. People are certainly talking about how self-driving cars could help build more sustainable, livable, walkable and bikable communities.