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Category Archives: Transportation

FAA Aviation Maps

Kottke: “On Beautiful Public Data, Jon Keegan highlights the extremely information-rich flight maps produced by the Federal Aviation Administration that pilots use to find their way around the skies. Among all of the visual information published by the U.S. government, there may be no product with a higher information density than the Federal Aviation Administration’s… Continue Reading

Google Maps is getting ‘supercharged’ with generative AI

The Verge: “Google is bringing generative AI to — where else? — Google Maps, promising to help users find cool places through the use of large language models (LLM). The feature will answer queries for restaurant or shopping recommendations, for example, using its LLM to “analyze Maps’ detailed information about more than 250 million places… Continue Reading

Cracking the Gasoline Code

COLTURA – Using new gasoline consumption data to lift the most gasoline-burdened Americans and cut gasoline use faster and more efficiently. “The top 10% of drivers in the U.S. account for more than one-third of the nation’s gasoline use for private light-duty vehicles, according to the report. Extreme levels of gasoline use are deeply woven… Continue Reading

Cyclists Break Far Fewer Road Rules Than Motorists, Finds New Video Study

Forbes: “A new study from the Danish Road Directorate shows that less than 5% of cyclists break traffic laws while riding yet 66% of motorists do so when driving. The Danish Cycling Embassy, a privately-funded NGO, puts this down to visibility: law breaking by cyclists is “easy to notice for everyone” but transgressions by motorists, such… Continue Reading

Why Are American Drivers So Deadly?

The New York Times [read free]: After decades of declining fatality rates, dangerous driving has surged again. “…In the fall of 2022, Dr. Deborah Kuhls attended the annual meeting of the Governors Highway Safety Organization, in Louisville, Ky. In conversations with other researchers, she learned that the same behavioral patterns she had observed back in… Continue Reading

Hackers can infect network-connected wrenches to install ransomware

Ars Technica – Researchers identify 23 vulnerabilities, some of which can exploited with no authentication. “Researchers have unearthed nearly two dozen vulnerabilities that could allow hackers to sabotage or disable a popular line of network-connected wrenches that factories around the world use to assemble sensitive instruments and devices. The vulnerabilities, reported Tuesday by researchers from… Continue Reading

Here’s how the EPA calculates how far an EV can go on a full charge

Ars Technica: “How does the US Environmental Protection Agency decide how far an electric vehicle can go on a single charge? The simple explanation is that an EV is driven until the battery runs flat, providing the number that goes on the window sticker. In practice, it’s a lot more complicated than that, with varying… Continue Reading

Tesla blamed drivers for failures of parts it long knew were defective

Reuters Investigates: “Wheels falling off cars at speed. Suspensions collapsing on brand-new vehicles. Axles breaking under acceleration. Tens of thousands of customers told Tesla about a host of part failures on low-mileage cars. The automaker sought to blame drivers for vehicle ‘abuse,’ but Tesla documents show it had tracked the chronic ‘flaws’ and ‘failures’ for… Continue Reading

Businessweek Jealousy List 2023

“News flash: We are kind of awesome! In these increasingly weird, anxious, foreboding times, what we make—some of the best journalism around—matters. A lot. And we don’t thank you nearly enough for tuning in to our coverage and for letting us claim your attention. But as awesome as we are, on occasion we’re reminded that… Continue Reading