While on the Road...

I wanted to share this bit with my fellow bloggers since quite a while but didn't have the mood to write it until I read Aspi's Car Literacy post.

Driving back and forth from work daily, I spend around 2 hours on the road. Before I started doing it for work, I had even longer commute for school/college for more than 4-5 years so I always look for ways to entertain myself while driving. One of the ways is by observing things, things on the road and in other cars, which are mainly inane ;) but once in a while I do come across something interesting or something that makes me think. So here I'd like to share two such things I came across this summer while on the road.

This first one I kept wondering for quite a while until Yahoo! Answers came to my rescue. So every morning/evening I'd see 18-wheelers trailers (huge trucks) that would have this written on them "air-ride equipped" and I wondered what it meant. By the time I would have access to a computer, I would forget about it. So finally I created a reminder for myself and searched for the answer.

Air-ride equipped means the vehicles absorb much more road vibration created by holes and digs on the road than coil or leaf springs. These vehicles are also equipped with a suspension system built around sturdy air bags absorbing vibration and impact shock. The contents then float on a cushion of air, nearly eliminating both compression damage and telescoping. I also read that this helps reduce driver fatigue and improves mechanical reliability, tire wear and fuel mileage. This combination translates into less downtime and reliable delivery. (Source: http://www.rush-delivery.com/html/airRide.html)

And the second one being the CHMSL. I knew about this technology and the reasoning behind it for a few years, but didn't know that there was an official name for it. CHMSL stands for Centre High Mount Stop Lamp. These were implemented a few decades back to prevent accidents and this summer I finally paid attention to how they have been of help while driving, specially during the rush commute hours when traffic is bumper to bumper and freeways become parking lots. All the vehicles in the US must have a functioning third brake light mounted on the trunk (dickie) lid or spoiler or at the edge of the vehicle roof or any location on the rear of the vehicle that is higher than the other two brake lights and it only lits when the brake pedal is compressed. This helps the driver in the back to realize that the car in front of him is stopping or going to stop and prevents him from rear ending the front car. This is crucial and quite important because if a driver hits someone from the back, it's his/her fault and eventually insurance guys come in the picture and the monthly premium increases and their pocket book is hit badly! *POW* And if there's any personal injuries, things get even uglier on the insurance front. The third brake light helps determine when and where to stop our car so accidents can be avoided. May God bless the guy/gal who thought of CHMSL and implemented them on vehicles.