Posts Tagged ‘Sep-2009’

The Navy had been working on the idea of satellite navigating since 1960, advancing a tool developed during World War II. Long-range radio aids were used then to determine a ship’s or airplane’s position quickly and accurately. When the U.S. started exploring space, scientists placed new navigation satellites in orbit, thousands of miles above earth’s surface. Although early systems could determine an object’s location only about once an hour, the concept was proven and…

Harold Smith may not be a household name, but he made a huge contribution toward making American roadways safer. He ran a driver training school following his service in World War II, basing his behind-the-wheel tactics on collision avoidance. When students didn’t get his approach to safety, he set out to clarify his ideas on paper. Smith believed safe driving had more to do with seeing than reacting. Working with an ophthalmologist, he developed a theory that human beings were designed …

A dozen or so years ago, at a meeting of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), I helped organize a panel discussion about sleeper cabs. I brought three owner-operators for a dialogue with truck builders’ cab engineers. After hearing how sleepers had been made larger and more comfortable, Dennis Mitchell of Blissfield, Mich., stopped the engineers in their tracks. He asked if any of them knew how long it took for a sleeper cab to burn down to the frame rails. Dennis reported seeing i…