3.1Attachment to Personal Vehicles in the United States:
Human nature, as judged by the public’s use of personal cars, indicates that a typical driver, particularly in the United States, will be unwilling to give up the style, comfort, convenience and familiarity associated with his or her personal car or cars. Customization seen in almost every personal vehicle, in terms of body style, power options, entertainment systems, personal paint, identity schemes, bumper stickers, parking stickers, aftermarket modifications, specialty tires and wheels makes it more desirable to travel in the vehicle that incorporates a person’s unique taste and requirements. Typical train or PRT travel requires a person to make his or her way to a station, perhaps park a personal vehicle, and find a way to reach a final destination after egress at the deplaning station. A person who uses today’s typical train or PRT systems does not have access to his personal vehicle during the day or in the event of an emergency. Mass transit alternatives, usually cost more, and take more time, than driving to a destination in a personal car.
3.2.Common Cars:
Some commercial companies have attempted to solve parts of the mass transit dilemma through a system using common, or shared, cars located at numerous sites within densely populated areas (“Common Cars”). Current opinions of Common Car systems users regarding Common Car availability and condition are not favorable. Most people will not want to depend on a vehicle which may not meet their standards of sanitation, cleanliness, mechanical condition or appearance. These business are not believed to be substantially adaptable to a large percentage of surface transportation users, however, there may be a potential tie between these types of services and the Hybrid PT System (see Section 12.8, “Common Cars at Hybrid PT Stations”). Common Cars are no safer, faster or more efficient than standard cars.
3.3Personal Safety:
In terms of personal safety, a Hybrid PT vehicle will be designed and constructed to new standards, using the newly developed technologies of carbon fiber tubs, active head protection and, in the unlikely event of an impending collision, braking capacity which is 4 times greater than any personal surface vehicle in use at this time. Medical alert systems (an option), could monitor a driver’s vital signs and provide immediate Grid exit in the event of a medical issue. A person who becomes incapacitated, for example, would not be in grave danger of driving off the road or having another type of accident as the Grid computer would recognize the condition and cause the vehicle to exit the Grid System at the first opportunity. Medical personnel could be advised and standing by to assist. In the unlikely event of an impending collision the Hybrid PT System’s on-board and external computers would recognized the circumstances in advance gently initiating full head and body restraints for all occupants well before impact. (Safety features of the Grid and Hybrid PT compliant vehicles are further described in Section 10, “Safety of Life”).
Thomas Pumpelly (Email)