A proper language comparison...

[H. S. Teoh]

On Fri, Jul 26, 2013 at 01:58:33PM -0700, Walter Bright wrote:
> On 7/26/2013 12:30 PM, Chris Cain wrote:
> >I wouldn't recommend turning the ignition off. Most cars lose power
> >steering in that situation which is can be just as bad as or worse
> >than losing brakes.
> 
> The power steering is driven by a belt connected to the crankshaft.
> You won't lose power steering with the ignition off if the engine is
> turning.
> 
> But you need to be careful not to engage the steering lock. That
> would be a big problem.
> 
> And also, I suggest this as a last resort if your other braking
> systems all failed.
> 
> >Most cars (including automatics) allow you to manually switch to
> >lower gears which will also slow you down.
> 
> I have little experience with automatics.

I think most automatics lock the steering wheel upon power off (probably
as some kind of safety guard, maybe against inadvertent damage by some
parts that expect power to be running when the wheel is turned?).

I also use manual downshifting on my car (auto transmission) to force it
to slow down -- e.g., down a hill, when the automatic transmission will
often blindly shift to a high gear and you'll find yourself having to
burn up much of your brakes to keep the speed under control. My car has
a button that locks the maximum gear to 3rd, which is useful for keeping
within city street limits when going downhill. It also has gear
positions to force a switch to 2nd or 1st gear, though I rarely use
those since at lower speeds there's generally no need to bother with
them. In an emergency situation, forcing it to 1st gear would help
reduce the speed. (But it does take a few seconds before the auto
transmission kicks in to effect the switch -- and a few extra seconds at
high speed can be too long in an emergency situation.)

I think the one time when forcing 1st gear proved useful was when I had
to drive downhill after a heavy snowstorm -- you do *not* want to go any
higher in that situation otherwise you could easily lose friction and
slide down to a nasty crunch at the bottom. (Well, the general advice
is, don't drive in such conditions in the first place -- but then guys
like me are often rather foolhardy. :-P)


T

-- 
2+2=4. 2*2=4. 2^2=4. Therefore, +, *, and ^ are the same operation.