Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run

kirotv.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

121–130 of 227 posts

Re: Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run

#121

Post by oldmanjay »

GauntletWizard wrote: post #72
spike021 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My thought is that if you have the money to spend on multiple drinks, then you should be able to spend at least one drink's cost on Uber, Lyft, etc.

It's not just Uber to get home; It's the logistics of picking up your car in the morning, paying the overnight fees/parking tickets for wherever you left it, and the additional time it's going to take you to get it back. Getting 'home' is not a solved problem with Uber, unless you have some serious foresight.

How about the present sight of "I drove here. I shouldn't drink."

Re: Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run

#122

Post by lutorm »

VLM wrote: post #47
Chevalier wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not that it's any more or less tragic, but I've always been astonished that Silicon Valley is so car-dependent. We've concentrated the most brilliant minds in the world in this small area... and then force everyone to pilot two-ton bullets to pick up groceries? Not all workers can demand decent living conditions, but you'd think the competitive draw for workers in Silicon Valley would entice company towns to, I don't…

This article is being flooded with weird anti-car hate. Yet, my car is perfectly safe and can only kill someone in a hit and run at 100 MPH if, and only if, I get drunk first. Given that I don't drink very much and then only at home (a sixer lasts me about a season, sometimes half a year) that means my car is incredibly safe and will almost certainly never kill anyone. Odd how there's no anti-alcohol hate here on HN,…

According to NHTSA, 39% of all traffic fatalities in 2005 were alcohol-related. Your car is not "perfectly safe", not to you and certainly not to non-drivers around you, no matter what you would like to convince yourself.

Re: Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run

#123

Post by DanBC »

cthalupa wrote: post #119
usefulcat wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>There are sometimes legitimate reasons to be going quickly. I have, at times, needed to have bursts of speed into the 90s to safely get around a drunk driver going 70. So.. you reasoned that it would be safer to be /in front/ of the drunk driver?

>So.. you reasoned that it would be safer to be /in front/ of the drunk driver? Yes? In one scenario I am stuck behind them and potentially having to deal with the results of any sort of screwup on their part, or having to find a completely different route, which isn't always practical. In the other I leave them behind me and am no longer having to deal with them. In what world is it more advantageous to be near a dr…

You're travelling at speed to get past a dangerous driver -- so for that short time you're at risk. And then when you're in front of them you risk their poor brake control amd distance judgement until you get far enough away from them.

When you're behind them you iust need to leave a suitable braking gap. They're unlikely to come backwards.

Re: Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run

#124

Post by cthalupa »

bottled_poe wrote: post #46
cthalupa wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Cars are pretty safe, but I'm always a little shocked that we don't have governors built into cars with sane limits. How is it even possible to do 100mph and why should that speed be allowed? Cars should top off at 75. Why is it even possible? Because a car that can't do 100mph is going to have terrible performance 0-75 There's long stretches of highways in rural areas with speed limits higher than 75 >Not to mentio…

>There are sometimes legitimate reasons to be going quickly. I have, at times, needed to have bursts of speed into the 90s to safely get around a drunk driver going 70. Not convinced by this one. Surely reducing the kinetic energy in this scenario is the safest course of action?

>Not convinced by this one. Surely reducing the kinetic energy in this scenario is the safest course of action?

How is remaining near an impaired driver vs. leaving them behind the safer option?

It isn't always practical or possible to find another route, and staying behind a drunk driver and thus near them, or running the risk of running into the results of some sort of mistake on their part is certainly more dangerous than putting them safely behind you.

I don't think I've ever been in a situation where a drunk driver has been speeding around at 100mph - they almost universally go near the speed limit, but controlling their vehicle poorly.

I do not want to be in a situation where I am behind them. Even if I let them put a fair amount of distance in front of me, roads are not always well lit. If they crash, or hit something, I might now be having to deal with debris on the road that I won't be able to see easily, or potentially at all until it's too late.

I fail to see a safer course of action outside of just not driving at all, which, as I live in Texas, is distinctly not a possibility.

Re: Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run

#125

Post by lutorm »

melling wrote: post #37
jstalin wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to minimize drunk driving deaths, but it's hardly "rampant." About 10,000 people are killed each year in drunk driving accidents in the US. 30,000 a year die from falls. http://responsibility.org/drunk-driving/drunk-driving-fatali... http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_02.pdf

A fall is an accidental death. When someone chooses to get behind the wheel of a car after drinking, they are intentionally making a bad choice. Getting to near zero drunk driver deaths is attainable once we change behavior. That's the acceptable number.

Would you include getting behind the wheel if you are tired, sick, stressed, taking antihistamines, or impaired in any other non-illegal-drug related way as well? Because I'm pretty sure those can impair drivers to the same degree. It's just that driving while impaired due to drugs is seen as being a moral failure, while it's perfectly socially acceptable to drive in other circumstances.

Re: Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run

#126

Post by CamperBob2 »

varelse wrote: post #85
mahyarm wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the USA that is car-default. SF, NYC & Chicago are the exceptions, and they have their own special kind of problems too.

We've created a national infrastructure that IMO nearly requires driving to be a civil right. That sucks. But I really don't have an answer to this problem when proposals to address this are either voted down or end up ridiculously over budget.

It's almost as if something that sucks for you doesn't suck for many other people.

Re: Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run

#127

Post by jamesbirchler »

chadaustin wrote: post #108

I worked with Mike Ey at IMVU for several years. He was the first tech lead for our 3D engine team, and his contributions to the company are innumerable. Moreover, I only now see how much he meant to me. He taught me how to solder, basic electronics, and spun me up on Unity3D. He was always willing to help, and one of the happiest people I've ever met. The world dimmed a little this weekend. We'll miss you Mike.

I also worked with Mike at IMVU. Mike was a wonderful person all around, and a great technologist to boot. I'm proud to have worked with him.

Re: Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run

#128

Post by joesmo »

DiabloD3 wrote: post #52
Chevalier wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm using SV as shorthand for the tech industry generally -- and Redmond is very much to Seattle what Silicon Valley is to San Francisco. Car-dependent suburbia that threatens the health, safety, and quality-of-life of everyone forced to be there. San Francisco is as walkable as the West Coast gets, which alone testifies to the disgrace of American urban planning. Ey would have been killed long ago if he dared to rid…

I actually agree with this response. Because of Microsoft, Seattle has become Silicon Valley North, just the same as NYC has become the Silicon Alley and Chicago is... whatever they're calling Chicago now. All of them are similar, heavy car usage, not enough walking, and no safety for humans. Google is trying to solve it by making smarter cars. How about we solve it by making our communities smarter instead?

Actually, self-driving cars are the only proposed solution to automobile accidents and related deaths that seems like it might work. Laws don't work, education doesn't work, and even the safest, most careful drivers can and do have accidents. Let's be clear. In the US, at least, cars are not going anywhere unless costs become as prohibitive everywhere as they are in NYC. Even then, they're still not going anywhere (NYC still has a ton of cars obviously). I have no idea what making communities smarter means. What exactly are you proposing?

Re: Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run

#129

Post by joesmo »

RIMR wrote: post #35
codemac wrote: post #9

Unfortunate how many humans we have driving cars at various levels of impairment. It's killing so many people. Drunk driving in suburban areas is rampant and feels almost inherent without real public transportation options at last call. I think most of Seattle's public transit options stop right around midnight.

If you live in Seattle proper, there are busses that run all night. Most of them will get you within a 20-minute walk of wherever you want to go. Still, with Uber, Lyft, Sidecar, and 5+ cab companies at your disposal there is no excuse for being drunk behind the wheel. Before I moved here I was a pretty obsessively responsible driver. Now that I live here, I have to keep my irresponsible drinking in check because I n…

You make a great point about services like Uber, etc. For this reason alone, I now think cities need to stop with the bans and such. Cabs are not a substitute as no one likes to wait hours or walk miles or both in hope of catching one, a situation that's quite common in places like San Francisco (especially at night) and I imagine, many other cities.

Re: Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run

#130

Post by cthalupa »

DanBC wrote: post #123
cthalupa wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>So.. you reasoned that it would be safer to be /in front/ of the drunk driver? Yes? In one scenario I am stuck behind them and potentially having to deal with the results of any sort of screwup on their part, or having to find a completely different route, which isn't always practical. In the other I leave them behind me and am no longer having to deal with them. In what world is it more advantageous to be near a dr…

You're travelling at speed to get past a dangerous driver -- so for that short time you're at risk. And then when you're in front of them you risk their poor brake control amd distance judgement until you get far enough away from them. When you're behind them you iust need to leave a suitable braking gap. They're unlikely to come backwards.

>You're travelling at speed to get past a dangerous driver -- so for that short time you're at risk

Certainly. For that short time, rather than the extended time if I'm driving behind them.

>then when you're in front of them you risk their poor brake control amd distance judgement until you get far enough away from them.

Thus why I get away from them quickly.

>When you're behind them you iust need to leave a suitable braking gap. They're unlikely to come backwards.

Until they run into something. Even if they manage to not completely wreck, they very well might leave behind debris.

If I stay near them I am going to constantly be having to react to their actions, which are extremely unpredictable by nature. Even with a suitable breaking gap, I can't account for every possible outcome, and any lapse in my concentration is many times more dangerous than it would be otherwise. The longer I am behind them, the more fatiguing it is to be on a hyper state of alert, increasing the chances that my focus will slip.

Post reply on HN