bird's eye view by the hawk Commercial Motor takes road
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haulage very seriously. However, once a week our quirky correspondent, the Hek, steps off his perch to take a humorous look at the industry to keep us all sane. If you have any off-beat yams that illustrate the stranger, or sillier, side of the business, he'd like to hear from you. As a softhearted old bird, he's also happy to publicise charitable works— and is always interested in events for the vintage vehicles he drove as a fledgling. Drop the Hawk a line at Commercial Motor, Bird's Lye View, Pm H203, Quadrant House, The Quadrant. Sutton, Surrey SM2 SAS, or fax him on 0181 652 8969.
Driver drones
you'd think there are enough nutters on the road without anyone having to invent them. Apparently not: the Hawk has learned that boffins at the University of Leeds have worked out how to make car simulators act as if they were being driven by real people. Each ''drone" vehicle has been Oven a personalty which, depending on age and sex, reflects levels of aggression, fatigue or alcohol consumption. This is expressed by stopping distances, reaction times and speed. Computer scientist Steven Wright, whose brainchild this is, feels present simulators are not realistic, and therefore not effective. His model uses an algorithm based on fuzzy logic to vary the mix of drivers on the road at any lime. According to Steven, the "drones" can crash into each other, but nobody can predict when. Of course, if they really wanted to create an accurate simulator, they would have the "drones" sitting nose to tail for hours on end in gridlocked rush-hour traffic.