7.1M miles, 3 minor injuries: Waymo's safety data looks good

Re:7.1M miles, 3 minor injuries: Waymo's safety data looks good by ang_cire on Thursday December 21, 2023 @02:28PM (#38725509)

But who gets the right of way between 2 hot air balloons?

Funny story, I actually "crashed" in a hot air balloon as a kid, when the hill we were landing on had a draft running up over it that caught the balloon after the basket had touched down, and dragged us along the ground sideways for a good quarter mile.

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Re:7.1M miles, 3 minor injuries: Waymo's safety data looks good by shagie on Thursday December 21, 2023 @03:50PM (#38726737)

If I recall correctly, the lower one has right of way because visibility from lower to higher is blocked compared to higher to lower. It is easier for the one further up in the air column to spot and react to the lower one. Going up is also likely a less dangerous proposition than going down.

This is half remembered from a Snowmass balloon rally conversation.

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Re:7.1M miles, 3 minor injuries: Waymo's safety data looks good by bumby on Thursday December 21, 2023 @02:43PM (#38725721)

Haha well in that case, I’d say the ground had right-of-way :-)

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Re:7.1M miles, 3 minor injuries: Waymo's safety data looks good by bombcar on Friday December 22, 2023 @07:51AM (#38733627)

See https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/91.113

Basically if on the same level the one on the other’s right has the right of way.

But a plane in distress has right of way over the balloon.

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