On the drive home yesterday it occurred to me that given advances in proximity detection technology, it should be relatively easy for car manufacturers to devise a new safety feature for vehicles. I envision a "TOO CLOSE" sign installed on the rear of vehicles which would light up when another vehicle, approaching from behind, breaches safe stopping distance. You'd need a computer to calculate speeds, of course, but it seems like this could be doable. I wonder if this is a good idea, or if there are factors I'm not considering that would make it unsafe or unfeasible?
How would your sign be different from brake lights? Would it have to be in English? Many cars already have collision alarms built into the dashboard or even a HUD.
ReplyDeleteQuite a number of collisions could be avoided if the driver ran two live leads from the battery: one to the genital area and the other to the phone. Touch the phone while driving, get Darwin'ed out.
My sign would be different from brake lights in that it would activate whenever someone is following too close - you'd see it before you see brake lights, which might encourage you to back off before an emergency ever occurs. The language barrier is a good point, though - maybe there would have to be a new universal symbol developed for "back off."
ReplyDeleteYour Pavlovian shock device might be a better idea overall, though.