A wind screens (and other car windows) could be placed further forward (rearward), and have shapes included for lense effects, as to enable/allow 'seeing around corners', and eliminating blind spots.
This would increase pedestrian and cyclists safety at road corners, enhance drivers control, and decrease the rising insurance costs.-- sirau, Jun 01 2011 just as a design feature, 'ripples'/small 'waves' could be included in the styling designs, to guide air flow better, and just for flash effect !.-- sirau, Jun 01 2011 If all people were perfect spheres, in a vacuum...-- 4whom, Jun 01 2011 The fish eye lens effect described in the idea would give the driver a false impression of the location of objects outside the vehicle and would severely interfere with distance perception. This would increase accidents.
Insurance companies will use any change as an excuse to increase premiums. In this case, if the 3D windscreen was a viable idea, it would be the higher cost of replacement screens. (-)-- Twizz, Jun 02 2011 after reading the ' objects may appear smaller/larger in the mirror' for a few or more times, do you not get the real picture of your surroundings, still ?.-- sirau, Jun 02 2011 1) A rear view mirror is an unnatural way of looking at things in the first place. The fact that a convex mirror makes objects appear further away can be assimilated relatively easily into what is clearly an artificial image.
2) The observer still doesn't get a real picture of their surroundings. The mirror is used mostly to determine whether an object is present. It is the look back over the shoulder which gives the observer a real image.
3) The driver is equipped with a moveable neck and eyeballs. These functions have direct feedback to the brain and provide a well practised mechnism for accurately determining the position of objects. If the driver is unable to use these functions adequately, they should stop driving.-- Twizz, Jun 02 2011 Car window lenses are a good idea, though the windows should be flat except for specific zones, so distance perception could operate normally elsewhere, and there should be an obvious boundary between the lens parts and flat parts, for example tinting them differently or tinting the boundary, or the lens effect itself may make an obvious boundary.
I don't quite understand the part about having the windows further forward or back.
As well as blind spots, it could help with seeing forward from the opposite side of the car when stuck in a queue.
For reducing the price, the lenses could be stick-on fresnel lenses, though unfortunately they are the opposite type to the ones I've found widely available in stationery store.
Suggestions for locations: One on front passenger side window, showing a range from straight sideway to almost directly backward, to help with blind spot. One at passenger side top corner of windscreen, to see past obstacles ahead of you.-- caspian, Jul 29 2011 random, halfbakery