Traffic lights and other sighns work as a meathod of communication between the law and the driver. I think that drivers who are too stupid to obey the sighns should have a reciever attached to their transmission, brakes or other controllable power source on their car that recieves a signal from transmitters on the lights or sighns that automatically slows their vehicle or speeds it up. I say if the drivers are too stupid to obey the sighns themselves their cars are going to have to do it for them. Problems with the idea: Government, Money blah blah blah blah blah..... As ussual

So right. Starchaser. This really isn't an invention I am just really angry about how people drive and have suggested that some people are so ignorant that they require the aide of a computre device to perform a task as simple as operating a vehicle. So right.
-- RobEC, Jul 22 2000

Major problem: 'Trusting my life to someone else's computer'. I do tech support and KNOW how often computers eat themselves. Having a computer that can suddenly get it into it's little silicon head to jam on the gas is a -BAD- idea. Brakes are almost as bad. At least the idiot behind the wheel knows that 'If I do something -really- stupid, it will hurt.'
-- StarChaser, Jul 22 2000


...and most judges know that if the plaintiff did something -really- stupid, he shouldn't win a tort action. If computer controllers crash, that's an instant deep-pockets lawsuit.
-- bookworm, Jul 24 2000


Why not just put huge inductance loops below the road surface at the approach to major junctions? If these were hooked up to the streetlights, as cars approached the junction a back EMF would be generated proportional to the car's speed, the car would be slowed down and the lights would light up...
-- hippo, Jul 24 2000


I agree about the unreliability of computers. What you want is a mechanical method of stopping vehicles from speeding. I think that all the world's roads should be designed like a Scalextric track. Every car should have a little hook underneath that runs in a groove down the middle of the traffic lane. If you go too fast it activates one of them trap thingy's that they use on aircraft carriers and if you go too slow it goes into catapult mode. I'll leave it to the engineers amongst you to work out the practical details, I'm just a half-baked ideas man.
-- DrBob, Jul 24 2000


Sometimes it is the traffic laws that are stupid. If a man's wife is going into labor at three in the morning, is it really necessary for him to wait the recommended 3 seconds at each stop sign, signal for EVERY turn and lane change, and stick to 55 miles per hour? Nuts to that action.

People should have to take a test before griping about "other people's" driving. To other people, YOU are other people.

[StarChaser]: I'm not advocating complete disregard for the laws of society and physics, just a bending when those laws need to be flexible.
-- centauri, Jul 24 2000, last modified Jul 25 2000


It's a good idea to wait at least a little bit at a stoplight/sign anyway. If you don't stop and you catch a case of deceleration poisoning, it's your fault and it doesn't matter if your wife is shooting out kids like a bratling gatling.

Bookworm: The plaintiff doing something stupid doesn't stop them being awarded lots of money...
-- StarChaser, Jul 25 2000


Hmm, Smart Car for Stupid Driver. On average I think I would see 20 cars a day that were smarter than their drivers.
-- Alcin, Aug 13 2000


I wouldn't recommend having computers control ALL of the driver's actions, since computers aren't that intelligent yet and it would cost too much. However, something to just limit the driver's speed to the posted sign might be a good idea, and not too difficult to implement. I wouldn't worry about computer unreliability, since engine computers are a lot more reliable and of different construction than the desktop PCs we all know and hate.
-- logic316, Jan 22 2001


Why not take away their drivers license and make them ride the bus? That way they will run the red lights all at once, as a group.
-- blahginger, Jan 22 2001


"If you make it idiot-proof, they'll build a bigger idiot."
-I forget who said this.
-- nick_n_uit, Mar 10 2001


if u replace the airbags with a big metal spike everyone would drive smoothly and as calm as possible
-- edski, Mar 10 2001


[edski], that's an existing halfbakery idea called "Steering-Wheel Spike". Check it out.
-- jutta, Mar 10 2001


"If you make it idiot-proof, they'll build a bigger idiot."----- I LOVE it.
-- human411, Aug 17 2001


This idea would be better, if it was passive. Ie, instead of choosing when to slow down/speed up/etc, it would detect the conditions of the road, and the correct actions the driver should be taking. Then, if the driver does something stupid, his ass gets zapped with a few thousand volts.

They'd learn soon enough.
-- rapid transit, May 19 2003


I think they had a Saturday Night Live Episode where the commedian said everyone should have suction cup guns with a "JERK" flag attached, and if there is a JERK driver, just shoot him with the suction cup gun. Then all the cops would have to do is find the drivers with the most "JERK" flags and issue citations based upon the count of flags.

Simple, Cost Effective, and Foolproof.
-- DeusExMachina, Nov 13 2003



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