Like all rightminded, upstanding individuals, I have beef with ambient, multisensory polyrhythm, so I propose an aftermarket add on, car mounted visual sensor, linked to the indicator light electrics in your car, that, by means of flash matching, ensures that your indicators, and the concomitant in-car click click clicking, are perfectly in time with those of the car in front.

Large scale adoption of this product would lead to all cars at any given turn junction flashing their yellow lights in perfect synchronisation, to the amazement of nearby pedestrians.
-- calum, Feb 07 2005

(?) Synchronicity http://www.vw.com/commercials/synch.htm
The VW commercial [hippo, Feb 07 2005]

Rainbow Cars rainbow_20cars
by jutta. can combine with synchronised blinking to create a transitory yet immediately arresting image. [calum, Feb 07 2005]

What might make the collection of signals more visible is if there was a fractional delay from the vehicle in front, so that the flash 'travels' backwards down the queue of traffic.
-- oneoffdave, Feb 07 2005


That would also rule.
-- calum, Feb 07 2005


Reminds me of the Volkswagen "Synchronicity" commercial (linky linky). <rant>The quality of VW's commercials is far better than that of their cars.</rant>
-- hippo, Feb 07 2005


One guy left his turn signals on and then the whole lane was on the blink.
-- FarmerJohn, Feb 07 2005


If cars were equipped with WWV receivers, this would be bakable for all such cars. All the blinker signals in the entire country synchronized within a small fraction of a second--what a thought.
-- supercat, Feb 07 2005


Hmm. This seems all vaguely familiar. I know the VW ad has come up here before but maybe it had to do with synchronized windshield wipers.
-- bristolz, Feb 07 2005


what [oneoffdave] said, I'd think it was safer if, at a given moment in time, the individual flashes were as far apart as possible, thus, a quick glimpse would give you the greatest possible chance of seeing which way a group of cars was indicating.
-- neilp, Feb 08 2005


[bris] That's what I thought. I searched for it though and there was nothing. It's like deja vu all over again.
-- hippo, Feb 08 2005


Being that I rarely watch telly, I have not seen the VW commercial referenced, so any similarity in concept is purely coincidental.

UnaBubba, I'm afraid I don't know the lights of which you speak. Could you, er, enlighten me?
-- calum, Feb 08 2005


Cheers, ta. These Italians are crazy.
-- calum, Feb 08 2005


//Reminds me of the Volkswagen "Synchronicity" commercial//

And if an enterprising radio station chooses to synchronize their music with this beat, listeners can experience that VW commercial firsthand.
-- joee, Feb 12 2005


A talented hacker could, possibly, use a traffic jam to send messages to low flying aircraft! Or... just pretty swirling patterns.
-- spacer, Feb 12 2005


[supercat] The synchronisation would have to be global otherwise there would be an unsightly clash at borders
-- rambling_sid, Feb 12 2005


Just make sure the patterns don't hypnotize or everyone will be playing chicken.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Feb 12 2005


//[supercat] The synchronisation would have to be global otherwise there would be an unsightly clash at borders//

WWV works throughout the entire continental US as well as adjoining areas of Canada and Mexico. Not sure why nobody seems to have liked my idea to apply the concept to temporary safety-barrier blinkies, though.
-- supercat, Feb 13 2005


I thought I was the only one who cringed at multisensory polyrhythm.
-- Wisconsin, Feb 13 2005


Hippo, unfortunately the link you posted is just to the music, not the whole commercial...
-- StarChaser, Feb 13 2005


This may lead to "road hypnosis". (The condition in which the repetitive click-clunk of the cracks in a highway lull the driver into a semiunconscious state)
-- phundug, Feb 14 2005



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