A simple red flag on a 2-ft long flexible stem that sticks out from the end of a shopping cart. This way, somebody approaching your intersection from around the corner will see your flag sticking out before your cart protrudes into their way. This should help prevent collisions and scary near-misses.
-- 21 Quest, Sep 04 2007

Bob Sled Shopping Cart http://k-srasra.blo...1/t-shirt-envy.html
Another good idea for the Grocery Store Olympics, [norm]. [k_sra, Sep 05 2007]

But eliminating collisions and scary near misses would remove one-third of the reasons for going shopping.
-- normzone, Sep 04 2007


Children would get skewered at eye level, adults at crotch level. Neutral.
-- Texticle, Sep 04 2007


Like so many problems, this could be more easily solved by people just realizing that *other people* live in the world, too.

An alternate solution, though admittedly less conducive to jousting, would be the liberal mounting of intersection mirrors in supermarkets.
-- partdavid, Sep 04 2007


Shopping cart jousting merits a whole 'nother idea.
-- normzone, Sep 04 2007


good one [norm]
When I back up with my cart, I making a beeping sound to alert other shoppers. Maybe just some blinking yellow stop lights at the intersections are in order.
-- xandram, Sep 05 2007


Could be fluorescent too. That way when some little westie rat leaves one in the middle of the road in the middle of the night you might have a little warning (cos they are nearly invisible until you are right on top of them) so that you dont have to swerve at the last minute and stain your shortpants.
-- the dog's breakfast, Sep 05 2007


the intention is good, the idea is unsound, mefeels. the reason for collisions and near misses is lack of concentration on where one is going. this is par for the course at a grocery store: you're supposed to be preoccupied with shopping. so adding a two foot protrusion, with or without a flag, is just asking for more and more serious injury.
-- k_sra, Sep 05 2007


Maybe if someone redesigned the shopping cart so that the shopper stands in a hole in the middle of the thing rather than at the back. This would improve visibility and provide a bumper for collisions.
-- Galbinus_Caeli, Sep 05 2007


oooh, the donut cart. i like it!
-- k_sra, Sep 05 2007


If the flag simply stood UP, so that it could be seen over the top of the aisle, then you'd get the safety benefit without the jousting effect. I'll leave it for you to decide if that renders the idea better or worse...
-- awesomest, Sep 05 2007


[danielo], that would render the flag very, very tall indeed.
-- k_sra, Sep 05 2007


//For shopping carts, to help prevent collisions.//
For this purpose, I always stop at Produce first and pick up a dozen oranges. Not to use but to signal with. When approching a main aisle from a corridor, I simply roll an orange on the floor ahead of me to warn people.
-- phundug, Sep 05 2007



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