Windshield wipers could be wired into a car's existing alarms system so that, when armed, a strong current is run through the to opposing sides of the wiper. This would hopefully prevent me from having to litter the damn workout club/ army recruiter/ Hair salon flyers that have accumulated under my wiper blades whilst i was working/ shopping.
Plus, this would be really fun to watch. I work retail in a building with all windows for the front wall. I'm forced to watch these irksome fools indiscriminately litter the entire parking lot with useless flyers that inevitably end up on the ground. hopefully a few taser powered shocks would deter them from this ineffective advertising ploy.-- bleh, Nov 20 2006 Administering a Noxious Thing - Don't do it Kids!! http://www.wikicrim...?title=RecklessnessAn extant UK Law Circa 1861 - OK - so Cunningham probably got off but they couldn't prove Recklessness. [gnomethang, Nov 20 2006] good suggestion. less evil, but still a deterrent. but I want to inflict pain damnit.
maybe a (small) warning sticker on the underside of the wiper would be enough to avoid a lawsuit. kinda like fine print. Impossibe to read, but leagilly acceptable.-- bleh, Nov 20 2006 How about a random combination depending on manufacturer. That way a <now> skiddish advertser who has been maced by a honda will approach slowly until he gets inside the mace peremiter, then approach with confidence until the VW levels him with electro-wipers.
but pepper spray or mace would be hell for innocent bystanders downwind.-- bleh, Nov 20 2006 Not that I have much sympathy for them, but the traffic cops ain't got be too happy with this one.
More importantly, I object to this on the grounds that this will most likely impact kids playing on or around cars. (And if you weren't the kind of kid who played on or around cars, I guess you didn't grow up the same place I did.)
I don't approve of littering, but tasing windshield spammers is a punishment that does not fit the crime, and way too likely to hurt the innocent.-- DrCurry, Nov 20 2006 amen [21]!!!!!-- bleh, Nov 20 2006 One problem is that gloves are available to solicitors, not just the police. Hence, we should outlaw gloves. Pastry.
// law that requires traffic cops and parking enforcement officers to send units to the address on the spammer's droppings //
This would not work. A competitor or angry patron could easily drop solicitations for their target to incite legal trouble. The only way to address the problem is to outlaw these solicitations and catch any perpetrators in the act.-- ed, Nov 20 2006 ...and catch them by shooting red ink at them. maybe that would look too much like blood, inciting panic, .. maybe green ink.
but seriously... just for flyers? what if they are girlscouts advertising a fundraiser?-- twitch, Nov 20 2006 I am guessing the Man/Woman whos job it is to place the flyer under your wiper might be a little down on thier luck. Why punish somebody for actually working? Is it that hard to take the paper off the car and toss it?-- Chefboyrbored, Nov 20 2006 //Why punish somebody for actually working?// Sure it might be someone's job to hand out useless papers but that's their choice to keep that job and in this case to disobey the law by spamming. If it is someone's job to boost cars does that mean it should be accepted and not punished? (+)-- acurafan07, Nov 20 2006 There is a no soliciting sign atthe entrance to the shopping center where i work, and regardless of that, i still have to scrap someone elses spam from my windshield. Not onlyisit extremely irritating,but eventually, depending on how aggressive the advertiser is, it deteroriates my wiper blades. I agree that what we need is legislation outlawing this, but in the meantime, im wiring up my wiperblades and watching with excitement.-- bleh, Nov 20 2006 Acura,....its not illegal everywhere. However bosting cars is.-- Chefboyrbored, Nov 20 2006 ..."administering a Noxious Thing" is still a criminal offence under English Law (albeit a rather old one!).The last bloke who tried to defend his car in this way fell foul of it.Be vewry, vewry careful!-- gnomethang, Nov 20 2006 im not english, so i should be safe on that one.-- bleh, Nov 20 2006 It seems that he should have been able to argue that the leaflets were also noxious and try to do a swap.-- stilgar, Nov 21 2006 // I object to this on the grounds that this will most likely impact kids playing on or around cars.//
I've thougt about this. How about addng a switch so that the wipers only recieve current when lifted. this would keep innocent children who are rolling upon and playing near *my* car from being shocked.
or possibly make this an additional button on the alarm fob. that way when you're at home and dont have to worry about your windsheld being plastered by ads, you can leave the alarm armed, but the tasers not. when you go to the local mega-mart, engage the tasers and harm anyone who feels it nessicary to touch your wipers, children or not. I dont want a gaggle of unsupervsed children rolling all over my car anyway. screw 'em.-- bleh, Nov 24 2006 [gnomethang], it's worth pointing out that in your link the 'victim' was in fact Cunningham's mother in law, so it's pretty hard to be sure he didn't actually intend to do it.-- hidden truths, Nov 24 2006 Where I come from, "Soliciting" means prostitutes propositioning prospective punters. And girl guides do this where you are? Whew!-- squeak, Nov 24 2006 //"Soliciting" means prostitutes propositioning prospective punters//
Try saying that with no lips!-- jtp, Nov 24 2006 random, halfbakery