Of course I know that cars have been invented already. But they were invented so long ago when technology was in its infancy that they need to be re-invented.
Take brake lights. They are essentially two red lights on the back of a car that are activated by a switch that, in turn, is activated by a pedal that the driver depresses with a foot. We're supposed to infer from the brake light that a car is slowing down, stopping, or already stopped. But they provide no reliable information about the car's speed or state of acceleration. Consider these two examples:
A car can be at a complete stop while the brake lights are dark if the driver removes his or her foot from the pedal after stopping.
A car can be moving while the brake lights are on if the driver rests his or her other foot on the brake pedal.
This is how brake lights really should work:
- When the car is moving forward and accelerating, the color of the brake light shall be green. The lights shall blink faster when the car is moving faster. The rate of blinking vs the car's speed shall be the same for all cars.
- When the car is moving forward and decelerating, the color of the brake light shall be red. The lights shall blink faster when the car is braking harder. The rate of blinking vs how quickly the car slows down shall be the same for all cars.
- When the car is completely stopped the brake light shall be off.
- Brake lights shall be uniform in size and position among all car makes and models.
- Brake lights shall also be installed on the front of all cars to help motorists and pedestrians determine whether an on-coming car is speeding up or slowing down.
*"Pretending you have the expertise to make the product a reality, what do you wish you could invent?"
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4 comments:
Could I add.... If the car is completely stopped but still running - like when stopped to make a turn - could the lights be yellow or something? Otherwise, I like your ideas. I damn near hit a car again the other day because they coasted to slow for a turn and it just wasn't obvious enough. You know, since they also didn't signal. While you're fixing all these lights you could please invent an automatic signal that doesn't require the driver to actually touch the turn signal. It might have to be psychic.
I think the brake light idea is thoughtful.!
Thank you, Naina!
Zazzy, an automatic turn signal is an excellent idea! It could blink more rapidly when the steering wheel is turned more. Somehow we'd have to figure out a way to have it know in advance that the driver intends to turn because the signal should go on before the turn starts.
And I agree that a car that's completely stopped but still running should have some indicator. I guess the solid (unblinking red) that we're used to would be good.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
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