Wipers? Headlights.
What I'm suggesting is that all cars -- new or old -- be fitted with a device that does one or either of the following:
- when the windscreen wipers of a car are switched on, so are the head- and taillights
- when one chooses to override the lights, an annoying beep will keep bugging the driver
Idea Description
Many car drivers -- where I live at least 5% of them -- appear to be either too negligent or too dumb and anti-social to make sure their car can be seen in bad weather conditions. It's often ok when it's getting dark. But really, it all goes sour when it starts raining heavily. They just fail to switch the lights on and keep plodding along in the grey haze.
Now I'm all for free will and all that, but in some circumstances, people are just begging to be helped by technology. All it would cost is $15,- of simple components (mainly wire) and an hour of fiddling about in the dashboard or under the hood. I'm pretty sure that on some modern cars, it wouldn't take more than a firmware upgrade.
What will you do if you win $10,000 for this idea?
Fit one on my car, my wife's and my neighbour's for starters. Really, this doesn't need development, only legislation and goodwill from car manufacturers, car gadget makers and car repair shops. Oh and definitely Vehicle Inspection stations. It would take some serious lobbying...
Vote for it now.
In NC it is illegal to drive without your headlights on when your wipers are on. I drive an '06 Avalon that has automatic wipers and full time driving lights which are always on (not as bright as headlights, but bright enough to be seen)
Tx for that info. That is cool. But I must ask: do people still drive around in NC in the rain with their lights off? In fact, mine is a Swedish brand car which is designed to have the lights on all the time, but I can still flick the switch and 'forget' to switch the lights back on again. And even tho I care, sometimes I just DO forget.