Ideas
Occasionally I come up with ideas for inventions and things. The problem is that before I know it I get distracted by something else and the idea gets forgotten or put on a shelf in my mind and ignored. So as I come up with these things, I'm going to jot them down. I may not remember them any more easily, but at least I'll be reminded of them.
The other day I was driving along in the late afternoon. As I approached an intersection were a side road came onto my road. A car was at the stop sign. Then without warning, the car pulled out in front of me causing me to hit the brakes and swerve to avoid a collision.
I uttered a few choice words, but quickly realized that the problem was not that the other driver was insane or incompetent, but that the other driver had been blinded as the sun was almost directly behind me.
So what could we do to help prevent accidents caused by sun blinding? Well, for one thing, it would not be too difficult to construct a small device that can be placed in the rear window of a vehicle. The device would be configured to illuminate and be visible in the rear view mirror or trigger a warning signal on the dashboard whenever a bright light source was within 10 degrees of being directly behind the vehicle. This would be a warning to the driver that oncoming traffic may not be able to see and to be cautious.
Just as the addition of an additional brake light at eye level probably saved a lot of lives and prevents a lot of accidents, the addition of a warning device of this nature could likewise bring to prevent injuries or accidents by increasing the awareness level of a defensive driver to a hazard that my normally go unnoticed.
The other day I was driving along in the late afternoon. As I approached an intersection were a side road came onto my road. A car was at the stop sign. Then without warning, the car pulled out in front of me causing me to hit the brakes and swerve to avoid a collision.
I uttered a few choice words, but quickly realized that the problem was not that the other driver was insane or incompetent, but that the other driver had been blinded as the sun was almost directly behind me.
So what could we do to help prevent accidents caused by sun blinding? Well, for one thing, it would not be too difficult to construct a small device that can be placed in the rear window of a vehicle. The device would be configured to illuminate and be visible in the rear view mirror or trigger a warning signal on the dashboard whenever a bright light source was within 10 degrees of being directly behind the vehicle. This would be a warning to the driver that oncoming traffic may not be able to see and to be cautious.
Just as the addition of an additional brake light at eye level probably saved a lot of lives and prevents a lot of accidents, the addition of a warning device of this nature could likewise bring to prevent injuries or accidents by increasing the awareness level of a defensive driver to a hazard that my normally go unnoticed.