This Incredibly Simple And Possibly Stupid Idea Could Protect Your Car When It’s Parked

This Incredibly Simple And Possibly Stupid Idea Could Protect Your Car When It’s Parked

This has been kicking around in my head for months, so now you get to have it kicking around in your head: Your car should warn other drivers if they’re about to back into it. It seems like it would be technically feasible, and I don’t see any real downsides. Here’s how I think it would work:

Most new cars have some kind of parking sensor to alert you when you’re getting close to objects you can’t see. They could be left on or be activated by a small, low-power motion sensor. When another car starts getting too close, your car could flash its indicators; if it keeps getting closer, it could honk the horn. Of course, the system would shut itself down after a time if your battery’s voltage dropped below a certain level. Why does this not exist?

I asked Jason what he thought, and he brought up the risk of a false positive, which I think is fair. But that seems like something you could calibrate for, with the warning being commensurate with the danger of a collision. You wouldn’t want every car on the block tooting and flashing every time someone walked by, so that is something to figure out.

I asked David about it, and he brought up the fact that most newer cars have backup sensors already, but I noted that there still seem to be plenty of people parking by feel, especially in places like New York City. A little honk might deter those inclined to play bumper cars.

Based on my thorough survey, I can’t really think of a reason why it wouldn’t work. If you can, drop a comment below. If you’re an automaker and you want to put this into production, let me know. I’d want to pick the name.


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