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March 19, 2007

Car and Bathroom Alarms

I was driving home from The Dalles last night and as I got about a mile away from home, that old factoid about most accidents happening a mile away from home occurred to me. My first thought was that I should drive more carefully.

My second thought was: automakers should use GPS technology to instill an alarm in your car that would go off as soon as you were within a mile from home.

Since some accident statistics break things down with statements like, "Another third of car accidents take place within five miles of the home, and an incredible eighty percent of auto accidents take place within 20 minutes drive of the home base," there would be various levels of alarm.

When you were 20 minutes away, it would say: "Proceed with caution. You are 20 minutes from home."

When you were 1 mile away, it would say: "DANGER!!! DANGER!!! ENTERING CRITICAL ZONE!!!" or something.

I generally think engineers are missing some great opportunities for more interesting automobile applications.

Still in the car, I also started thinking about how the bathroom was supposed to be the most dangerous room in the house. (As it turns out, I'm wrong about that -- it seems that it's considered the second most dangerous, after the kitchen, but in any case ...). So this made me think that maybe there should be a motion-sensor alarm in the bathroom that would warn you: "BE CAREFUL!! YOU ARE ENTERING THE [SECOND] MOST DANGEROUS ROOM IN THE HOUSE!!! DON'T SLIP!! DON'T FALL!! WATCH OUT FOR HARD SURFACES AND WATER!!!" etc.

I was so delighted with my ideas that I reached into my bag and got a pen so I could write them on my handster while driving 50 miles an hour down Portland Road.

Posted by mary at March 19, 2007 9:55 AM

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Posted by: Rich Magahiz at March 19, 2007 10:42 AM

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