Idea Of The Day. A new Idea Each Day. Some Don't Suck.

We post an all new idea every day. If you find an idea you like... do something about it. Make it happen.

Our Latest Posts About: Driving

We Need Better Pedestrian Technology

Sunday, July 16, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Pedestrians need better technology to avoid accidents at intersections.

Cars today are loaded with all sorts of technology to avoid accidents, but pedestrians technology hasn't changed in decades. Isn't it time somebody put some effort into finding new ways to cut down on the number of pedestrian accidents too?

The problem is many drivers speed up when the traffic light is about to change, often catching pedestrians by surprise, giving them no time to get out of the way. What we need is a warning system for both the driver and pedestrian, based on radar, sonar or laser sensors. When sensors detect a car zooming down the block in the direction of a pedestrian, both the pedestrian and the car should have some sort of visible and audible warning that there's a potential collis... [More]

Continue...We Need Better Pedestrian Technology...

Dash-Cam With a Tattle Tale Button!

Sunday, July 9, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Wouldn't it be great if you could hit a button on your dash-cam whenever you see somebody doing something unsafe?

There are a lot of unsafe drivers out there. Whenever I see somebody doing something unsafe, the first thing that comes to my mind is hoping a police officer saw it too. That's where today's idea of the day comes from.

I'd love to see a dash cam that could automatically send the last minute of footage to the police, so they'll have evidence of unsafe drivers. All you'd have to do is hit the button within a minute or so of the incident. Ideally, if the system was anonymous, everyone would be willing to use it whenever you see something wrong. Think of it as a roaming Big Brother. If enough people have this system, there would be a lot fewer people driving like... [More]

Continue...Dash-Cam With a Tattle Tale Button!...

Pondering Self-Driving Cars

Monday, June 19, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Self-Driving Cars are no longer science fiction. Here's a few things to think about.

When I first heard that Google was working on self-driving cars, I thought it was nothing more than an experiment. After all, who would trust a computer to drive them from place to place? As it turns out, they were not only serious, but just about every technology and car company is rushing to get their self-driving cars to market within the next couple of years. Clearly, Self-Driving cars are more than an experiment.

As I write this in June of 2017, every major car maker has at least SOME self-driving capabilities in their latest models. At the low end, cars today can warn you of obstacles or unsafe driving and in many cases they're programmed to automatically apply the brakes or even ta... [More]

Continue...Pondering Self-Driving Cars...

Can Waze CAUSE Traffic Jams?

Tuesday, June 13, 2017 10:28 PM By Joe Crescenzi

I HATE traffic reports.

To me, traffic reports are a complete waste of time. It doesn't matter whether it's on the radio, a GPS, or a mobile App like Waze. They simply don't save me any time when deciding whether to take an alternate route. If anything, they can make it worse.

I'll admit the concept is absolutely brilliant, but most of the time the information is too late to be useful and only serves to move a traffic jam from one place to another. When that happens, chances are you'll still end up in traffic, albeit in a new place.

If you came to a fork in the road where going right or left will take you the same place, in the same amount in time, but found out that there was a 30 minute traffic jam on the left side, what would you do? Assuming you were the only pers... [More]

Continue...Can Waze CAUSE Traffic Jams?...

Do We Need MORE Traffic Cameras?

Friday, April 21, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

I think we need more traffic cameras, as long as they're used in strategic places.

We all hate traffic cameras... 99% of them are nothing more than traps designed to catch a driver who think's they can make it across an intersection before the yellow light turns red. Clearly their only motive is making money, but I would love to see this technology used for something far more important... catching JERKS who try to cut past traffic by driving on the shoulder.

Sitting in bumper to bumper traffic sucks... but what's even worse is watching a bunch of jerks cut through the traffic by riding in the shoulder. Not only is it frustrating watching them cut ahead of you, but knowing that when they eventually reach the front of the line, they'll only add to the delay as they merge back i... [More]

Continue...Do We Need MORE Traffic Cameras?...

Driving Mellow

Monday, April 3, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Before you blow your horn, have you considered the steering wheel?

I'm a mellow guy by nature, and driving is no exception, so it's always fascinated me why so many people act like crazed lunatics behind the wheel.

As a Mellow Driver, I tend to drive in the slower lanes, but I see aggressive drivers every day go nuts flashing their lights and honking their horns whenever the driver in front of them isn't going 80+ miles per hour. When you see their faces, they look like they're about to blow a gasket.

What amazes me most is that they continue to flash and honk for miles, instead of simply grabbing their own steering wheel (yes, all cars have them), and driving around the slower driver. Isn't that easier?

Better Car Blinkers

Wednesday, March 8, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Don't you hate when somebody's turn signal stays on for 20 minutes?

It drives me crazy whenever I drive behind somebody who doesn't realize they left their blinker on and it blinks for miles. It's not only annoying, but its a potential safety hazard because you can't tell if or when they may actually turn or change lanes.

The solution is for car makers to add an override that shuts the blinker off automatically if the driver doesn't make a turn after a certain distance is reached. This is exactly what motorcycle manufacturers have been doing for decades.

The Car Window Problem

Sunday, February 19, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Sometimes car makers overlook simple problems.

Don't you hate when you get into your car in the morning only to realize you left the window open the night before... and it just rained?

Most cars today will warn you if you leave the headlights on, and they'll warn you if you leave the keys in the ignition... so why on earth don't they warn you when you leave a window open?

The HIDDEN Cost of Loyalty Tags

Tuesday, February 14, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Toll tags like E-ZPass are great, but there's a hidden agenda.

Toll tags are being used like poker chips in a casino, they keep you from thinking of them as money, which is why politicians love them so much. It makes it easier for you to forget how much you pay each time you go through a toll.

People in casinos bet more when they use poker chips than they would if they had to take cash out of their pockets for each bet. That's the magic of tokenizing money. We don't think of it the same as we would with cash. Credit cards have the same effect on people, which is why stores love them.
How does this relate to toll tags like E-ZPass?

Ever since the introduction of toll collection systems, customers are less and less aware of increasing prices of tolls. Making matters worse,... [More]

Continue...The HIDDEN Cost of Loyalty Tags...

Toll Tags and Rental Cars

Saturday, February 11, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Why don't rental cars have toll tags?

One of the most frustrating things about renting a car is that you can't use a toll tag like E-ZPass to speed your way through toll booths. Why is that?

Doesn't it makes sense for car rental companies to at least give renters the option to include a toll tag in the rental car, and include the cost of each toll on the bill?

Safer Texting Buttons

Tuesday, November 29, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Texting while driving is unsafe. Here's how to make it safer.

We all know how unsafe it is to text and drive, yet it's hard to entirely avoid the distractions because although we can try to resist the urge to type replies while driving, it's hard to ignore reading messages as they arrive.

The solution is to make it easier for people to quickly switch from reading and writing texts to simply talking (hands free) on the phone. To make this happen, smartphone makers like Apple and Samsung can show TWO easy buttons on the lock screen when a text message comes in.

One button sends a reply to the sender that says "Call me".

The second button says "Call Now". It doesn't send a reply. It just dials back the person who sent the text.

In both cases, the driver doesn't need... [More]

Continue...Safer Texting Buttons...

Cruise Control That Adjusts to Speed Limit Changes

Thursday, September 22, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

We may be a few years away from self-driving cars, but here's a small step in that direction.

As a followup to an earlier post about having an App that warns you when the speed limit has changed, I think it would be great if cars using cruise control could automatically adjust to changes in the speed limit.

As I mentioned in a previous post, there are speed traps everywhere. Sometimes as you're driving along, the speed limit will suddenly change and you don't notice the signs in time to slow down, which can lead to a speeding ticket.

If the can make cars that can drive themselves, it should be pretty easy to at least make a cruise control that can automatically adjust to changes in the local speed limit.

An App That Tells You When You're Speeding.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Don't you hate Speed Traps?

I recently received a speeding ticket in the mail that included a photo of my car taken by a traffic camera. What bothered me most was that I'm one of the slowest drivers you will ever see on the road. I make it a point to always go no faster than the speed limit, but in this particular case, I wasn't aware that the speed limit in that particular area was lower than normal. It was a classic speed trap.

If I knew about the lower speed in that area, I definitely would've slowed down, and avoided the ticket. That's when I thought about the idea of an App that runs in the background on your iPhone that could tell you when you are driving over the speed limit. If such an App existed, it could've warned me before I approached the speed trap.

Pre-Printed Maps and FAQs at Toll Booths

Thursday, September 8, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Don't you hate it when the car in front of you at a toll booth stops to ask directions?

We all hate toll booths. They cost you money, and they slow down traffic, so it's even more annoying whenever you have to sit in your car while the driver in front of you asks the toll booth operator for directions.

Meanwhile, most of the time the drivers ask the same exact questions. They want to know how to get someplace nearby, so wouldn't it be great if the toll booth operators had maps and a list of frequently asked questions they can hand out to anyone who asks?

Eliminate Parking Bans for "Street Cleaning" Days

Monday, April 18, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Isn't it strange that some cities ban cars from parking on alternate days every week, just so they can clean the streets, yet other cities have no such rules, yet they manage to have cleaner streets?

In a city where parking is hard enough to find, is it really necessary to ban cars from parking twice a week, just so they can clean the streets? I've got news for you. Some of those cities not only manage to have clean streets, but some are actually cleaner than New York's streets.

Some of you are shaking your heads in disbelief, and asking... "How on earth can those cities possibly have clean streets when they don't force cars to scramble around and double park twice a week so that the street sweepers can clean them?"

Instead of the city sweeping the streets, the buildi

... [More]

Continue...Eliminate Parking Bans for "Street Cleaning" Days...

Driving Mode. An Option To Block Inbound Texts While Driving.

Sunday, April 17, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

There should be quick a way to temporarily block inbound texts while driving.

We all know how dangerous it is to send text messages while driving. Even people who don't send messages can be easily distracted if they receive a message while driving.

Most mobile devices already have a quick and easy way to enable "Airplane Mode", so device makers should add a button to disable texting too. After all, more people drive each day than fly.

It's surprising that there isn't already an option to disable texting anywhere in the settings menus on today's SmartPhones. Right now, the only way to disable texting is to turn the entire phone off or use Airplane Mode. While that seems like a simple solution, it also blocks you from using the GPS, and from making or receiving calls in the... [More]

Continue...Driving Mode. An Option To Block Inbound Texts While Driving....

A Hotline For Sleepy Drivers, To Keep Them Awake

Thursday, April 7, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

One of the best ways to stay awake behind the wheel is to have somebody to talk to, which isn't easy if you're driving alone... at night.

For some people, driving at night is a real challenge because they risk falling asleep at the wheel. That's why I think it would be a great idea of there was a service people could call to help keep them awake.

Obviously, your first choice should be to call a friend or family member, but when it's late at night, that may not be a good idea, so calling a dedicated hotline would allow drivers to talk to somebody who's not only available 24/7, but allow them to call somebody who was specifically trained to keep drivers awake.

The conversation itself isn't important. Even a short call about the weather can be all it takes to stimulate the... [More]

Continue...A Hotline For Sleepy Drivers, To Keep Them Awake...

Driving While Distracted Laws

Thursday, February 25, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

We need to re-think the laws that ban cell phone use in cars.

In most states it's illegal to use a mobile phone in a car unless you use a hands free device. These laws were put in place because of the countless deaths caused by distracted drivers.

Now that wearable technology is becoming popular, we need to re-think those laws because it could easily be argued that wearable technology such as the Apple Watch or Android Wear are completely hands free, yet they are just as distracting.

I'm not advocating that we create new laws that ban using wearable technology. The main point is that technology keeps changing, so instead of creating laws about how we use our devices in cars, why not replace them with generic laws about driving while distracted?

Unlike banning each de

... [More]

Continue...Driving While Distracted Laws...

Driving Mode Button. Block Texting With One Touch.

Friday, July 10, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

There needs to be an easy way to turn texting off with one button.

Its extremely dangerous to send text messages while driving a car. Even people who have no intention to send messages can be easily distracted if they receive a message while driving.

Countless lives have been destroyed because of texting, so there should be some method to disable texting while driving.

Most mobile devices already have a quick and easy way to enable "Airplane Mode", so device makers should add a button to disable texting too. After all, more people drive each day than fly.

It's surprising that there isn't an option to disable texting anywhere in the settings menus of any of the major smartphones on the market. This option should not be added, but it should be added someplace like... [More]

Continue...Driving Mode Button. Block Texting With One Touch....

Automatic Headlights When Wipers Are On

Sunday, June 14, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Sounds obvious, but I see people driving in the rain without their headlights on, even though they have new cars

I saw a big flashing sign on the NJ Turnpike the other day reminding them that they have a law that requires you to have your headlights on whenever your wipers are on. It makes sense. When it's raining, you have limited visibility, so turning on your headlights insures that other cars will see you.

In NJ, the law specifically states that daytime running lamps, are not enough to qualify for the headlight requirement, so you need to turn on your lights to avoid a ticket.

Here's the thing...

Even if states didn't require you to put your headlights on whenever your wipers are on, doesn't it make sense for this to be standard on all cars?

Thankfully, so... [More]

Continue...Automatic Headlights When Wipers Are On...

An Anonymous Website to Report Bad Drivers

Friday, May 15, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

As Mike Brady used to say... "Nobody likes a Tattle Tale", but the truth is, everybody hates bad drivers.

Let's face it, whenever somebody cuts us off, rides the shoulder, zooms past stop signs or red lights, we all wish there was a cop around to give them a ticket. It's human nature.

Wouldn't it be great of there was a site where we can anonymously post photos of jerks doing something stupid behind the wheel? With cell phones and full time dashboard cameras, it's pretty easy to catch people in the act, and have photos and videos to prove it.

I'm generally a passive guy, so I tend to let people get away with all sorts of things, but the fact is, a lot of these drivers are downright dangerous. While a site like this may not put an end to bad driving, maybe it will make at... [More]

Continue...An Anonymous Website to Report Bad Drivers...

Sleepy Driver Hotline... Live Operators To Help You Stay Awake.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

The fact is, some people get tired behind the wheel, especially on a long trip.

When that happens, one of the best ways to stay awake is to talk to somebody. But what if it's late, and there's nobody else in the car? That's why there should be a service people can call specifically to help people stay awake.

The concept is pretty simple. For a small monthly fee, a call center will take your calls 24 hours a day, and stay on the line until you're fully awake.

The conversation itself isn't important, as long as it's somewhat stimulating, even to the point of being frustrating, which reminds me of this classic Monty Python sketch.

While I doubt anyone would start a calling service that starts arguments wit... [More]

Continue...Sleepy Driver Hotline... Live Operators To Help You Stay Awake....

Toll Tags Should Show the Amount PAID, Just Like Cash Customers.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Toll tags are being used like poker chips in a casino, so you never think of the actual cost each time you use them.

Here's a simple social experiment.

Studies have shown that people in casinos bet more when they use poker chips than they would if they had to take cash out of their pockets for each bet. That's the magic of tokenizing money. We don't think of it the same as we would with cash. Credit cards have the same effect on people, which is why stores love them.

How does this relate to toll tags like E-ZPass?

Ever since cities started implementing quick toll collection systems, customers have become less aware of the actual prices they are paying. This has made it easier for them to raise tolls, with minimal resistance from customers. Because many drivers o... [More]

Continue...Toll Tags Should Show the Amount PAID, Just Like Cash Customers....

Don't Drive Around With Bumper Guards. They look Bad.

Friday, November 28, 2014 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Do you remember when people put plastic on their sofas so they would last longer? How dumb was that?

Seems like a simple idea. You put the plastic on your expensive new sofa, then you didn't have to worry about spilling anything on it. To me, it was like the Emperor's New Clothes. Nobody wanted to admit that although it protected your prized possession from stains, they looked ridiculous and were completely uncomfortable.

If you think about it. Plastic covered sofas were so ugly and uncomfortable we now look back at them and wonder why anyone would want to sacrifice beauty and comfort every single day for years, just so they could extend the life of that ugly, uncomfortable sofa for a little longer. A little longer? In other words... You're stuck with sitting on that ug... [More]

Continue...Don't Drive Around With Bumper Guards. They look Bad....

A Do Not Disturb Button on Steering Wheels. Mute Everything and Block Calls.

Saturday, November 22, 2014 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Sometimes you just plain need to concentrate on the road.

Mute buttons aren't new; a lot of cars have had them since the 90s. Before Bluetooth came along, Mute Buttons came in handy when your phone rang, so you could instantly silent the radio and answer the phone.

Now that most cars have Bluetooth, you no longer need a Mute Button, because it usually mutes the radio when a call comes in, so you can talk hands free.

I think it's time we re-think the purpose of a mute button. Instead of muting the radio so you can answer the phone, a Mute Button should allow you to BLOCK the call in the first place.

Simply stated, there are times when a phone call can be a dangerous distraction. Rather than reach for the phone and looking for the "Do Not Disturb" option, a steerin... [More]

Continue...A Do Not Disturb Button on Steering Wheels. Mute Everything and Block Calls....

3 Benefits of a Device to Monitor Teenage Driving

Wednesday, November 19, 2014 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Here's a great idea. Spy on your kids when they drive!

Spying on your kids? What a horrible idea. How could I even suggest this? It sounds so unfair.

After all, kids today are so wonderful and we trust them to drive below the speed limit. We have no reason to think otherwise. Why wouldn't they be safe drivers, just like we were when we were that age? Um.. come to think of it. This is a great idea.

I saw a commercial for a device from Progressive Insurance that you plug into your car's computer port under the dashboard that basically let's them monitor your driving habits. As a reward for using it, you get a lower rate. This made today's idea seem quite plausible, but instead of using such a device to let an insurance company monitor your driving habits... why not... [More]

Continue...3 Benefits of a Device to Monitor Teenage Driving...

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* Note: The ideas on "Idea of the Day" were posted without any formal research into existing inventions.

In some cases, patents may already exist for these ideas, in other cases, there may not be any existing patents and you are free to develop and explore the viability of developing and patenting the ideas.

The authors make no claim that any of the ideas are safe, practical, or suitable for any particular purpose. You are responsible for the results of trying, developing, patenting or using any of the ideas on this site.

For some people, our ideas are just an interesting read, but our goal is to encourage you to take action. If you see an idea that you like, do something with it... Take action.

- Joe

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