Proposed Auto-Safety Feature Would Keep Pedestrians, Cyclists Away With Painful Ultrasonic Waves
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A newly proposed safety feature for cars and trucks would prevent crashes with vulnerable road users by using painful ultrasonic waves to keep them at a safe distance, Dumb Runner has learned.
“Essentially, the vehicle would generate its own buffer zone, using powerful ultrasonic waves,” said Katrina Leskanich, Ph.D., an engineer at the Sunshine State Safety Institute and leader of the team that developed the idea. “These waves would extend from the vehicle’s front bumper to a distance of roughly 30 feet at city speeds or 100 feet at highway speeds.”
Other motorists wouldn’t feel the waves, Leskanich said, but walkers, runners, and cyclists would.
“For anyone not driving in a motor vehicle, these waves would instantly create excruciating pain, inducing the recipient to move away from the vehicle,” she said. “In essence, driver would ‘push’ cyclists and pedestrians out of their path, preventing any crash before it has a chance to happen.”
An earlier version of the system used water cannons instead of ultrasonic waves but was found to be impractical.
It is unclear whether automakers would embrace the technology, though they are under increasing pressure as pedestrian deaths involving vehicles are spiking across the U.S. Many say such a safety feature may be the only way to bring death and injury of vulnerable road users back to an acceptable level.
“We need to do something,” said Leskanich. “All of this carnage is really causing motorists a lot of grief.”
