New Smartphone Tech To Alert Pedestrians: 'You Are About To Be Hit By a Car' 136
cartechboy writes "Usually, smartphones are a problem for humans transporting themselves — a massive distraction. But Honda is working on a way to use smartphones to protect pedestrians from bad drivers. The 'V2P' (Vehicle-to-Pedestrian) tech uses a smartphone's GPS and dedicated short range communications (DSRC) to warn drivers when a pedestrian say, steps out from behind a parked car. So the driver sees a dashboard message warning of an approaching pedestrian (which also notes whether said walker is using phone, texting or listening to music — which sort of shouldn't matter as you, uhm, brake.) The lucky pedestrian gets an alert on their phone telling them there's a DSRC-equipped car coming – that's if, say, actually looking at the road isn't telling you that already."
The lesson here is to always keep your eyes on your smartphone when you're crossing the street. If you get an alert, stop where you are and read it! Relatedly, there's another phone app in development to help you avoid gunfire.
More useful... (Score:3)
"You will not win the lottery!"
"Whoa! Good thing you warned me, phone, I was about to buy a ticket ... um ... this is one of those Catch 22s isn't it?"
"HA HA HA!"
"Damn."
Re:More useful... (Score:5, Funny)
Most useful. (Score:2)
On the iPhone it will be... (Score:5, Funny)
You were hit by a car......30 seconds ago.
And on Android, exact TOI (Score:5, Funny)
Meanwhile Google's answer is to embed NFC chips in the bumpers of all cars, so that you can be told you were hit exactly at the moment of impact.
Truly a technically superior solution, and finally a use for those NFC readers they keep shipping.
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In Indian Roads you will get a million alert messages per second... and it doesnt matter if you are pedestrian or the driver!
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You were hit by a car......30 seconds ago.
On the Android phone - You are about to be hit by a Google mapping car! Massive pr0ps!
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On the iPhone, it only works if you're about to be hit by a Prius. Well, at first. Rest assured it'll keep a database of whatever's the trendiest city car of the time, updated hourly, so you'll be the first to know when you're about to be hit by the most popular and prettiest in vehicle technology!
Google will come up with a web API for it for Android phones, but nobody will implement it. So they'll make their own car that's compatible with it, but only market it for developers. Three months later, they'
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Re:On the iPhone it will be... (Score:4, Insightful)
No, they need to play irritating music with a DO YOU WANT THIS IMPORTANT MESSAGE DISPLAYED? By the time they figure out how to dismiss it their genes will be out of the pool.
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"That is NOT just a flesh wound." is about to become the dominate thought in your brain.
This how google will get out responsibility for th (Score:2)
When one of there driver less cars hit's some one they use some like this to say it's the person who get hit's fault.
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Because the pedestrian should be allowed to step out into traffic from behind a parked car?
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that is what in the cars EULA so your on your own.
Missing moderation option (Score:1)
-1, Wanton cruelty to English language.
Tho'se apo'strophe's, their crying!
Like most cruel crimes are perpetrated by people close to victims, this mauling's certainly a native speaker's deed.
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We usually blame the victim when someone runs into a pedestrian.
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In the Netherlands it is always the car-driver's fault if he hits a pedestrian or a cyclist.
If he can't see a pedestrian coming from behind a parked car stepping into the street he should have anticipated that and drive slower if the visibility is preventing this.
There are some exceptions, like on a highway where pedestrians aren't allowed, but in most cases it is going to be difficult to proof that the car driver was not at fault.
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In the Netherlands it is always the car-driver's fault if he hits a pedestrian or a cyclist.
Even if the cyclist runs a red light?
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Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
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reversing bad moderation
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I don't think GPS is accurate enough for this. When using my phone for driving directions it routinely has difficulty telling if I'm on the highway or access road next to it.
"You have gone through the guardrail, knucklehead, stop looking at your phone while driving"
Hey, these really are smart phones!
Aliens (Score:1)
So, all those movies with Aliens coming to earth to steal our water is ... probably not true? Say it isn't so!
Obvious question (Score:4, Funny)
Will it display said pedestrian's point value?
Re:Obvious question (Score:5, Funny)
: You were eaten by a prius.
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No need for a points value. Just tell us what they are listening too. :-)
Bob.
Can you hear me now? *whomp!!!* (Score:4, Funny)
"...Good!"
iSplat (Score:1)
Instead just install an app the declares "LOOK OUT DIPSHIT!" and random intervals when your phone is out of your pocket.
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but in all seriousness, this is something that at this point in time is of little value, but in a future of self driving cars may mature into something very useful.
I would love to use this app (Score:1)
Many uses for this technique (Score:5, Funny)
A similar technique could be used to avoid muggings. A user would download the MugMe app, and a DSRC equipped mugger would detect that you were near - instead of having to physically assault you, he would simply input the percentage of cash on hand you have that is to be debited to his account, and a pre-paid mailing box would be sent to your home wherein you could deposit your belongings on return. It would avoid ruining a night out and physical contact with the lower classes.
You might wonder how well adoption would fare; obviously the state would make installation of the app mandatory for cell phone users and declare physical mugging illegal. To get a mugger DSRC you could employ a system much like taxi medallions, where a would-be mugger had to buy a medallion in order to have the right to mug citizens. This would also have the benefit of capping the amount of crime in a city to a well-regulated value.
Later iterations of the app could add an improvement like the "Aid Other" feature, if someone near was being mugged other users in the area would be alerted and could chose either to "come to aid" in which case there would be a percentage chance the mugger would be virtually "scared" and get nothing. The other option would be "look away furtively" which would confer a one-day pass of freedom from mugging.
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Imagine what good can happen when the government and insurance companies get hold of this data, no thanks.
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Nice merger of reality & Diskworld...if I had mod points I'd do more than commend you, but as it stands you're stuck with some photons on a screen.
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This sucks. Now I'm going to have to mug someone to get the cash for a DRSC equipped phone and a medallion.
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The saddest thing about this is that I can actually envision it actually happening...
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Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow! (Score:5, Funny)
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If you switch to the reverse mode, will it act like a guidance system for the killer Karr?
FTFY.
Let me check my phone (Score:1)
I'll finish this comment right after I check the message I just got on my ph
More blame culture crap (Score:5, Insightful)
Here's a crazy idea.... How about letting the pedestrian take responsibility for stepping into a busy road without looking first? ...actually you'd think it would be a self-rectifying problem through natural selection.
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In the US, if you live in a Stand Your Ground state, just shoot drivers who refuse to yield when you are crossing the road. Be sure to tell the police immediately afterwards and let them know that you were crossing legally and in fear for your life.
While reading the alert (Score:1)
on your phone you get hit by that car unless you are REALLY fast and jump out of the way.
I can see it now. (Score:4, Interesting)
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Some time before the tech was released to the public, the lawyers got involved. "You can't call it
Protecting pedestrians from bad drivers (Score:4, Insightful)
You don't "protect" the pedestrian by telling the bad driver to activate his brakes. Instead, automatically activate the brakes, take the bad driver out of the loop.
This is similar to my gripe about people who think that a horn is a useful safety device -- as if the guy who you are beeping at is going to listen the horn, figure out that it applies to him, and figure out what he is doing wrong, fast enough to make a difference. Better to simply assume that he's an idiot, and work around him.
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Better to simply assume that he's an idiot, and work around him.
In fact... if you don't work around him you ARE the idiot.
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This is similar to my gripe about people who think that a horn is a useful safety device
A horn is a useful safety device, just not for the scenario you described. It's useful to alert others of your presence in situations where they might not notice you and where they do have time to react. I'll grant that horns aren't that useful in the US, but some other countries have driving styles which make them essential equipment, because everyone expects that if you're coming around a blind turn that you'll hit the horn to warn any oncoming traffic so that both of you can act appropriately -- and ever
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How many people bother to react or even notice the weak sound coming from a horn?
In countries I've driven in where such use of the horn is widespread... everyone notices and reacts, because failure to do so will result in being in a collision, fairly quickly.
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You seem to be responding as if there is something to this....
And NO automatic crap for me please. You are coming to an intersection with red light and someone crossing. How does it know you will stop in time? By then i would be 10 ft away and the message wouldn't even get there much less get read before the splat. If you try and warn farther away then it will beep and flash warnings at every intersection. Or in your case, slam on the brakes a few feet short of the crosswalk and have everyone rear-end me.
Mo
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I don't think the pedestrian does know that you will stop in time, but a certain number of pedestrians aren't paying attention and this could help them. Defense in depth, after all. The few crashes that I've watched happen (and one I heard recounted in which a cousin was killed) all involved multiple coincident screwups. Not one was caused by a single point of failure. Cars currently kill thousands of pedestrians each year; there's plenty of room for improvement.
And we do manage to (eventually) design s
Re:Protecting pedestrians from bad drivers (Score:4, Interesting)
You don't "protect" the pedestrian by telling the bad driver to activate his brakes. Instead, automatically activate the brakes, take the bad driver out of the loop.
That would be kind of cool. Kids would soon figure out that if they run flat towards the road (but stop in time), all sorts of hilarity will follow.
This is similar to my gripe about people who think that a horn is a useful safety device -- as if the guy who you are beeping at is going to listen the horn, figure out that it applies to him, and figure out what he is doing wrong, fast enough to make a difference. Better to simply assume that he's an idiot, and work around him.
It works great with a lane change. If you see a car starting to change lanes into you because they haven't done their head check then a beep will normally get them to cancel their move. And yes I've been on the bad side of that (young and stupid and "i don't need to check i know there's nothing in my blind spot").
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yeah, have the car just jam on the brakes. ...nevermind the car that is tailgating you. its their problem, right?
(sigh)
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I don't suppose that my car's computer could have a little chat with your car's computer, maybe they could coordinate?
Seems like one of the very first things that smart-ish cars should get right is not running into stuff that is right in front of them.
And we have that problem now, with ABS. A couple of years ago, renting a car, junk flew off a truck in front of us and everyone stopped fast. The guy behind me did not have ABS. Oops. Royal pain with all the paperwork, but in the end, yes, it was their pro
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The horn is a very useful safety device when it is employed properly:
Honking twice before approaching one of those really blind pedestrian walks connecting two parks to warn anyone nearby that your vehicle is approaching.
Honking loudly when someone is backing up and doesn't appear to notice you're there already.
Honking at someone that has approached a stop sign at high speed and doesn't look like they're going to look before pulling out.
In all these instances, honking is highly likely to result in avoiding
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For either sense of the word "blind", if there's a pedestrian and it's a crosswalk, the law says you're supposed to stop for them. They are not supposed to stop for you; they have right of way. If visibility is not so good, that is presumably because the highway department assumed that you, an allegedly safe driver, would reduce your speed correspondingly so that you could always see the pedestrian that you are legally required to stop for. If you are ever honking at a pedestrian in a crosswalk, or a bli
dan ackroyd called it (Score:2)
i wonder if the technology is based on the 'silver-haired bat' [jt.org]?
Oblig xkcd (Score:2)
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Or this [xkcd.com]
Bad *drivers*??? (Score:1, Troll)
>"But Honda is working on a way to use smartphones to protect pedestrians from bad drivers"
Bad *drivers*???
Um, no. How about idiot pedestrians who walk into the road without looking because they are too busy with their damn phones.
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There is a third course. It's about preventing bad drivers from bad pedestrians. A good driver will account for bad pedestrians without a warning. If someone steps out from between two cars and you hit them, you were going too fast. For what? For the road, for your own ability, it doesn't really matter. Slow down. I hate driving in cities too, and I get the fuck out of them as quickly as I can to where I only have to worry about plowing into wildlife, escaped livestock, or a boulder the size of a Volkswagen
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>"If someone steps out from between two cars and you hit them, you were going too fast."
In your example, they were jaywalking, which is illegal. If you hit them in a crosswalk, there would be far less question about liability. But you are not automatically at fault when someone just pops out in front of you elsewhere.
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In your example, they were jaywalking, which is illegal. If you hit them in a crosswalk, there would be far less question about liability.
No, right now we're not talking about legal liability, try very hard to keep up. We're talking about bad drivers. If you don't account for road conditions, you're a bad driver. If you do want to talk about legal liability though, that depends on where you are. If you hit a pedestrian anywhere within the city of Santa Cruz, you're pretty much at fault. And that's the way it should be. Otherwise cities fall to the tyranny of the car, and they just fucking suck.
More like bad pedestrians (Score:1, Troll)
More like protect good drivers from bad pedestrians. It always amuses me to see how many people will walk into a street without ever looking for traffic. They just assume a crosswalk provides them some sort of magical protection from the 3,000 lb dragons.
Fair enough to joke about this crap (Score:4, Insightful)
But on a serious note. I am seeing way to many hairbrain schemes where drivers attention on the road is drawn to a screen where graphical information about potential dangers is displayed.
I am willing to put money on it that in every single case the results of the distraction causes more harm then it prevents.
How the hell can people be banned from using a mobile phone in a car but it is perfectly fine to use Satnav, radio or a gazillion new doodads. Each of them far more distracting then a conversation on the phone.
I while back I even saw an IPad application that uses the camera to interpret the car's dashboard ( http://www.gizmag.com/audi-a3-augmented-reality-manual/28693/ [gizmag.com] )
Madness.
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How the hell can people be banned from using a mobile phone in a car but it is perfectly fine to use Satnav, radio or a gazillion new doodads.
It's not legal to drive while distracted and some states actually have laws which explicitly prevent you from using the satnav while driving.
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It's not legal to drive while distracted
I usually detest this response, but I think it's justified here: Citation needed. Generalization detected.
What is "distracted" anyway? If I need to pee really bad, is that distracted, and therefore illegal? Would I therefore be legally required to stop and relieve myself on the shoulder, or stop and wait for...help?
What's illegal is driving recklessly and running into things with your car, regardless of how much attention you were paying.
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What is "distracted" anyway? If I need to pee really bad, is that distracted, and therefore illegal? Would I therefore be legally required to stop and relieve myself on the shoulder, or stop and wait for...help?
Yes, the law is often subjective. Not my fault. If you want a citation, look in YOUR state law. I don't even know what state you're in, so even if I wanted to track down the relevant statute I wouldn't know which code to look in. Perhaps you should consider that while being a lazy bastard.
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I may be lazy, but at least I don't make unsubstantiated generalizations...most of the time.
Information is bad (Score:2)
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Why?
Personal responsibility. Get some.
Even my dog knows better than to cross the street without looking having grown up in the city.
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I hit a pedestrian that stepped out... (Score:2)
...from behind a car stopped in traffic. I never saw him, and and he never looked my way. I was traveling about 30 mph, and later reconstruction of the incident by the county sheriff's office (used in my defense during the civil court case) showed that there was probably less than 2 seconds between when he stepped out and when I hit him. I seriously doubt this app would have helped him or anyone else in a similar situation.
BTW, he was issued a ticket in the hospital for "failure to yield right of way to
Re: I hit a pedestrian that stepped out... (Score:2)
And then these idiots cry livable streets and other nonsense
Same in NYC. Dummies on feet and bikes do stupid things and when they get hit by a car cry that drivers should drive 5 mph to stop on a dime
yes it does. (Score:4, Funny)
which sort of shouldn't matter as you, uhm, brake
It does matter. Because if some asshole is texting I will not be braking but accelerating.
But can it tell what music they're listening to? (Score:2)
T-Mobile (Score:2)
Sigh (Score:3)
recipe for disaster (Score:2)
Or... (Score:2)
"You Are Now Dead" (Score:1)
(Sorry I couldn't warn you in time; network delays, you know.)
I've got a better idea (Score:3)
Distracting the driver is the solution? (Score:2)
Natural selection at work (Score:3)
The car is like a predator on the hunt. The inattentive smartphone user is like an oblivious gazelle. Suddenly the car pounces! One less oblivious gazelle on the savannah.
Eventually, selection pressure will weed out the oblivious gazelles, leaving only the alert ones.
Nature is both terrible and beautiful.
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Then the 'best & brightest' would be killed due to being distracted by thinking intensely about their projects, while the many Average Joes/Janes that bumble obediently through life would survive -- that's not exactly progress. Being "fit to survive" in a particular environment is usually tied to how physically capable the person is, not how brilliantly talented or otherwise good for society they are, just as people's mental and physical abilities are two separate beasts.
Besides that, the entire reason
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The best and the brightest would have looked before crossing the street. Its one thing to learn from language and accumulate knowledge (via language) ... that sets us apart from the rest of the animals on the planet ... if you get hit by a car because you were dicking with your phone, you clearly are missing the very thing that separates us from other animals, the ability to learn from others without actual experience.
I'm not talking about letting some aboriginal Australian get hit by a cab in New York whe
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I'd say that getting hit by a car while dicking with your phone DOES separate you from the animals. Even the dumbest ape knows to get out of the way of a charging rhino.
How about apps to alert about true issues? (Score:2)
Where can I get the app to alert me; if there's a need to evacuate the building? Specifically.... if there's a fire in the crowded theatre; I want an app to alert me immediately, so I can scramble for the door, and get out first: trampling anyone who dare stand in my way.
Stop polluting the gene pool (Score:2)
Can we please stop doing things to save people not worth saving? This is in the same class as putting warning labels on Lawn Mowers that you shouldn't pick them up and try to use them as hedge trimmers, or warning labels on cans of RAID bug spray. If you aren't smart enough to avoid these issues, you're just a drain.
Not quite there... (Score:1)
Ah crap (Score:2)
Stop trying to find technical solutions. . . (Score:2)
to human problems. If someone is so intent on reading the latest message or just has to surf the web while walking, it's their fault if they step into traffic.
All this technology does is increase the amount of things which can go wrong/give false positives, thus increasing the likelihood that the driver will take evasive action when none is needed or will not be notified because the software decided not to work.
Survival of the fittest. Let enough people get run over and the problem will solve itself.
Pah. (Score:2)
Anyone crossing the road from behind a parked car whilst using a smartphone, fiddling with a music player or otherwise not paying total attention to the large, fast moving, multi ton objects hurtling along the road deserves to get run over.
They really do.