Road Marker Marks You

If you could make a reflective road marker (a "road stud", in the jargon) that contained a small solar cell and battery, you would be able to: A) power a LED at night to provide lit lanes, not just reflection; B) monitor for fog or water on the road surface; C) monitor the temperature to detect ice; D) use infrared ranging and embedded cameras to detect and report the license number of anyone speeding on the road; E) All of the above. If the company can make them cheap enough, they'll be everywhere in a few years.

Comments

What would be very cool

[obfuscated]

is if the government started putting leds embedded into the pavement and they could send you messages (eg. accident up ahead, work zone, speed limit changed to XXmph, etc) to you while you're driving having the message pace with your car.

Also, you could make lanes that are dynamic during the day and night. (They already have those with changing street signs).

Real time stopping distance approxomations (are you following too close?). Lane change "handoffs" (the road infront of you goes orange because someone is turning into that lane.)

It's would be the same technology used for those rotating led clocks.

Of course, it'll all be moot when people finally let computers do the driving for them.

Speed enforcement

[b0s0z0ku]

The markers will probably be useful for detecting fog and leaving a light trail after cars. Speed cameras are best placed on vertical structures where the lens is less likely to get covered with ice/snow/road grime/spray paint and where the lens is also best positioned to view license plates. Besides, we'll probably all go to RFIDs in cars within a few years :) Automated enforcement of speed laws is actually illlegal in many jurisdictions like NJ and PA (in PA local cops aren't even allowed to use RADAR or laser). Something about the right to face your accuser...

-b0s0z0ku

Re:Don't ticket me - control my car's max speed

[87C751]

It would seem that you are unfamiliar with the revenue enhancement aspect of speed enforcement. Speed limits are only peripherally about safety. In many (most?) small towns, speeding fines are a significant portion of the municipal revenue stream. Of course, they won't publicly admit this in so many words, but a proposal to implement red-light cameras in Ohio was withdrawn after a lawmaker proposed warning signs and a first-offense-free policy. Both the camera company and the town involved complained that that plan would reduce revenue too much, prompting the legislator to ask "Is this a bill about safety or a bill about revenue?"