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Ballistic Clipboard Holds Papers, Stops Bullets
Zothecula writes "Although police officers in most countries are issued bulletproof vests, they don't necessarily wear them at all times — would you want to heave one of those things around for an entire shift? What they do often carry, however, are clipboards. Taking the "every little bit helps" approach, Ohio's IMPACT Armor Technologies has put two and two together, and come up with something that should actually offer some protection — a Ballistic Clipboard."
And it stops bullets, which means it can probably stop rock too.
But what about scissors?
"Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
So instead of getting a bullet hole in their chest, they'll get a clipboard blugeoning their face?
you can even buy sth like that from thinkgeek (which is a sister company of slashdot) for quite some time now: http://www.thinkgeek.com/interests/dads/e769/
http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/supplies/e769/?srp=1
Even if Thinkgeek wasn't already selling a similar product, how is this news?
Wonder if Captain America ever used his shield as clipboard (i think he actually did in the movie), if so we have prior art if they try to patent this.
Slashvertisement?
I knew you could! This one isn't even interesting.
Bringing the census to rough neighborhoods just got a little safer.
been done before, using recycle body armour plates. Can't be exported to other geek filled countries, IIRC.
There was an unknown error in the submission.
Its been done before... http://www.thinkgeek.com/interests/dads/e769/
I spent five minutes stealing cool sigs and all I got was this.
This is the second article I've seen recently about a product that has been on Thinkgeek.com for a while. First the caffeinated jerky and now this. The one on Thinkgeek seems to be different but the concept is the same, holds papers and stops bullets. It seems the Thinkgeek one doesn't stop .357 and .44 mag though.
...perfect to go with your tactical pen.
You think I'm kidding.
"It is also said to protect against knives and blunt weapons."
Is there such extension for the X buffer? I don't think it's a good idea if this feature is limited to the clipboard of Windows.
1) Law enforcement sees product, laughs at the idea.
2) Manufacturer lobbies Congress to pass bill with massive federal grant for their new toy
3) Law enforcement brass around the country buy these with federal funds
4) Law enforcement rank-and-file take them home and give them to their kids
5) Repeat
sucking tax payers money from the police budget ...
Unless Zothecula=Ben Coxworth (which one never knows nowadays) this looks very much like a copyright violation. It is a 1:1 copy of the first paragraph of the referenced article from Ben. And Ben at least took some effort to reformulate when he took it from http://www.ohgizmo.com/2011/11/08/this-clipboard-could-save-your-life/.
But then, does crowdvertisement care about copyright?
Once more proof that there is a real solution to every imaginary problem.
As we have watched violent crime rates plummet, it makes perfect sense to be thinking about how to protect the ever increasing number of police on the streets, from all of the violent crime that would have endangered them 25 years ago when violent crime was a really serious issue, and the crack wars had bullets flying in the cities.
Yes, yet another brilliant solution to a totally nonexistent problem. Now that we have a police force that primarily goes around directing traffic on details, pulling people over for the most minor infractions of the letter of the driving rules, and spending copious amounts of time sitting by the side of the road gabbing on their cell phones, or texting (the most common activities that I see cops working diligently at), its clear that we need such devices to protect them from the nearly infinite numbers of bullets which are not flying towards them.
"I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
...where this would have come in handy. Some of my coworkers are, um, grumpy.
Quite simply, alot of police work doesn't involve any danger. In most cases, the weight it just unwarranted.
That said, it's a good idea just to have that option. If they could somehow carry it around their chest/heart, it can save their lives against small arms which is something they might see. Though how many cops on patrol do you see ever carrying a clip board... much less bring it along with them when chasing down someone.
Ok, so how likely is this thing to be used?
What previous data do we have? How many police clipboards are hit by bullets in any given year? How many non-police clipboards?
What is the likelihood that someone will be able to position his clipboard to the proper position when someone is shooting at him? Test it by having one of the developers hold one up while someone else randomly shoots at him, and see how many of the bullets he can stop.
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
I guess no cops came back with shot up clipboards.
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/09/counterintuitive-world
0:15 - Bridge of Sighs in Oxford, England. A city well known for its gun crime, obviously.
If someone takes a shot at you, how likely is it that you'll be able to hold on to that clipboard in a position where it actually protects something? Better than just dropping the clipboard and running/diving for the nearest cover, exit or whatnot. The only way I can see you manage to keep this in a reasonable position is if you're standing still, in which case you'll look like Adam with the fig leaf because it's hardly a riot shield. What's next, a bullet proof donut box?
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
not even Cat like reflex's will help you since most handgun murders are within 5 meters. So with a 9mm traveling at 335mps you have about 2msec to get the clipboard into the bullet path and here is a hint, no ones limbs can move that fast. This wont help you against a pro since they will simply pop you in the melon from behind and you will never even know it happened. But hey if it makes you sleep better at night.
Hey KID! Yeah you, get the fuck off my lawn!
The fact is, that if not, Walmart, Target, or K-Mart will quickly go to China and get them to produce this. And they may still do it.
"I should warn you, I have a tiny bulletproof shield, the exact size of a bullet, somewhere on my body and if you hit it, I'll be unharmed and your plan will be foiled. You'll be the laughing stock of me." Mayor Adam West, in Family Guy.
A camel is a horse created by a committee
I'll get blasted for this but I hate when people suggest solutions for problems which are procedural.
" I don't like wearing my vest because it's not comfortable"
Knee Jerk Solution: let's make a bullet proof clipboard.
Proper Solution: Get used to it, wear it for those who love you, until we come up with a better one.
I here this same argument with motorcycle protective gear,
"My jacket gets too hot"
Knee Jerk: Lets design elbow and knee pads for motorcyclists.
As G. Gordon Liddy said, "Go for a head shot; they're going to be wearing bulletproof vests"
The first shot would likely break both your wrists. Good luck holding onto it for the other 8 rounds in the clip.
You don't have to out move the bullet. You just need to outmove the arm and hand of the gunman. At close range you have a better ability to do this than at long range because of the angles involved. With short range the gunman needs to move his arm in a larger angle to change his target from your body to your head. At long range the gunman only needs to move a few degrees.
They had these 25 years ago.
I don't think a clipboard blocking a bullet is going to stop somebody from continuing to shoot...
If they get into the habit of bringing the clipboard up to the car they just pulled over, a natural reflex when confronted with a gun would likely be to shield themselves with whatever's in their hand -- the clipboard. So why not make it bulletproof?
I can see this saving a few lives. Why not, unless there are other avenues where the money could save even more lives?
On the other hand, did they test this against a standard backstop, or in a usage situation? If an officer is holding it at writing length and it's shot, will it just flip back in the officer's hand, letting the bullet continue on to hit him?
I agree with you. Each time I think about riding without my full leather pants, I ask myself, "Is today the day I want to get road rash?"
Yes, it's hot during the summer. Yes, it means an extra few minutes removing pants, boots, etc. when I arrive at my destination. On the other hand, I get the feeling that should I ever spill, the extra time will have been well spent.
I understand that putting on an uncomfortable, heavy, and hot vest day after day is probably terribly inconvenient. On the other hand, so is getting shot. Or maybe someone could design a better ventilated and more comfortable vest, rather than a clipboard. But unless your patrol route is behind a desk, it probably makes sense to wear the vest you're issued.
"Anyone who [rips a CD] is probably engaging in copyright infringement." - David O. Carson
Wouldn't that be an "anti-ballistic" clipboard?
A ballistic clipboard would be a weapon.
A pox on web designers who feel that window.innerWidth == screen.availWidth
What about Spock and Lizard?
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
...do you mean the Post Office?
Possible next-gen products depending on the success of the clipboard in the market:
1. Stickers for the clipboard: the word SHOOT on a green background, DON'T SHOOT on red, or the alternative white diagonal slash on top of the word SHOOT, each to be stuck on the appropriate clipboards, of course.
2. Bullet shaped pens
3. Angry bulletproof clipboards
WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
Bulletproof clipboards have been around since the 70s.
Most law enforcement agencies gave up on them as being of limited value.
I'm pretty sure the Engineer units from Civilization II carried these. Can't think of any other way they could repel mechanized infantry units so effectively...
=Smidge=
I didn't read the article, but how is this different from the item that ThinkGeek (same parent as /.) has been selling for quite some time?
The first shot from a 44 magnum knocks it out of your hand, then whatcha gunna do, Punk?
Is this really worth it? It covers about 25% of the front torso (and 0% of the back) assuming it's held perfectly vertical and not tipped over horizontally for reading. So there's still a 75% chance of getting shot in the torso (or a 89% chance if you include the possibility of being shot in the back).
In comparison, a bullet proof vest gives nearly 100% coverage of the torso and back.
If a cop is worried enough about being shot that he wants to carry this shield, why doesn't he just wear a vest and get much better protection (yes, I know a vest is heavy and uncomfortable, but getting shot is uncomfortable too)? Or carry a much bigger shield (with a notepad mount on the back) to give better protection?
Sounds like it's just a way to get police departments to spend $150 on a clipboard instead of $4. I'm all for spending money to enhance safety, but this sounds like it's just going to provide a false sense of security and perhaps make it less likely that a cop will wear his vest since he has this clipboad.
Appropriate for census workers. They have tons of paperwork, and often have to deal with unpleasant, suspicious, insane people.
These guys use a fabric composite; that's probably more effective than the Safariland Ballistic Clipboard made of 3/8" Lexan back in the 70's. I had one. It was big and a bit awkward -- about the size of this one. And the Lexan wasn't expected to be effective against supersonic bullets like 9mm, .357 Magnum or .44 Magnum. This Kevlar sandwich should be more effective and may be a bit lighter, but it still requires another hand. How does it integrate with a flashlight? A good cop will keep his/her weapon hand free -- just in case. At night the other hand will be holding a light. If they want to make a real winner they will incorporate a good LED light with the control(s) where the left hand is holding the clipboard. The hard part will be to make the light control simple and intuitive without accidental on (or off) events.
Did they do any research on the name? Did they even offer a deal for the name to Ballistic Clipboard, LLC?
Back in my day we wore a suit of armor and never complained about the weight.
I wonder how many of these my .270 would penetrate
Thinkgeek already carries one of these. This is no new technology. Thinkgeek's is just made of kevlar and doesn't have a handle. http://www.thinkgeek.com/interests/dads/e769/
Assuming the police are using clipboards right now, the number of shootings where the bullet has passed through the cop's clipboard first will tell you how many lives this invention might save. I guess that number is close to zero.
We've had "bullet proof" clipboards on patrol for quite some time now. This is certainly nothing new.
Although police officers in most countries are issued bulletproof vests, they don't necessarily wear them at all times — would you want to heave one of those things around for an entire shift?
Unless you are retarded, yes you wear a bulletproof vest anytime it's mandated. There's a reason for it, and no you won't have a warning to put it on before it's ~*~REALLY~*~ needed. Anyone who isn't wearing it while required is putting themselves at risk and also the people who will put themselves in harms way to save them when they get hit.
I say this as a former Marine, and I can't think of a single time that I saw my squad members or even platoon members not wearing protective gear when required. If I had though, I would have chewed them out until they put it on and even after so they didn't do it again. The same is true for local police and actually anyone in any profession that requires protective gear. If you can't be bothered to put on basic equipment, you shouldn't be there.
"Well kids, you tried your best, and you failed. The lesson is, never try." -Homer Simpson
Mayor West: I should warn you, I have a tiny bullet proof shield the exact size of a bullet somewhere on my body, and if you hit it, I'll be unharmed, and your plan will be foiled. You'll be the laughing stock of me! ...
I just had to rewatch the episode (4ACX28, Season 4 Episode 25) to find that quote!
Operation Guillotine is in effect.
Considering that the officer would probably be unprepared to be shot at (or they would be wearing their vest) they would be unlikely to be braced for the incoming rounds. Also, consider the force most bullets strike at, does anyone really think someone is going to be able to hold an object firmly enough to really keep it from being knocked out of their hands or back into them? Even if they could, it would require both hands stopping them from reaching for their gun.
This is a placebo solution looking for a problem. It won't solve any real problem. If it's implemented I predict it's only going to delay the officers real response time and actually cost lives due to the false sense of security it offers.
This kind of thing has been around a long time in the diplomatic community. I'm familiar with one company in California that provides these in various styles to governments world-wide. The briefcases carried by most high profile State Dept. employees are armored and they are taught to cover their torso with them if a shooting incident unfolds. Clipboards are a great idea. Maybe we should give them also to teachers, convenience store clerks, etc. I'll wage that some OWS protestors in Oakland and elsewhere could have used the armor too! I say armor power-ups for everyone.
There's no sense in being precise when you don't even know what you're talking about. -- John von Neumann
Put the armor on the back of an iPad. Also works as an area light if turned around.
There's no sense in being precise when you don't even know what you're talking about. -- John von Neumann