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Google Patents Pedestrian Sticky Tape to Glue Them to the Hood in Case of Impact

We're not entirely sure whether we're on board with this latest invention from Google, but we sure think it's going to save a lot of pedestrian lives and limbs, but not how the tech giant imagined it. If it were to go into large scale production, we're willing to bet all pedestrians would be ten times more wary of cars just to avoid the embarrassment of being stuck on the hood of a car like a giant fly.
Google pedestrian glue trap 1 photo
Photo: Drawing from Google patent
Google argues that while its autonomous cars will do their best to prevent any type of collision, accidents will still continue to happen no matter what. That's why the more exposed of the road users out there - the pedestrians and cyclists - need more protection, and Google believes this glue-trap spread all over the car's hood might just be the solution.

No need to ask the rhetorical question "how come nobody ever thought about something like this?" because in this case the answer is obvious: because it is absolutely ridiculous. But that didn't stop Google from refining the idea back in 2014 when the patent was first awarded. The company realized that driving around with glue on your car isn't the best idea - especially when going at a car wash - so it proposed that the hood would be covered in something like an eggshell. That superficial layer would break in case of a collision, exposing the sticky core and gluing the sorry soul who got hit to the car.

The most dangerous part of getting bumped by a car (we're talking low to moderate speeds - mostly low) isn't the initial blow, but what's called the "secondary impact" - that's when you either hit the road surface or, even worse, another vehicle. If you were stuck on the hood of the car that initially hit you, that problem would be solved. So is this idea inspired from the way we deal with unwanted insects even better than the external airbag?

In short, no. Even though it solves the problem of the secondary impact, it opens up a whole new type of hazards for the accident's victim: for one thing, the car could subsequently crash into something with the helpless man stuck on the hood. Or the human being might end up in a totally different position than the one shown in the drawing, getting their limbs dragged on the road until it brakes completely. The "Final Destination"-inspired scenarios are endless, so it's fair to assume this is yet another one of those useless patents. Well, at least this one is funny.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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