Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Hey You! In the Car! Reading Your Laptop While Driving! Yeah, You!

My wife's dream has come true, sort of. For years, my wife believed there should be a system by which one could call the person in the car near to you by dialing their license plate number. Then you could say to them what only the passengers in your car were able to hear previously.

The Washington Post reports that we are one step to "improved communications" with our fellow drivers. A new website, Plate Wire, allows motorists to post the license plate of offensive drivers. The site was started by a Fairfax, Virginia man who hopes to shame people into driving better. However, the problem is there is no way of knowing if the subjects actually see them.
It begs the question, "why are people taking the time to post what is basically a primal scream?" It just makes us feel better, OK? And my son doesn't have to hear that kind of language anymore.

If you prefer the more "intimate contact" with your fellow drivers, there are other ways. GadgetUniverse.com offers the Programmable License Plate Billboard, yours for only $39.95. If you really want to get creative, $199 buys the MobileLED MD-550, which plugs into a car cigarette lighter and comes with a small keyboard that allows you to type any message on a large electronic display board mounted inside your rear window.

Of course police and safety experts caution not to further aggravate the situation. You've got a cell phone - use it. Dial #77, the non-emergency number for the police and report the situation. However, responses will vary. The bird is instantaneous and more gratifying.

Be safe out there on the roads. I might be next to you as I am traveling for Thanksgiving. To the airport tonight to pick up my father, to Wilmington, Delaware tomorrow for the holiday, home on Friday through Annapolis (but God, not to the Mall), and back to the airport on Saturday to drop Dad off to go home. Happy Thanksgiving!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I have one of these as well. However, I lost the software to program it and I can no longer download it because the company has gone out of business. Would you be able to post it somewhere. Thanks in advance.