Dave's Ideas

Nate M.’s Traffic Accident Onlooker-Proof Fence

March 20, 2011

Nate M. from Detroit Michigan sent in three great ideas, and I will feature the first of them today. This is an onlooker-proof fence/partition that would cordon off an accident scene, denying motorists that pass-by a ‘show’.

In a lot of ways, it’s good that motorists slow down for the safety of the first-responders. However those motorists who slow down specifically to survey the accident scene usually create a problematic traffic jam. More accidents could also result from distracted drivers.

Nate proposed a fence or blockade that could be erected to surround the accident scene, effectively blocking onlookers from catching a glimpse. Not only would this exclaim “nothing to see here”, but would enable paramedics and fire rescue teams to carry out their work without an audience. Also the privacy granted would be beneficial in the most tragic of circumstances to help conceal the lives lost.

But as it happens I recently watched an episode of CBC’s Dragon’s Den, where a pair of gentleman were showcasing a very similar idea. Their blockade would be a tarp fence that was held up by posts that surrounded the accident scene. The problem was that this fence was huge and time consuming to set up. It reminded me of one of those rental steel fences that encircle construction sites.

So I shared with Nate the very idea that I thought of when I saw this pitch on Dragon’s Den: given the size of certain emergency vehicles (like Firetrucks and Ambulances), why not retract the fence from the vehicles directly, and attach to other vehicles or other extended fences?

It would work similar to those ‘ropes’ that retract from those upright stands, much like you’d find in a bank or theater line:

I think it would be best to retract from the rear of a Firetruck, with hooks available on the front/back of Firetrucks and Ambulances to latch onto. There would also be Velcro doors built-in to the fence to ensure crews can get through if need be.

If there are no other vehicles to latch onto an upright post could be deployed, or the latch could be designed to grab onto a nearby street light or sign.

Entry filed under: Safety, Transportation. Tags: Automotive, Design, Safety, Transformers.