Your car's brake lights are simple, right? You step on the big pedal, the red lights on your vehicle's tail illuminate, and drivers behind you can see that you're slowing down. But what if your next car's brake lights could let drivers who aren't in line of sight know that you're slowing; what if they could let drivers rounding a bend know that you're slowed or stopped on the other side?

That's Ford's vision for its experimental Electronic Brake Light technology -- an odd moniker, as all brake lights are typically … Read more

Many parents apparently still aren't getting the message about the dangers of distracted driving.

Among 618 parents surveyed for a study out today from the American Academy of Pediatrics, almost 90 percent of them admitted to chatting on the phone, texting, fiddling with the GPS, or doing other things while driving with their children in the car.

The parents who participated in the poll were asked specifically how often they engaged in distracting activities while driving with their child over the last month. Those activities included talking or texting on a cell phone, surfing the Internet, finding directions on a GPS or map, and changing a CD or DVD, as well as eating or grooming, and taking care of their child.… Read more

Rain -- the scourge of the night driver! Too many times have distracting droplets proved an annoyance for those traveling roads after dark.

New technology co-developed by Intel and Carnegie Mellon University could one day change all that. I've spoken to Intel about the new tech, so hit play on the video above to find out how it works.

Instead of relying on a bog-standard bulb to beam light out over a darkened road, the futuristic setup would use something more akin to a projector.

Meanwhile a camera sits nestled beneath that projector, keeping an eye on drops of rain as they enter the headlights' beams. Information from that camera is sent to a processing unit, which identifies raindrops and makes a guess as to where each droplet is headed. … Read more

Essentially, the RoboReel is a $279 retractable extension cord, but it's a very cool $279 retractable extension cord. Allow me to explain.

Physically, Great Stuff's spherical RoboReel is about the size of a basketball, its bright safety-orange color completing the illusion. The plastic main unit is held in place by a metal frame, also orange, with a black nonslip coating applied where it will come into contact with the floor.

The main sphere can tilt up and down by a considerable amount -- about 180 degrees of freedom if you've got the clearance. The sphere is split … Read more

Rather than write regulations, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released finalized guidelines for automakers to build cabin electronics into vehicle that will not distract drivers. These guidelines come after a comment period on a draft release by NHTSA last year.

NHTSA included its responses to comments and the new guidelines in a 281 page PDF made available on its Web site.

In justification of the new guidelines, NHTSA revealed that a recent test of distracted driving it conducted showed that texting doubled the risk of a 'near-crash' over attentive driving. While the test found that manually operating a … Read more

If you need to prove you're a good driver -- or if you expect to meet a UFO on a lonely highway -- this rear-view monitor can record everything.

The Safety Vision STR-100 from Japan's Ichikoh Industries is an LCD screen that replaces the rear-view mirror in cars and commercial vehicles.

We've seen many similar products, but up to three cameras can be linked to the unit, which has its own forward-facing camera. The STR-100 records up to 60 hours of footage on a 16GB or 32GB SD card. … Read more

Everyone knows the dangers of drinking and driving. An unfortunate few choose to ignore them, often with tragic results. A good friend recently lost his nephew to a drunk driver. A member of my temple congregation lost his wife and children to a drunk driver. That same temple later lost its rabbi to a drunk driver. Shall I go on?

Obviously I'd rather not, which is why I fully support any technology that can help prevent such tragedies. Here's a gizmo that might: Indiegogo project Breathometer adds a breathalyzer to your smartphone.

Reminiscent of the Square credit-card reader, … Read more

SideCar, a company providing a paid carpooling service, has sued the city of Austin, claiming that the city is illegally restricting its business.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, SideCar has sued Austin, the week after the Texas capital's city council ruled that services like SideCar, which enable people with room in their cars to offer rides to strangers for a fee, are illegal.

During SXSW here this week, SideCar has been just one of several services offering riders a free way to get around town. After the city council's ruling, SideCar decided to make all rides free during SXSW … Read more

Many believe that speed cameras were invented by Fagin.

They perch there in all arrogance, waiting for the next sucker whose pocket they'll pick.

Some localities have come to admit that they don't reduce accidents. Arizona took the decision to remove its highway speed cameras altogether.

Baltimore's were so riddled with errors that they were removed recently too.

Who could forget the recent, poetic incident in Baltimore when a speed camera decided (with the help of a human police officer) that a stationary car was speeding.

The chorus of suspicion surrounding these dubious objects has now been … Read more