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By AaronBurns
#9319
People can easily drive more safely with the windows down and many do mainly due to the fact that there is no barrier between their senses and the outside world. Most people keep their windows up and most have a good reason - like road debris, weather, or air and exaust quality being too bad to let in. Also bugs (imagine bees on the freeway) and other things we want to keep out.

But if we can keep our windows up and still have all of the sounds of the outside world (wind, road noise, people, emergency sirens, your tires, the engine, other vehicles, etc.) then we have an extra advantage to our driving ability. I propose we strategically place microphones in key areas outside the vehicle and we can turn the outside world of sound on and off at the flick of a simple switch. With the added sense of sound from all the important areas outside the auto we can use our eyes and ears to determine all things even without the use of our other senses. We could hear the engine knock before it breaks down and save the car engine by pulling over, or hear the tire going flat and avoid a car wreck.

Reward: Just to see safer driving and people respecting others while they drive.
By calibret
#9744
I remembered how hard my colleagues and I had to work on vehicle launches to ensure we have reduced wind and road noise. In fact if the noises reaches certain sones, it increases the TGWs(Things Gone Wrong) and decreases the quality perception of the vehicle.

We know that most drivers do not appreciate noises in the vehicle even if you can flick a switch to turn the microphone off. It interferes with a conversation or enjoyment of music inside the vehicle. There are many technologies out there are specifically designed to drown out these noises for instance the Goodyear Silent Armor tire technology or the speed volume on your radio that increases with speed.

Another argument is that there are too many distractions in the vehicle nowadays and we don't need extra gages/indicators that would confuse the drivers. There's a study out there that shows cellphones/eating in the vehicle reduces concentration of the driver.
If you're interested in getting road feedback then buy yourself a Mustang and tune your shocks to be firmer so you can kinda of feel the road surfaces.
By probass16
#12636
yeah, most of the time, people are trying to get it QUIETER in their cars. that way it's more peaceful, and then they can talk to other people in the car. i hate having my windows down for 1 reason, it's loud and annoying. i'm not going to pay for that same annoyance.
By AgentOrange
#12652
Nono, nono. That is genius. It would allow people to hear sirens while they're blasting their stereos.

Bravo, kid!

I was wondering how "they" were going to figure that one out. And, here I was, thinking you'd someday have to prove that some sort of mandatory emergency RF signal was detected by your stereo, every time you got your car smogged.
By probass16
#12656
dude that's what the bright flashing lights are for, lol. they kinda get your attention if you're paying attention in any way. and i blast my music, but i can easily hear those sirens while they are a good 300 yards away. and in Germany they do have an emergency thing where they come over your radio or CD or whatever you're listening to and tell you what's going on in your area if there's an accident. they do it b/c you're going about 100 on the Autobahn and need to keep a heads up, but it's still a great idea.
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