hi i am new to this stuff and i am looking for information and assistance with what parts and cost for each part (for ensample distance senors and light controllers) as this is for a project i would like to build to reduce the amount of tailgating idiots behind me on the roads from day to day, how ever i live in Australia any help is going to be great, thanks
In the USA, handguns are sometimes used.
for ensample distance senors
Most browsers include spell checkers for free. You really ought to engage yours. You really ought to proofread your post before hitting post.
There are a variety of ping type sensors, with different angles and ranges. The price depends on where the seller lives and where the buyer lives and how long you are willing to wait for delivery. Only you can determine what is cost-effective FOR YOU.
What you want to do when the sensor says that you are backing up close to the car behind you when parking has a lot to do with how you develop the program.
How you want to convey to the driver behind you that you are going too slow, or that you wish for him/her to give you more space, has a lot to do with how you develop the program.
jremington:
In the USA, handguns are sometimes used.
Thankfully in Australia this is a very low probability.
I usually slow down then return to the speed limit. If the car does not stay back, I apply the brake slightly to turn on the brake lights. If this does not work, I brake suddenly and accelerate hard to avoid being hit. This usually lets the person know they are too close to stop safely in an emergency. That is, once they have straightened up from their panic stop.
I am interested in what signal the OP is going to use to inform the driver of the offending vehicle, of his displeasure.
Weedpharma
weedpharma:
I usually slow down then return to the speed limit. If the car does not stay back, I apply the brake slightly to turn on the brake lights. If this does not work, I brake suddenly and accelerate hard to avoid being hit. This usually lets the person know they are too close to stop safely in an emergency. That is, once they have straightened up from their panic stop.
This, in Aus is also highly illegal activity.
The whole project, i.e. informing tailgaters they are acting illegally, just tends to infuriate them even more.
Better to just let them go by.
jremington:
In the USA, handguns are sometimes used.
gosh, that is just not true.
we only shoot at people who cut us off.
for tailgaters, we toss out the empty beer bottles.
if you are close enough, it is your fault they hit your car. stay far enough back and you have time to avoid them.
I would offer that you could make a scrolling sign that would be polite
'please help me keep my insurance low, stay back so we don't meet by accident'
'if you are in a rush, let me know and I'll give you room to pass'
if you want to be a jerk, get some sugar glass. it looks like a bottle, but breaks easily and will no cut tires or people.
keep them under you bumper and every time you hit a bump, let one drop and smash. the car behind will think your car is falling apart.
There are weatherproof ultrasound sensors which I believe are intended to be used as a parking aid. I have a couple of these weatherproof sensors but the one I tried didn't work. I don't know if I received a bad unit or if the sensor has different timing requirements than the usual ultrasound sensors.
An ultrasound sensor would likely be the least expensive option but laser rangefinders are becoming more affordable and have much better range than ultrasound. The couple laser rangefinders I've tried work great outside but I'm not aware of a weatherproof version of these sorts of sensors.
Have you figured out what sort of range you want?
I've considered using some sort of LED array in the back window. It could normally act as an extra brake light but with the possibility of being used to display messages.
You can get 8x8 arrays like these for a few dollars including the MAX7219 chip.
If you wanted finer pitched dots in your matrix, there are lots of small 8x8 displays available on ebay. I haven't seen PCBs for these smaller arrays so I made some for my own use.
There are of course lots of other display options.
When I still rode motorcycles, I always kept a handful of pennies in my jacket pocket. Get too close and won't back off and I'd just toss them over my head at the windshield.
Well, I only did this once, but it was highly effective. Some moron was about 5 feet off my bumper at 70 mph., and had no intention of passing, apparently. Without taking my foot off the gas, I sharply tapped the brake, probably not even for 1/2 sec.
But it was enough to cause the brakes lights to come on, and to cause the front of my car to dip as though I was in a hard stop.
As I looked in the rear view mirror, I saw the follower in a bit of a zigzag skid, and believe me, he didn't get close to me again.
Understand that in no way am I recommending this, but I had a co-worker who wired a dashboard pushbutton to the brake lights. I wasn't going to say anything, but it seems safer compared to reply #9 (not that it was a recommendation either...).
jrdoner:
Well, I only did this once, but it was highly effective. Some moron was about 5 feet off my bumper at 70 mph., and had no intention of passing, apparently. Without taking my foot off the gas, I sharply tapped the brake, probably not even for 1/2 sec.But it was enough to cause the brakes lights to come on, and to cause the front of my car to dip as though I was in a hard stop.
As I looked in the rear view mirror, I saw the follower in a bit of a zigzag skid, and believe me, he didn't get close to me again.
This may be illegal but sure is satisfying!
Weedpharma
If you have a trailer hitch receiver, weld a rod on the hitch so that it extends to just under the legal limit behind the vehicle (~3' in some states). Make it somewhat pointed and paint it flat black. Then you can hit the brakes and let the tailgater punch a hole in the his/her radiator. If you are going fast, your windshield wiper spray will usually go over the top of your car and onto the following vehicle.
Delta_G:
When I still rode motorcycles, I always kept a handful of pennies in my jacket pocket. Get too close and won't back off and I'd just toss them over my head at the windshield.
the cost of driving ?
with the low cost of Arduinos, you could keep a pocket full and toss them ?
I would think that any attempt to modify the vehicle lights might be frowned upon.
however, you could add a row of LED's that went yellow if they are too close, red if they were much too close and blink red if they were dangerously close.
then green when they backed off.
for night time driving a mirror could help. set so that the lights will reflect back at the driver, but you would have to set them so the car would have to be some certain distance.
maybe mount then so that bumped up and down causing flashing of the reflection.
in this day of satellite radios, it would not work, but one could use an FM transmitter and broadcast a 'news flash' about highway fatalities.....
To be honest, the good old "brake test" aforementioned has worked in 95% of cases for me. Nothing like seeing the sheer panic when they realise that they could not have stopped in time if you actually did come to a full stop.
Anyway, I personally like your idea.
Maybe use a GPS unit to give your speed and a range finder to get their distance.
Stopping distances vary by speed of course, and are much worse in wet/snow. Id go for the "wet" stopping distance, as this is the best case scenario. It does not snow a lot here...
Have a 2 bulb system..."Your stopping distance is : Good/Bad".
sdpogson:
hi i am new to this stuff and i am looking for information and assistance with what parts and cost for each part (for ensample distance senors and light controllers) as this is for a project i would like to build to reduce the amount of tailgating idiots behind me on the roads from day to day, how ever i live in Australia any help is going to be great, thanks
Back in the 1970's I had a pair of high power halogen high beam headlamps in the rear of my old clunker and a toggle switch under the dash. This was the Level I deterrent. High beams right in the face quickly persuaded tailgaters to bother someone else (plus the lamps were great for backing up in pitch darkness).
The Level II deterrent system was a small vinyl tube connected to the engine intake manifold (i.e. vacuum). Back then, they still sold Freon and even "dust-off" or "canned-air" was actually a can of freon.
Inserting the freon tube into the vinyl tubing and pressing the valve injected freon into the engine. When it burned, the freon decomposed into phosgene gas (hideously stinky, toxic, etc...). THIS always convinced tailgaters to get off my bumper.
Now I just carry a 1920 Colt M1911 pistol. Not for tailgaters, mind you... more for the occasional terrorist or dope addict trying to jack me at a stoplight.
One look at the huge .45 caliber barrel convinces everyone to just make a 180 and walk away...
weedpharma:
Thankfully in Australia this is a very low probability.
Thankfully? Now only the criminals have guns.
aarg:
Understand that in no way am I recommending this, but I had a co-worker who wired a dashboard pushbutton to the brake lights. I wasn't going to say anything, but it seems safer compared to reply #9 (not that it was a recommendation either...).
Most cars nowadays have a parking brake handle that you pull up like the collective of a helicopter.
Car slows down fast, no brake lights come on and the tailgater gets the message.
And if the tailgater goes ballistic, there's always good old Mr. M1911 to save the day...