Business Unusual

The best disruptors are focused on customers, not products, they use technology rather than fear it, they create new opportunities often where regulations don't exist and they are backed by those with deep pockets and an appetite for risk. Colin Cullis presents stories of Business Unusual - those people and companies driving the next industrial revolution. The associated articles and videos are available here

https://www.702.co.za/features/110/business-unusual

subscribe
share






Making cars traffic cops


Could we solve the most common traffic violations by making our vehicles the law enforcer

A TV show from the 90s called Beyond 2000 featured an insert on car technology that as a teenager I thought was a great idea and expected to be seen as standard by the time I was able to drive. A breathalyser built into the car. 

To start the car you first needed to blow on the breathalyser. If you passed the car would start, if you failed it would not. 

What if you got a passenger to blow for you? What if it was your child? That might work, but why would someone who is not drinking allow you to drive the car when you were over the limit. If you were willing to compel a child to blow on your behalf and then make them travel with you, you had bigger problems than just drink driving. 

The makers, figuring that a willing plant at the departure point might blow for you, built in the need to blow again 5 mins into the trip. This also covered the bases for you having left thinking you were still okay only to get worse some time later. 

Having the car come to a stop could have been dangerous as this was before GPS was common, so instead it would simply flash the lights in a pattern that could only mean the driver was over the limit.

So what happened to the breathalysers in all the cars?

Audio credit: Beyond 2000

Image credit: Pexels.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


fyyd: Podcast Search Engine
share








 August 11, 2021  13m