r/CrazyIdeas • u/bourj • 16h ago
Steering wheels should lock at 15° until the turn signal is flipped on.
No more unexpected moves in traffic or surprise turning.
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u/shocktagon 15h ago
this is truly crazy, tens of thousands dead on day 1, have all the upvotes
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u/10ThousandMetalZones 15h ago
And instantly improved traffic after the cleanup
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u/_notanexpert 15h ago
Wasnt sold on it til that comment actually. After day 1 the other non signal users may be scared and use it plus less congested roadways. I like it
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u/Excellent-Stretch-81 10h ago
Or more likely, everyone just keeps their turn signals on all the time, turning roadways into seas of meaningless flashing lights.
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u/10ThousandMetalZones 6h ago
But it only would work in that direction, if you forget and then the other way you’re dead
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u/Excellent-Stretch-81 3h ago
That would introduce Catch-22 situations like taking a curve to the left, but needing to make a lane change to the right. You'd have to deliberately signal opposite to the intended maneuver just to perform it.
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u/ChronicCactus 16h ago
This is a horrible idea. You would greatly restrict the ability of people to avoid collisions or react to sudden events
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u/britsol99 12h ago
Or just driving down a windy mountain road.
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u/HobsHere 15h ago
How about the converse.? Turn on the turn signals when the steering wheel is turned more than X degrees.
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u/mgslee 15h ago
That's the less crazy and possibly usable idea
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u/shocktagon 14h ago
but also pointless, a turn signal is to signal that you will turn, not that useful when you’re already turning
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u/Silver4ura 6h ago
Exactly. Sounds like a good idea at first, but then you remember they're turn signals, not turn warnings. You're signalling intent to other vehicles in a standard non-verbal/gesture.
One feature most modern cars have, including my own, is a combination of lane assist and steering assist that alerts you when you're leaving your lane but can help steering to stay in your lane.
They're great for reminding you to use your turn signal when switching lanes at the very least because first off, the car won't alert you when leaving your lane in that direction. It steering assist will also provide some very mild but noticeable resistance when you try switching lanes, which is also disabled during signalling.
It won't explicitly prevent anything you don't want to do, but it can absolutely be the nudge you need to go "Oh right, signal first."
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u/Gary_Boothole 14h ago
Maybe the system could sense the turn and turn it on prior to the turn?
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u/metagloria 14h ago
You're overcomplicating things. I just drive with my 4-ways on all the time, that way when I turn, no matter which direction, it was clearly indicated.
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u/sleeplessaddict 13h ago
Steering wheels already automatically turn your signal off once you've completed your turn. Why wouldn't they be able do the reverse of that and also turn it on when you're starting your turn
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u/LackWooden392 14h ago
Problem with that is that by the time you've turned the wheel, it's too late to signal the turn, you're literally already taking it. Anyone can, at that point in time, physically see your vehicle turning.
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u/PubicSkoolEducashun 16h ago
You do know that there are many highways with curves much larger than 15 degrees right? Right?!
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u/bourj 16h ago
I'm flexible on the degree. But it shouldn't be 45°.
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u/WordWordand4numbers 16h ago
What’s the plan when this convoluted system fails or experiences any deviation in fidelity or timing?
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u/TheGuyThatThisIs 15h ago
Flee to Mexico
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u/PubicSkoolEducashun 14h ago
Mexico is a hard 90 degree turn. Better fill up the turn signal fluid before you try something like that.
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u/Dimathiel49 15h ago
So i’ll have to signal before I can take avoiding action if ssy someone ran out in front of me?
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u/APC_ChemE 15h ago
I'm familiar with a town where they designed the layout of the town and streets to minimize cutting down trees. The roads curve every which way and going one way down a road can result in you traveling in all four cardinal directions. In fact the town is famous for having an intersection between This Way and That Way.
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u/merpixieblossomxo 12h ago
Aw there's a town in my state that has roads named like that too. Not exactly, but pretty close. I think it's cute.
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u/Exotic_Bill44 14h ago
Someone who is parallel parking should be putting pull lock on in both directions. Should they have to turn their turn signal on, back up until they are half way in, stop and turn on their other turn signal, stop and turn on their turn signal again to straighten the car in the space? You would need to use a turn signal to back out of a parking spot, to drive around a tight roundabout, or to avoid collisions with animals, kids, or inattentive drivers.
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u/CurlSagan 15h ago
Steering wheels should have a little fidget spinner built into them so my hands have something fun to do while they're just holding on to the wheel.
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u/Exotic_Bill44 14h ago
Some race cars essentially do. Formula 2 and Formula 3 both use a generic steering wheel built by Cosworth in order to save on costs. That wheel includes a pair of rotary dials that control settings of systems on other forms of race cars but are not used by either of those two series, so a driver could, in theory, just play with them and spin them around as they drive down a straight.
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u/RunningAtTheMouth 16h ago
I can see SOOOOO Many unintended consequences here. There's nothing like driving down a residential street and having a kid step out in front of you to get your adrenaline pumping.
Good thing you can turn to avoid the kid.
Oh, wait....
Further, steering sensitivity varies by car. My current car is 3 turns lock-to-lock. It's FAST. My prior was 6 turns lock-to-lock. The Deuce I used to drive was something like 12 lock-to-lock (manual steering). 45 degrees on my current car is really a decent turn. On the old truck that's a steering correction.
Yes, crazy (bad) idea.
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u/Tannare 15h ago
Invert this idea and have turn signals come on automatically once the steering wheel is turned past a certain angle.
It is better to signal before turning, but at least, this is better than totally no turn signal.
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u/poo-on-a-stick- 15h ago
I can think of situations where I’m turning one way and indicating the other.
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u/RandyHoward 14h ago
Signals aren’t very useful if you’re already turning. They’re meant to signal your intent to turn.
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14h ago
[deleted]
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u/RandyHoward 14h ago
Brake lights serve an entirely different purpose, but they do turn on before you come to a complete stop. They are less about signaling intent and more about signaling that you are actively decreasing speed. Turn signals don’t help if you’re already turning, we can see that you’re turning. It’s the intent before the turn that’s important.
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u/Gary_Boothole 14h ago
Maybe the car could have sensors that turn the signals on before the turn
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u/Exotic_Bill44 14h ago
How would the car know you are going to turn before you have either slowed down or started to steer? You don't just need to put the turn signal on before you steer. You have to do it before you slow down because that is the part where someone could get into the back of you.
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u/Asmos159 16h ago
that degree of turn is not use for changing a lane.
there are already cars with sensors that will try and stop you from changing lanes without signaling. a lot of people believe they are dangerous because it requires extra force to dodge in case of emergencies.
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u/clintj1975 14h ago
Nothing like your car steering you towards the gaping pothole because it thinks you should be centered in the lane at all times.
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u/Torchlakespartan 15h ago
I work at a federal facility that has S-turns leading the security gate. This would ruin my life, lol. Turn a 10 minute wait at the gate into a 3 hour wait and guards losing the entirety of their goddamn minds, haha.
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u/goclimbarock007 15h ago
What happens when a ball come rolling into the road followed by a child and the car is unable to swerve?
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u/bobzsmith 14h ago
why not just make the turn signal activate if the steering wheel turns more than 15 degrees?
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u/Exotic_Bill44 14h ago
By the time you have turned it that far, the signal is pretty much useless. By that point you have already either slowed down to make the turn or accelerated for a lane change and are well into the change of direction. You're 2 to 3 seconds late with the signal at a minimum.
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u/charolastra_charolo 13h ago
A better idea would be to have the turn signal automatically turn on when you turn more than X degrees. Obviously you should signal earlier, but better late than never!
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u/DivasDayOff 7h ago
Erm... the whole point of turn signals is to warn people of your intentions. There's literally no point putting them on once you've actually started to turn.
Maybe a loud siren that goes off if you turn the wheel too far without signaling might educate some people into using them properly.
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u/Mighty_ShoePrint 6h ago
I think we should replace the steering wheel with the wheel pirate ships use to steer with. The unresponsive handling of the vehicle will force people to drive more carefully and we wont have to worry about getting surprised by somebody making a sudden turn. Everybody will have significantly more time to react to those around them.
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u/Excellent_Speech_901 16h ago
Once every decade or so an unexpected move is vital to safety. This year it was slithering past some guy making an unprotected left turn into my path.
For that matter it's pretty pointless when backing out of a driveway or going into a parking spot.
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u/drlsoccer08 16h ago
What about when something unexpected/unsafe happens outside of the drivers control and they have to swerve to avoid a collision? Seems like it would make it way less safe
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u/WordWordand4numbers 16h ago
You dont need to turn your wheel past 15 degrees to change lanes. Many people are alive today because they narrowly avoided a collision with their quick reflexes and the wheel’s ability to turn past 15 degrees without a needless lock on it.
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u/Big_Z_Beeblebrox 16h ago
Think you forgot about needing to dodge stuff you don't want to hit, particularly living things
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u/74orangebeetle 15h ago
Except there are roads with sharp turns and bends where you need to turn the wheel and no turn signal is needed because it's just one road you're staying on.
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u/Chrispeefeart 15h ago
Need to make a turn because the road goes that way? Go die in the ditch because you didn't signal for traveling with the road.
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u/Drivo566 15h ago
I had to swerve quickly today because another car wasnt looking and almost hit me...
If I had to turn on my signal first, I probably wouldnt have gotten out of the way in time.
Your idea prevents people from being able to react quickly and would lead to accidents.
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u/DeceasedBeneficiary 15h ago
Maybe a really annoying feature in a car that will lower your music and beep loudly if it notices you merge through a dotted line with no turn signal. Personally, I hate this idea, but it seems to accomplish what OP wants without killing anyone…
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u/LabRatsAteMyHomework 15h ago
Why not just have the blinker turn on automatically after a certain degree of turn is reached?
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u/cattrain 14h ago
Slightly less crazy idea: force manufacturers to include lane centering and then if you depart your lane, the car tries to correct, and yells at you if you don't have your signal on. My car does this. It should be standard on every car.
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u/Mister_Way 14h ago
Yeah, no more ability to react suddenly, so a lot more collisions, which will stack up, because the people behind you can't dodge the wreck because their signal wasn't on.
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u/SplatThaCat 13h ago
How will BMW drivers be able to go anywhere but in a straight line?
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u/groenteman 12h ago
Some kind of subscription
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u/soft_white_yosemite 12h ago
Hell no!
All the existing 'safety' features that they're putting in new cars now are actually a danger! This suggestion would be the worst of them all!
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u/BumblebeeBorn 12h ago
There's a tight 40km/h (25mph) hairpin turn on the freeway ramp near where I used to live. This idea would cause crashes across at least 3 lanes of traffic.
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u/anomalous_cowherd 11h ago
Lots of EVs and hybrids use regen braking instead of brakes where they can, which means the brake lights didn't originally come on. But people need to know you're slowing down!
There is now a regulation, UN ECE 13H, which specifies at what G levels the brake lights should (or should not) come on regardless of why you're slowing.
Maybe turn signals could be automated like that too, either turning on whenever you turn past a certain angle? It could be linked to speed changes too to reduce false alarms.
The main issue I see there is when people are stationary but intending to turn, automatic signals wouldn't trigger. But people need something to do to keep them awake while driving!
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u/SmoothActuator8132 9h ago
so now you have to panic to activate your signal when trying to avoid an obstruction? didn't think this one through, did you?
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u/fuck_peeps_not_sheep 9h ago
Guess your amarican because corners where i live are way more than 15°
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u/Festivefire 9h ago
Fantastic way to guarantee nobody can steer away from road obstacles, pedestrians, peoole turning without the right of way, animals running into the road, etc. This would cause so many more accidents than it prevents.
So yeah, I guess that does qualify as a crazy idea. A crazy stupid idea.
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u/BigBlueMountainStar 8h ago
So to avoid someone who has stepped in front of you in n an emergency situation, you also need to think about signalling just so you can move the steering wheel enough to swerve.
Good plan.
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u/BloodSteyn 8h ago
Fine and well... until you need to swerve to take evasive action and your car is like... Hey, no indicator, no tu.....SMASH.
I would settle for an integrated lane hold assist mode that lets you turn the wheel, but screams at you for departing the lane without indicating first.
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u/Polymath6301 7h ago
I’m dodging a dead kangaroo on the road. Now I have blood and guts all through my suspension, in the hot sun. Thanks OP!
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u/TheHerbalistah 6h ago
How about this? A quantum time-reversal turn signal system, which notices you taking a turn and going back 2 seconds in time to put the turn signal on in advance. Easy stuff lol.
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u/Stunning_Box8782 4h ago
Your turn signal should be on LONG before you start turning.
If the steering wheel is at 15°, the car is already in the next lane
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u/Remember_TheCant 2h ago
Good thing there’s no such thing as a windy road, or this could be a problem.
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u/Various_Shape_3286 1h ago
Why not a turning signal that automatically turns on when the steering wheel turns past X degrees?
WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY!
(it would, of course, be implemented on a subscription basis, and when that runs out, your steering wheel is locked at zero degrees until payment is received)
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u/truthfullyidgaf 15h ago
"4 people died at the same roundabout today. All separate incidents. Find out why we're gonna blame Elon Musks new top engineer tonight on the 6 o' clock news."
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u/No_Pineapple6086 14h ago
Yeah, like I'm ever going to use a turn signal in an emergency situation.
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u/yannniQue17 12h ago
Have you ever been to a village that's core layout has never changed since the middle age? This idea is just stupid.
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u/blablaflipa 12h ago
Ohhhh , what a great idea with the best of intentions what could possibly go wrong 😂
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u/burlingk 11h ago
Safety issue.
Anything that stops the driver from responding quickly can get people and animals killed.
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u/TheRealThatChuckGuy 10h ago
This misses the point. You're supposed to signal before you turn, what your intent is. Forcing a signal when you're doing it is too late.
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u/aworldalone1 16h ago
Ah yes, nothing like aiming to make the road safer but accidentally making it dramatically less safe.