Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Pedestrian safety

Google Patents “Flypaper” to Save Pedestrians By Sticking Them to Car Hoods

Google engineers' newest concept for pedestrians would glue them to the front of cars. Image: U.S. Patent Office
Not the Onion. Image: U.S. Patent Office
Google engineers' newest concept for pedestrians would glue them to the front of cars. Image: U.S. Patent Office

The minds at Google have come up with a novel idea to protect pedestrians in the event of a collision with the company's self-driving cars.

The tech behemoth was awarded a patent this week for what it describes as a "flypaper or double-sided duct tape"-type substance beneath an "eggshell" exterior on the hood of the car. In a collision with a human being, the shell would crack and the person would stick to the adhesive. The idea is that after the initial collision, the flypaper will prevent people from hitting the asphalt or getting run over, which is how severe injuries are often inflicted.

A Google spokesperson told the San Jose Mercury News the patent doesn't mean the company will go ahead with implementation. Even if the idea works as planned, it's easy to envision scenarios where it would backfire, like if the car strikes another vehicle or a tree while someone is glued to the hood.

A much more important question for the impending autonomous car future is how these systems will minimize the potential for collisions with pedestrians in the first place. A fleet of robocars won't need flypaper if they can't exceed, say, 15 mph while operating on crowded city streets.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Thursday’s Headlines Fly Like an Eagle, Let Fossil Fuels Carry Me

You think driving is bad for the environment? A private jet produces as much carbon dioxide in an hour as the average person does in a year.

November 14, 2024

How State DOTs Keep the Public In the Dark About How They Spend Our Transportation Dollars

State DOTs control hundreds of billions of dollars of our transportation funding. Where does it all go — and what do we actually get for it?

November 14, 2024

KOMANOFF: A Lesson for NYC’s Congestion Pricing Came Last Week from Washington State

New York's Gov. Kathy Hochul should heed the message sent by Washington State voters, who supported a carbon tax measure that they once voted down.

November 13, 2024

Highway to Hell: Fed Infrastructure Funding, Even Under Biden, Has Been Terrible for the Environment

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was bad for the climate. Wait 'til you see the Unipartisan version.

November 13, 2024

Transportation Reform Advocates Have a Plan To Win — Even During the Next Trump Era

"We're going to take the fury that powers us after this moment … and we're going to change transportation in this country forever.” 

November 13, 2024
See all posts