WO2022174325A1

WO2022174325A1 - Developing ethical automobiles.

Info

Publication number: WO2022174325A1
Application number: PCT/CA2021/050207
Authority: WO
Inventors: Syed Imtiaz NAQVI
Original assignee: Naqvi Syed Imtiaz
Priority date: 2021-02-22
Filing date: 2021-02-22
Publication date: 2022-08-25

Abstract

The improvement of automobiles by equipping them with tools to help drivers clearly express their gratitude and remorse to other drivers to diffuse a tense situation which can possibly escalate into road rage and violent confrontation, thus turning these automobiles into Ethimobiles and Ethicars. The rear window of the Ethimobiles and Ethicars will have in-built electronic circuits to display in bright red light the phrases 'Thank you' and 'I am sorry' accordingly at the prompt of the drivers according to the situation they find themselves in. The phrases 'Thank you' and 'I am sorry' can be expressed in local languages accordingly where English is not spoken and understood widely. Activation button for 'Thank you' can be located on the right side of the steering wheel and the activation button for 'I am sorry' can be located on the left side, to avoid any confusion when pressing the buttons.

Description

DESCRIPTION

Developing ethical automobiles.

Given the fast-paced lifestyle, traffic congestions, inadequate roads and highway structures, socio economic pressures and many other aspects of human life have caused an alarming increase in the incidents of road rage globally.

Whatever the cause may be, recent surveys and studies have shown that road rage is responsible for almost half of all the fatalities all over the world, raising serious concerns for the public safety, especially for the individuals sharing the road with others.

Data: recent surveys and studies show:

Canada

Approximately 66% of traffic fatalities are attributed to road rage.

USA

Approximately 30% of murders in USA every year are attributed to road rage. About 80% of drivers in USA experience road rage every year.

EU

Approximately 80% of drivers are victims of road rage in one form or another.

UK

Approximately 80% of drivers are victims of road rage in one form or another. About 20% of drivers in UK face physical violence due to road rage every year. Germany

Approximately 80% of drivers are victims of road rage annually in one form or another.

India

Approximately 500,000 injuries are attributed to road rage annually.

China

Approximately 18 million cases of road rage are reported annually.

Japan

Over 48% of drivers are involved in road rage incidents annually.

UAE

Over 70% of drivers admitted to being involved in road rage incidents annually.

Russia

Moscow has been identified to have the second highest number of road rage incidents in the world.

The fact is that a large number of us spend a significant amount of time behind the wheel when we commute to and from work, run errands or embark on a leisure trip. While behind the wheel the driver becomes a part and parcel of the automobile, and thus they both function as one unit. Drivers and vehicles exhibit their good or bad behavior on the road as one unit.

Many drivers follow the traffic rules and exhibit ethical and courteous behavior while sharing the road with other drivers. The fact that an individual driver is encased inside the body of his or her vehicle makes it difficult for him or her to express ethical and courteous behavior to other drivers on the road. While in contrast, ironically, expressing bad and aggressive behavior is much easier.

In moving traffic it is difficult to express your remorse for your mistakes to other drivers, as compared to an aggressive driver who can easily express his or her anger by making rude and obscene gestures, honking, yelling and shouting, speeding and cutting off other drivers, flashing of headlights aggressively, tailgating, blocking, sudden accelerating and braking.

In many parts of the world, certain drivers have tried to come up with different methods of communicating and expressing their gratitude or remorse to other drivers, such as: a- extending their hand out of the vehicle’s window (in addition to using the indicator lights) to request permission for lane change or to make a turn, especially if it’s a last minute decision, b- Waving hand in appreciation to the driver in the vehicle at the rear

But even these limited methods can be hindered or confused due to the poor visibility at that time as a result of poor weather conditions, tinted windows, lack of daylight and night-time driving.

Therefore we need to produce Ethimobiles and Ethicars, which will be equipped with tools to help drivers clearly express their gratitude and remorse to other drivers to diffuse a tense situation which can possibly escalate into road rage and violent confrontation. Expressing thank you to other drivers;

A simple rule of being an ethical driver is showing your gratitude and appreciation to other drivers who have exhibited their kindness and compassion while sharing the road with you, whether by allowing you to move into the lane in front of them so that you do not miss your exit or you can get onto the ramp to a highway, or by allowing you to slow down to look for a street address.

Benefits of saying thank you·. it shows that you are acknowledging and appreciating the good nature and ethical behavior of other drivers; it helps you develop a positive outlook on life, makes you feel good, relaxed, happy and healthy; you become more compassionate and kind towards other drivers and help inculcate an environment of empathy;

Benefits of receiving thank you·.

We all are bom with the natural desire to be appreciated for our kindness and compassion. How many times have you waited to see the hand waving gesture in appreciation, for example, from the other driver to whom you just let cut in front of your vehicle?

In a stressful and fast-paced life, receiving a thank you for our acts of kindness and compassion works as a tonic and makes us grateful human beings.

Being appreciated improves self-esteem and strengthens the sense of tmst in others. The driver may have been going through a difficult time in his or her life and struggling with personal issues, but by receiving a ‘thank you his or her day may become a bit brighter.

Far reaching effects of saying thank you·.

A simple gesture of thank you can have positive effects not only in the personality of the driver expressing thank you or in the driver being appreciated by the thank you, but also in other drivers witnessing the gesture of gratefulness, compassion and kindness, thus generating the environment of empathy and tolerance around us.

Apologizing for your errors and mistakes;

When an Ethimobile or Ethicar expresses an apology, it conveys to other drivers your remorse over your incorrect behavior and actions which may have caused them anger and tension. It also displays that you sincerely intend to diffuse the tense situation.

Benefits of saying I am sorry :

- Sense of relief that you were courageous enough to accept the responsibility of your behavior and actions

- Acts as a reminder not to repeat those mistakes

- Strengthens self-esteem and sense of uprightness

- Inculcates the environment of empathy

Benefits of receiving an apology:

Assures the driver that you understand and are respectful to his or her feelings of hurt and emotional distress caused by your behavior and actions, and sincerely intend to diffuse the tense situation.

- The driver’s feelings of hurt and humiliation are met with the sincere gesture of apology that restore the sense of dignity and help them ease their tension. Far reaching effects of NOT expressing your apology:

By not expressing and communicating your feelings of remorse over your behavior and actions, by default it sends a very negative message to other drivers that you are an arrogant and insensitive driver who does not care about other drivers ’ rights and feelings. This may result in retaliatory response from other drivers who want to exact revenge, thus increasing the chances of road rage and violent confrontation.

Ethimobiles and Ethicars:

So far we have successfully manufactured fuel efficient and environmentally friendly automobiles. Let’s design and produce Ethimobiles and Ethicars which will be equipped with the following features:

The rear window of the Ethimobiles and Ethicars will have in-built electronic circuits to display in bright red light the phrases ‘ Thank you ’ and ‘ I am sorry ’ accordingly at the prompt of the drivers according to the situation they find themselves in.

The phrases ‘ Thank you’ and ‘ I am sorry’ can be expressed in local languages accordingly where English is not spoken and understood widely.

The activation button for ‘ Thank you’ can be located on the right side of the steering wheel and the activation button for ‘I am sorry’ can be located on the left side of the steering wheel to avoid any confusion at the time of pressing the buttons.

With this feature available in Ethimobiles and Ethicars, the ethical drivers will easily be able to express their gratitude and remorse to other drivers. Also the drivers who may have not been courteous and polite to other drivers in the past will be tempted to use this feature in their Ethimobiles and Ethicars and start developing moral behavior of being courteous and compassionate to other drivers. Now you can promote and advertise your vehicles as Ethimobiles and Ethicars which will encourage ethical driving and save lives by reducing incidents of road rage.

Claims

CLAIM

An improvement to automobiles that will enable drivers and automobiles to easily express their ethical behaviour, comprising of the addition of in-built electronic circuits located in the automobile’s rear window which: a) will display in bright red light the phrase ‘Thank you’ when the driver presses its activation button located on the right side of the steering wheel, and b) which will display in bright red light the phrase T am sorry’ when the driver presses its activation button located on the left side of the steering wheel; whereby said addition will help reduce the chances of road rage or any type of violent confrontation on the road by enabling the driver to show appreciation to other drivers whenever they were courteous in sharing the road with him or her, and to express his or her apology to other drivers for any mistake he or she committed while driving which may have caused them anger and tension.