tagging dangerous drivers
 

on my commute home today i thought of an idea, and started laying down a design. i wanted to run it by people to see if maybe i am crazy, rude, or maybe enlightened:D i had a master plan of designing a sticker strip that would allow a cyclist to quickly remove and tag cars that almost hit them with a sticker. this sticker would have to have recognition in the cycling community so that when other people saw the sticker, they would recognize that that car has been tagged and the driver is not safe.
so, without further adue, here is my sticker design........

Good concept, but illegal.

yes, i was aware of that... and that would be the main stumbling block

There was a science fiction book by Neil Stephens that has a skateboarding messenger in it, and she carries stickers that are printed with sarcastic messages like "Nice move, sport!". She peels-n-sticks them to drivers' windows as she skates by. The printing is on the sticky side, visible to the driver. I can't remember the name of the book.

edit Neil Stephenson, "Snowcrash"

Wouldn't the driver take it off as soon as they were aware that it was there?

Hah... and making a left turn and hitting a bicyclist who has a green light isn't?

I'd have to say that any circumstance that I would use a sticker like that would result in a lot more grief for the driver if they called in a complaint.

*goes looking for some cool stickers*


Oooo... bicycle law stickers! YES! That's what I need to get made up!

Actually the thought that usually occurs to me is some sort of mini paint ball gun... Because many times the moron is too far away for tagging the vehicle in some other way.

If it's in a dense urban area, you can get little guns that shoot magnetic tracking devices with those small gps devices they use in cell phones that'll hopefully stick to the car (or better yet place it underneath), then track it using something akin to mologogo. Accounts of what the driver/car did and looked like could be updated online after the incident since the cyclist will have the ID number of the device they just tagged the driver with and can associate a desciption with that unique gps device. Considering sub $100 cell phones have them the gps devices probably aren't that expensive and are probably pretty durable, the tough part would be modifying a paintball gun (CO2 canisters for minimal noise) to shoot the magnet/gps combo. All the software shouldn't be too bothersome.

I suggested the paintball idea about a year ago, only to get immediately ostracized by some pplz on here.

but hey, I think it's a great idea. the more paintball markings on a car, the crappier the driver!

and btw, paintball guns are designed the way they are so as to not confuse law enforcement/educated masses into thinking you're carrying a firearm.

but I think there could be, and should be, some sort of "tracking/tagging" on bad drivers.

i actually have post-its withe the bike sections of Colorado motorvehicle code and a web link to bike colorado that i keep in my bag and slap on windows or bad drivers when i get a chance.

And this (the OP's idea) accomplishes what exactly?

Great idea! Send me a bunch!

i think it sets up a system where a cyclist will notice a crappy driver due to certain markings "placed" on their car. raising awareness, i suppose. AREN'T YOU PAYING ANY ATTENTION?!

Except that people will just peel them off thier cars.

I prefer a sticker with the message:
"I HAVE A small PENIS"

Yep, one of the protagonists. Of course, she harpoons vehicles with a tow rope and intelligent magnetic grappling hook to hitch a ride first.

I think it would only demonstrate a lack of maturity on the part of all involved. Not much of an accomplisment.

Law enforcement treats paintball guns (and other projectile firing devices) as live gun calls. Paintballs can be frozen, loaded with more nefarious compounds
than paint, or simply modified to fire something else entirely. Furthermore, in a dynamic situation on the street--particularly in low light--that paintball gun might just look like a real one. Believe otherwise at your own peril.

Maybe not. There are some high security tags where the backing peels away easily leaving the super strength glue behind. Now develope one where if they use hot soapy water to scrub the glue off a glass etchant is released. Again you would be liable. In LA even touching the car might get you shot.

I beg to differ. The Law isn't doing much to help, in fact, sometimes it does the opposite (see NYC's idiotic bicycle ticket blitzes). Honestly I think that using foul language on such a sticker is the most immature bit. I suppose you've never seen the huge, obnoxious stickers that the NYPD uses on some illegally parked cars? Do you have a problem with stickers now or it the "vigilante" part of things you don't like?

Wasn't there once a website with a sticker design for placing on cars parked in bike lanes? (found this, though not quite what I remember).

I don't think I need stickers to mark dangerous drivers. I find them pretty well all on my own.

How 'bout attaching a red letter D to the vehicle or better yet the driver that offends thee or the other self appointed arbiters of driving skill?

Have you assumed that there is no chance that maybe that the high and mighty taggers may be the actual culprits in some cases of traffic conflict?

I-Hate-Everybody,

I assume that your thought process is that driver's are perfect and it's us pesky folks who dare ride that are the burden on society then? Please, enlighten me Budha of Biking...

Just pointing this out since, well, it seems to fit and no one's brought it up yet:

http://www.1lesscar.com/images/stick...ionsticker.jpg

Asshat driving behavior has been around for ages. Will be too. Placing a rude sticker on their car will do nothing to change that fact. It's a gutless, childish act of vandalism. Do I feel the urge to burn, loot, and kill the odd driver? You bet. I don't because I'm an adult and have adequate impulse control. If the driver's behavior is egregious enough to take action, I will. There is a system in place and I'm aware of how to make use of it.