Curb feelers or curb finders are springs or wires installed on a vehicle that act as "whiskers" to alert drivers when they are at the right distance from the curb while parking.
The devices are fitted low on the body, close to the wheels. As the vehicle approaches the curb, the protruding feelers scrape against the curb, making a noise and alerting the driver in time to avoid damaging the wheels or hubcaps. The feelers are manufactured to be flexible and do not break easily.
Curb feelers are still used on some hot rods when a 1950s look is wanted. They are especially popular for cars with whitewall tires, which are easily marred when scraped against the curb. Sometimes curb feelers are found only on the passenger side of the car, since that is most commonly near the curb when parking. Sometimes they are added only next to the front wheels. Some curb feelers have a single wire or spring, while others have two to increase the area that can be protected. Any particular car may have just one curb feeler installed (as on the pictures) or more if attached near the front and rear, as well as on both sides of the vehicle.
Recreational vehicles sometimes have rubber feelers or metal, antenna-like rods mounted on the lower part of the body that act as feelers so that drivers are warned if they are approaching a curb or other obstruction, thus reducing the chances of gouging or even cutting the tire sidewalls and generally increasing the safety of vehicle operation.
Buses are sometimes fitted with curb feelers, which can assist the driver in ensuring that the bus is close enough to the curb to allow passengers to step to and from the curb easily.
Today, the U.S. Department of Labor Mine Safety and Health Administration mentions that users of heavy equipment can benefit from an analogous accessory:
In the 1950s, cars were often equipped with curb feelers. [...] Using a piece of 48-inch [120 cm] conveyor belt, 4 to 5 feet [1.2 to 1.5 m] long by 4 to 6 inches [10 to 15 cm] wide and a couple of pieces of angle iron, you can make a pinch-point feeler, a warning device for the corners of a continuous miner. This will give a warning nudge to anyone in the danger area, giving him or her about a two-foot [60 cm] running start to stop the machine or to yell at the operator to stop. The belting is stiff enough to hold its shape but flexible enough to give if it runs into a miner or vice versa. The flexibility also allows this "curb feeler" to drag against the rib or be smacked by a shuttle car with little or no damage. A little spray from a can of reflective paint will make the belt a visual warning device as well. One or two on each corner will help or put as many as you want. [1]
Curb feelers based on optical technology are designed to function the same way but work in the proximity of an obstruction rather than having to come into physical contact with it. As described by one United States patent:
An electronic curb feeler system uses two pairs of optical sensor units to detect an object located near the front end of a vehicle during parking. One pair of optical sensor units detects an object directly in front of a left portion of the front end of the vehicle while another pair of optical sensors detects an object directly in front of a right portion of the front end of the vehicle. By supplying the operator of the vehicle with the location of the object as well as the exact distance the object is from the front end of the vehicle the operator can avoid hitting the object while parking very close to the object. [2]
Devices such as this, and simpler electronic devices similar to the original wire curb feelers used on cars, are used in the design of various mobile robotic devices. One robotics company that does work for the United States Department of Defense uses laser-assisted curb feeler technology. [3]
An anti-lock braking system (ABS) is a safety anti-skid braking system used on aircraft and on land vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. ABS operates by preventing the wheels from locking up during braking, thereby maintaining tractive contact with the road surface and allowing the driver to maintain more control over the vehicle.
An accelerometer is a tool that measures proper acceleration. Proper acceleration is the acceleration of a body in its own instantaneous rest frame; this is different from coordinate acceleration, which is acceleration in a fixed coordinate system. For example, an accelerometer at rest on the surface of the Earth will measure an acceleration due to Earth's gravity, straight upwards of g ≈ 9.81 m/s2. By contrast, accelerometers in free fall will measure zero.
A traction control system (TCS), also known as ASR, is typically a secondary function of the electronic stability control (ESC) on production motor vehicles, designed to prevent loss of traction of the driven road wheels. TCS is activated when throttle input and engine power and torque transfer are mismatched to the road surface conditions.
A blind spot in a vehicle or vehicle blind spot is an area around the vehicle that cannot be directly seen by the driver while at the controls, under existing circumstances. In transport, driver visibility is the maximum distance at which the driver of a vehicle can see and identify prominent objects around the vehicle. Visibility is primarily determined by weather conditions and by a vehicle's design. The parts of a vehicle that influence visibility include the windshield, the dashboard and the pillars. Good driver visibility is essential to safe road traffic.
An advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) is any of a groups of electronic technologies that assist drivers in driving and parking functions. Through a safe human-machine interface, ADAS increase car and road safety. ADAS uses automated technology, such as sensors and cameras, to detect nearby obstacles or driver errors, and respond accordingly. ADAS can enable various levels of autonomous driving, depending on the features installed in the car.
In road vehicles, the parking brake, also known as a handbrake or emergency brake (e-brake), is a mechanism used to keep the vehicle securely motionless when parked. Parking brakes often consist of a pulling mechanism attached to a cable which is connected to two wheel brakes. In most vehicles, the parking brake operates only on the rear wheels, which have reduced traction while braking. The mechanism may be a hand-operated lever, a straight pull handle located near the steering column, or a foot-operated pedal located with the other pedals.
Traffic signal preemption is a system that allows an operator to override the normal operation of traffic lights. The most common use of these systems manipulates traffic signals in the path of an emergency vehicle, halting conflicting traffic and allowing the emergency vehicle right-of-way, thereby reducing response times and enhancing traffic safety. Signal preemption can also be used on tram, light-rail and bus rapid transit systems, to allow public transportation priority access through intersections, and by railroad systems at crossings to prevent collisions.
The blind spot monitor or blind-spot monitoring is a vehicle-based sensor device that detects other vehicles located to the driver’s side and rear. Warnings can be visual, audible, vibrating, or tactile.
Parking sensors are proximity sensors for road vehicles designed to alert the driver of obstacles while parking. These systems use either electromagnetic or ultrasonic sensors.
Automatic parking is an autonomous car-maneuvering system that moves a vehicle from a traffic lane into a parking spot to perform parallel, perpendicular, or angle parking. The automatic parking system aims to enhance the comfort and safety of driving in constrained environments where much attention and experience is required to steer the car. The parking maneuver is achieved by means of coordinated control of the steering angle and speed which takes into account the actual situation in the environment to ensure collision-free motion within the available space.
Road speed limit enforcement in Australia constitutes the actions taken by the authorities to force road users to comply with the speed limits in force on Australia's roads. Speed limit enforcement equipment such as speed cameras and other technologies such as radar and LIDAR are widely used by the authorities. In some regions, aircraft equipped with VASCAR devices are also used.
Towing is coupling two or more objects together so that they may be pulled by a designated power source or sources. The towing source may be a motorized land vehicle, vessel, animal, or human, and the load being anything that can be pulled. These may be joined by a chain, rope, bar, hitch, three-point, fifth wheel, coupling, drawbar, integrated platform, or other means of keeping the objects together while in motion.
Brake-by-wire technology in the automotive industry is the ability to control brakes through electronic means, without a mechanical connection that transfers force to the physical braking system from a driver input apparatus such as a pedal or lever.
A proximity sensor is a sensor able to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact.
Vehicle safety technology (VST) in the automotive industry refers to the special technology developed to ensure the safety and security of automobiles and their passengers. The term encompasses a broad umbrella of projects and devices within the automotive world. Notable examples of VST include geo-fencing capabilities, remote speed sensing, theft deterrence, damage mitigation, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and car-to-computer communication devices which use GPS tracking.
A collision avoidance system (CAS), also known as a pre-crash system, forward collision warning system (FCW), or collision mitigation system, is an advanced driver-assistance system designed to prevent or reduce the severity of a collision. In its basic form, a forward collision warning system monitors a vehicle's speed, the speed of the vehicle in front of it, and the distance between the vehicles, so that it can provide a warning to the driver if the vehicles get too close, potentially helping to avoid a crash. Various technologies and sensors that are used include radar (all-weather) and sometimes laser (LIDAR) and cameras to detect an imminent crash. GPS sensors can detect fixed dangers such as approaching stop signs through a location database. Pedestrian detection can also be a feature of these types of systems.
Direct TPMS, or direct tire pressure monitoring systems refers to the use of a pressure sensor directly mounted on the wheels or tires of a vehicle. The pressure inside the tire is measured using a pressure transducer with the pressure information being subsequently sent to the vehicle to warn the driver of under or over inflation of a tire. The pressure information is commonly transmitted to the vehicle using radio frequency (RF) technology, though systems using mechanical, electrical or magnetic methods have been used over recent years.
Back-up collisions happen when a driver reverses the car into an object, person, or other car. Although most cars come equipped with rear view mirrors which are adequate for detecting vehicles behind a car, they are inadequate on many vehicles for detecting small children or objects close to the ground, which fall in the car's blind spot, particularly directly aft. That area has been called a "killing zone." Large trucks have much larger blind spots that can hide entire vehicles and large adults.
Driver drowsiness detection is a car safety technology which helps prevent accidents caused by the driver getting drowsy. Various studies have suggested that around 20% of all road accidents are fatigue-related, up to 50% on certain roads.
Lidar has a wide range of applications; one use is in traffic enforcement and in particular speed limit enforcement, has been gradually replacing radar since 2000. Current devices are designed to automate the entire process of speed detection, vehicle identification, driver identification and evidentiary documentation.
