What if someone were to turn around and reach towards the back of their car for something? In the process, they accidentally hit the gas pedal.

Perhaps it’s not likely that someone would do that, but it is less likely that the he/she would be in a position to correct the mistake if they did.

By requiring a person have the car in “reverse” you add an extra level of security.

Also, the reverse mode in this case shifts the responsibility from the car to the person. To make the car responsible and just as safe and predictable means taking all human factors into account.

Perhaps we have a more general “drive” mode?

Something that would be helpful regardless of the existence of a “mode” would be to have the seat of the car sense a change in weight. If the person were moving around while the car was in a standstill position, the car wouldn’t move.

This could be dangerous if the car were moving, however. Even if the weight system was working as expected, let’s say the driver decided to change spots with the passenger while on the highway. Okay…that is dangerous in itself, but perhaps the people are skilled and pull it off. The point is that car’s reaction itself should be predictable and not be the cause of an accident.

It is arguable that the knowledge of such a system might prevent a driver/passenger from doing something so stupid, but you cannot rely on a person knowing a “feature” like that exists. That is another issue.

The first thought I had was that there are three important aspects to consider when determining the feasibility or possibility of such a concept:

1. the interface between the driver and the vehicle
2. the mechanics
3. the psychological impact to all drivers

The way cars drive now do more than limit the ways in which we can move. It also easily helps to create a level of comfort based around the predicted movements of other drivers.

The reason I am comfortable cruising down the interstate at 80mph is not because of how well my car handles; instead, it is because I like to think I can predict if/when other drivers around me plan to change direction.

Making vehicles more versatile in this case may in fact make them seem more limiting.

This would also apply to vehicles moving 5mph through a parking lot. This last weekend my wife and I were pushing our son in a stroller at the zoo, and during a nice weekend, it was busy! We hardly even think about walking next to moving cars because everyone just knows that cars move forward and they pivot around the front wheels.

So for people aiming to invent a vehicle that moves around like a crazed killer in an FPS, think about that :) People drive cars forward, and moving in reverse is really not used all that much.

Requiring that a car be stopped and that the clutch or break be depressed pretty much means that as long as the break-lights work, a passerby will know when a car is about to begin moving backwards. Switching modes in this case forces a mental model on the driver that can provide an additional couple of seconds of awareness to person or car that may be directly in the way. Other things that may give a direction change away could be exhaust coming from the tailpipe or seeing people in the car if the car were forward-facing; however, one of those factors will be gone with electric or more energy-efficient motors.

Perhaps we should invent a way where people don’t have to drive and can walk everywhere they need to go? haha. We invented laptops didn’t we? Let’s try to create a better interface for working from home :)

Something like; the gears change normally upto N; but beyond that it has a spring’d mechanism that requires you to push it back as long as you want the car to run in reverse. Once you’re done; it jumps back to normal.

If you’re in neutral and you hit the gas pedal while looking backwards, you go backwards. If you were looking forward, then you go forward. Once you’re in motion, the direction you look has no effect.

If you are curious about where the other “gear” positions are located, there’s a big button marked “P” that you push to engage “Park” — I haven’t tried this out, but I suspect that you need to be stopped in order for this to work. There is no “sub-gearing” on this car — the transmission takes care of itself, leaving only “D” and “R” as choices. Well, there is also an “N”, but that’s only there when you first turn the car on (by pushing the Power button, of course), sort of the “logical default choice” — I don’t think you can put it back in “N” once you commit to “D” or “R”.

So, if I have the terminology right, this is definitely a “modal” solution, but it has been reduced to the two possible “modes”, going forward (where you want to look at what’s in front) and going backwards (where you need to look behind you). Not only to you make a kinesthetically different movement, you get auditory feedback for the more “unusual” motion (R). And this is in an existing car, with an “ordinary” steering wheel, brakes, gas pedal, etc.