Idea of the Day - A new idea each day. Some Don't Suck!

Our Latest Posts About: Laws

There Should Be a TEST Before Getting a Gun Permit

Friday, August 5, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Why do you need to take two tests to get a drivers license, but you only need to fill out an application to get a gun permit?

A car in the hands of an unskilled driver can be deadly, so before you can get a license to drive a car, you need to take two tests to prove you understand the laws, and can demonstrate your driving skills.

Obviously, a gun in the hands of an unskilled shooter can be even more dangerous, yet there is no such testing requirement to get a gun. All a potential gun owner needs to do is fill out a short application and wait for the required background check, and that's it. The background check doesn't do anything to insure the potential gun owner understands gun laws, or knows how to properly handle a gun.

Just like a Driver's License, there should be

... [More]

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Eliminate Parking Bans for "Street Cleaning" Days

Monday, April 18, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Isn't it strange that some cities ban cars from parking on alternate days every week, just so they can clean the streets, yet other cities have no such rules, yet they manage to have cleaner streets?

In a city where parking is hard enough to find, is it really necessary to ban cars from parking twice a week, just so they can clean the streets? I've got news for you. Some of those cities not only manage to have clean streets, but some are actually cleaner than New York's streets.

Some of you are shaking your heads in disbelief, and asking... "How on earth can those cities possibly have clean streets when they don't force cars to scramble around and double park twice a week so that the street sweepers can clean them?"

Instead of the city sweeping the streets, the buildi

... [More]

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Headlights Should AUTOMATICALLY Turn On When Wipers Are Turned On

Tuesday, April 5, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Most states have a law that requires headlights to be turned on whenever you use your windshield wipers.

I'm not questioning the law itself. When it's raining, visibility is low, so it's critical that every car have it's headlights on. That's not the point here. What I find interesting is that most cars still don't do this automatically.

If a driver turns on his windshield wipers, but forgets to turn on his headlights, he not only risks the burden of getting a ticket, but he may cause an accident.

While there may be some cars that do this automatically, the majority of cars produced today still don't do this, and they should.

Why The FBI Doesn't Need to Hack The iPhone

Tuesday, March 1, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Hacking iPhones isn't the answer because they shouldn't design devices that are capable of being hacked.

As a tech guy, I have an entirely different spin on why Apple shouldn't be obligated to write software to hack their devices.

A lot of people think this is a question of protecting the privacy of the criminal.
It's not

A lot of people think this is a question of patriotism.
It's not.

A lot of people think this is a question of national security.
It's not.

A lot of people think the FBI needs to hack the iPhone to find out who the terrorist called and sent texts to.
They don't.

The fact is 99% of the useful information an investigator needs is already available to them, whether or not they get physical possession of a criminal's iPhone.

Once investigat... [More]

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Driving While Distracted Laws

Thursday, February 25, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

We need to re-think the laws that ban cell phone use in cars.

In most states it's illegal to use a mobile phone in a car unless you use a hands free device. These laws were put in place because of the countless deaths caused by distracted drivers.

Now that wearable technology is becoming popular, we need to re-think those laws because it could easily be argued that wearable technology such as the Apple Watch or Android Wear are completely hands free, yet they are just as distracting.

I'm not advocating that we create new laws that ban using wearable technology. The main point is that technology keeps changing, so instead of creating laws about how we use our devices in cars, why not replace them with generic laws about driving while distracted?

Unlike banning each de

... [More]

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It's a TRAP! Why Toll Plazas Should Have at Least One Attendant

Saturday, February 20, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

It's unfair to issue a summons to drivers who don't have exact change.

The other day I rented a car because mine was in the shop and I went onto the Garden State Parkway in NJ and I was faced with an interesting dilemma. As I approached the toll booths I was faced with 4 lanes. Two were "Exact Change", and the other two were "E-ZPass" only lanes. I stopped the car about 50 feet before the booths because I didn't know what to do. While I sat there, I took the photo you see above.

Since my rental car didn't have an E-ZPass, I needed to find 50 cents to pay the toll or I would be forced to break the law, because there weren't any lanes with an attendant, and I didn't have any change.

I've had my E-ZPass so long, I took it for granted that I needed to stop to pay tolls... [More]

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Reality Shows Shouldn't Feature Criminal Activity

Monday, December 7, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Do we really need reality TV shows that feature illegal activity?

I saw a show on the Discovery Channel about Moonshining that features a disclaimer telling you it's illegal. Most of the show centers around the ins and outs of hiding their operations from the police. One segment focused on looking for a new place to hide their still, and other segments were about delivering their product to customers without getting caught.

Because of the popularity of the show, the Moonshiners eventually built a "Legitimate" version of their product, but it bothers me that they focus so much of the show on hiding from the law.

They spend so much time on the show talking about how they hide from the police that I couldn't help but wonder if the camera crew would be just as guilty if the

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Eliminate Weekly Street Cleaning Days

Wednesday, January 21, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Have you noticed that some of the cleanest cities don't have any No Parking / Street Cleaning rules?

I've got news for you. Some of those cities not only manage to have clean streets, but some are actually cleaner than New York's streets.

Some of you are shaking your heads in disbelief, and asking... "How on earth can those cities possibly have clean streets when they don't force cars to scramble around and double park twice a week so that the street sweepers can clean them?"

Instead of the city sweeping the streets, the building owners do it.

I'm sure by now, some New Yorkers have passed out. I'll give you a moment to regain your composure and let this sink in. Relax. It's not the end of the world.

Believe it or not, if the city didn't sweep the curb in fr... [More]

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Why Do So Many New Yorkers Dump Mattresses and Other Household Items?

Wednesday, January 14, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

If you drive around any city, you will eventually find a place where people dump mattresses and other household items. Did you ever wonder why? I did. Now I know.

Like many other cities, garbage services are essentially free to residents, paid for by tax dollars. If it's free, why on earth would somebody take the time to strap their mattress on their car, then dump it on the side of the road? Believe it or not, they simply didn't want to risk getting a ticket. Yes. That's why.

Although you might think there's a bigger risk getting caught dumping the mattress on the side of the road, the fact is, there's an even bigger risk of getting a ticket throwing it out in front of your house.

Here's the issue in a nutshell. Because the city essentially offers free sanitation ser... [More]

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Traffic Cameras for Shoulder Sneaks and HOV Frauds

Saturday, January 10, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Everyone hates sitting in traffic, then seeing a jerk fly by on the shoulder or in the HOV lane.

Let me start by saying I hate red light cameras and other traps designed specifically as a money grab for local governments. They time the lights in such a way that an unsuspecting driver has to choose between slamming the breaks at a yellow light (risking a rear end collision), or speeding up and risking the light turning red for a fraction of a second before they reach the other side. 99.9% of the people caught with these cameras missed the red light by a split second.

This is different.

What I'm talking about here is something that drives people crazy, people who think they have the right to take a shortcut out of a big traffic jam by riding in the shoulder or the HOV lane.... [More]

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* Note: The ideas on "Idea of the Day" were posted without any formal research into existing inventions.

In some cases, patents may already exist for these ideas, in other cases, there may not be any existing patents and you are free to develop and explore the viability of developing and patenting the ideas.

The authors make no claim that any of the ideas are safe, practical, or suitable for any particular purpose. You are responsible for the results of trying, developing, patenting or using any of the ideas on this site.

For some people, our ideas are just an interesting read, but our goal is to encourage you to take action. If you see an idea that you like, do something with it... Take action.

- Joe

Idea Of The Day. A new Idea Each Day. Some Don't Suck.