Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
Romantic, but doomed to fail.

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

user:
pass:
register,


                               

Please log in.
Before you can vote, you need to register. Please log in or create an account.

Arrestaeration

Forget spike strips and curtains...just yank the road out from under the bad guys.
  (+4)
(+4)
  [vote for,
against]

Replace existing concrete crosswalks in your area with paving stones or cobbles.
Beneath the cobbles a layer of poly keeps a two foot deep bed of sand dry. Beneath the sand perforated air lines await a compressed air tanks release.

Manually or remotely activate the canister as a fleeing vehicle reaches said cobbles and that vehicle isn't going anywhere else when the air stops.
Replacing the road surface would only cost a few hours labor and refilling the compressed air tank.


Smash-Lab. http://video.google...&aq=3&oq=fluidized#
[2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jul 06 2009]

"I personally am a fan of metal pop-up barricades " Radar_20Controlled_...20Response_20System
The arms race is on ! [normzone, Jul 07 2009]

[link]






       What happens when it rains ?
8th of 7, Jul 05 2009
  

       ... use water.   

       What happens when it freezes?
... use hot water.
  

       What happens when there's 2 feet of snow?
... the baddies are gonna get stuck anyway.
  

       [+]
lurch, Jul 05 2009
  

       // ... use water. //   

       Normal traffic, running over cobbles bedded in wet sand, will cause the system to exhibit thoxotropy when it reaches a critical water content. What if you, allegedly "innocent" citizen (which we very much doubt) are driving your vehicle ove the sand-trap at that exact moemnt ?
8th of 7, Jul 05 2009
  

       [+] But idea is baked. It was on discovery channel a while ago.
danman, Jul 05 2009
  

       The layer of polyethelene on the sides and top of the sand pit will keep out excess water other than humidity in the air which is not enough to cause deforamation from compression or buckling from freezing.
If someone is caught in the trap with the bad guys then crimes compensation should be happy to pony up when potential costs of a high speed chase are taken into account.
[danman]'s got it right. That program was about bank parking lots I think. I'll see if I can find a link.
  

       Someday the castle motes will all be seemingly solid.
muhahahahaha.
  

       <shortly later>
Yep. Smash-Lab [link]
  

       It's a good show. I hope they make it.   

       wasn't this a Mythbusters episode ?
FlyingToaster, Jul 06 2009
  

       Mythbusters also did it, but they were trying to see if quicksand really exists as the movies portray it. They used water, not air, to fluidize the sand, and "proved" that quicksand doesn't exist.   

       8/7, if it rains, the water stays above the layer of plastic, and doesn't wet the sand. Only after the vehicle's weight presses down on the cobbles and causes the plastic to be punctured, does the sand get wet.   

       Lurch, you bring up a good point about freezing -- if it rains, then freezes, it could result in the plastic being punctured.   

       To prevent this, the cobbles should be caulked after installation, to prevent water from getting between them.
goldbb, Jul 06 2009
  

       Actually the really dangerous quicksand is more like mud and no, unless you are heavily loaded you will not sink all the way into it but you might well become firmly lodged at chin level which would be fatal. There are also natural sand traps that can swallow a person whole if they wander on top of them.
WcW, Jul 06 2009
  

       Would it not be easier to fire a sticky transmitter, at the suspect car, which would activate land-mines emplaced under the road?
MikeD, Jul 06 2009
  

       What [MikeD] said; this is basically a landmine... crossed with an air rifle.
pertinax, Jul 07 2009
  

       well *somebody* did it or I'm writing TV scripts in my sleep: high-pressure air underneath sand to see if they could make a moving vehicle sink (it did). The sketch was bank robbers trying to make a quick getaway; the set was a beach (or possibly desert) with an abandoned building on it.
FlyingToaster, Jul 07 2009
  

       "And they'd have got away with hit as well, if it wasn't for thise pesky kids !!"
8th of 7, Jul 07 2009
  

       Smash Lab was a good show? That fluidized sand trap was the only project they ever did well, IIRC.
notexactly, Jul 11 2019
  
      
[annotate]
  


 

back: main index

business  computer  culture  fashion  food  halfbakery  home  other  product  public  science  sport  vehicle