Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Streetsblog USA

Google Patents “Flypaper” to Save Pedestrians By Sticking Them to Car Hoods

Google engineers' newest concept for pedestrians would glue them to the front of cars. Image: U.S. Patent Office
Not the Onion. Image: U.S. Patent Office
false

The minds at Google have come up with a novel idea to protect pedestrians in the event of a collision with the company's self-driving cars.

The tech behemoth was awarded a patent this week for what it describes as a "flypaper or double-sided duct tape"-type substance beneath an "eggshell" exterior on the hood of the car. In a collision with a human being, the shell would crack and the person would stick to the adhesive. The idea is that after the initial collision, the flypaper will prevent people from hitting the asphalt or getting run over, which is how severe injuries are often inflicted.

A Google spokesperson told the San Jose Mercury News the patent doesn't mean the company will go ahead with implementation. Even if the idea works as planned, it's easy to envision scenarios where it would backfire, like if the car strikes another vehicle or a tree while someone is glued to the hood.

A much more important question for the impending autonomous car future is how these systems will minimize the potential for collisions with pedestrians in the first place. A fleet of robocars won't need flypaper if they can't exceed, say, 15 mph while operating on crowded city streets.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

Metro 2026 World Cup Transit Plans Emerging

From June 13 to July 7, 2026, Los Angeles will host eight World Cup soccer matches, all at the SoFi Stadium in the city of Inglewood

May 9, 2025

Metro Names Bill Scott as Chief of Police

Chief Scott and Metro leadership emphasized that keeping Metro transit safe would require a multi-faceted approach that included the deployment of officers as well as collaboration with the community, ambassadors, and service providers. "Sometimes enforcement is the answer," Scott said. "Sometimes it's not."

May 7, 2025

Lyft’s Anti-Worker Anti-Transit Record Raises Red Flags For Metro Bike Share

Edwin Aviles and Kalayaan Mendoza urge Metro not to reward bad actors working to undermine workers’ rights and mass transit

See all posts