Handy Car Accessories to Improve Your Drive

These days, what is under the hood of a car is only the tip of the iceberg. Rear view cameras with audio sensors to help when reversing and all the dials and buttons are starting to be replaced with single touch screens from where you can control everything within your car are all becoming the norm. With all the recent technical innovations taking place under the hood, it’s hard to imagine how to improve upon it all.

Car accessories range from the sublime to the ridiculous. Some will make your driving experiences easier whereas others are designed to make you stand out from the crowds. Here you will be looking at some of the most useful and useless car accessories on the market today.

Any gadget that can saves lives is always a plus. The “Alert Driver Wristband” interacts with the camera system of a car to measure your reaction times. Judging on how well you are performing, the band can detect if you are suffering from fatigue. When your reaction rate become too low while driving, the wristband will vibrate strongly when the camera picks up a potential accident should you not react quickly enough. Essentially it works a little like the cat’s eyes you see on the roads at night. If you happen to stray a little too far over, the violent vibrations of running over the ridges will alert the driver.

So from that revelation to something that will ultimately do more damage to your health. We present the “French fry holder”. There is nothing more to it than the fact that it is specifically designed to hold McDonald’s French fries boxes, thus making it easier for you to snack whilst you drive. In some ways it could save lives, how many films have we seen where there is an accident caused by someone trying to eat and drive unsuccessfully? But at the same time, the convenience of this product may inspire more regular trips to fast food establishments, something that will ultimately take a serious toll on your health.

Back on a more serious note, I am surprised that Michelin’s “Tweel” Wheels have not had as great an impact as I thought they would. The impressive invention is formed by what Michelin call a “shear beam” which consists of two layers of thin steel on either side of a layer of rubber which is held in place by steel spokes. Initially the tyre might look weak but vigorous testing has shown it to be just as capable as regular rubber filled tyres. Meaning that less resources, like rubber, are needed per tyre making a tweel a very eco-friendly car accessory. What’s better is that the Tweel’s design negates the need for air pressure and most interestingly, the thin membrane that is the shear beam will actually deform itself to absorb shocks before returning flawlessly back to its original shape. So if you were to accidentally hit some debris on the road that would otherwise ruin a normal tyre, the tweel will simply shape itself over the obstacle so you hardly feel it before instantly returning to it’s normal shape.

From one of the most innovative accessories to one of the least, the “carstache” and the “car lashes” are being attached to cars across the world to the most hilarious effect. Both are nothing more than a giant moustache and set of eyelashes respectively. The carstache, which I can report comes in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours so that regardless of car size, style or colour preference, you can rest assured that you can find a moustache to suit any vehicle. Similarly, the car lashes will give any car a more feminine and graceful look. Just slip them under the rim of your headlights and viola.

Although the carstache and the car lashes have no intrinsic value save for aesthetics, they are a cheerful and humorous way to separate your car from the masses. Imagine that your car had the same moustache as you? The laughs are in abundance with these accessories and deserve a spot on this list.

So don’t just settle for what the car manufacturer can provide for you because now you can improve your car (for better or worse) with some handy accessories. Whether you want to garner a laugh out of your mates by turning up with a cartache, or you routinely make long journeys and want that extra bit of security then there are options out there. So go into 2015 with a fresh perspective on car accessories.