Pop-Up Holograms Confront Rude Drivers Trying to Park in Handicapped Spots

image via youtube screen capture

A new initiative from Russian disability advocacy group dislife.ru and ad agency Bird Strategy inc is discouraging able-bodied drivers from parking in handicapped spaces, by combining high-tech hologram technology with a good ol’ fashioned stare-down.

In parking lots across Moscow, where Bird Strategy claims nearly one third of drivers park in spaces set aside specifically for the disabled, a series of small cameras, mist-sprayers, and hologram projectors were installed in handicapped parking spots.

As drivers pull in, the cameras note whether the car has a handicapped tag displayed on its window: If there’s a tag, the car is allowed to park without incident. If there is no tag, the mist-sprayers activate, creating an invisible canvas upon which the hologram projector can beam a recording of a man in a wheelchair, who then addresses the offending driver, face to “face,” encouraging them to park someplace else, and be more considerate in the future.

The “More Than a Sign” initiative joins other Russian efforts to curb poor etiquette behind the wheel. One, the “Stop a Douchebag” movement, replaces holographic confrontation for the real thing, with members physically blocking–and occasionally being hit by–cars engaged in particularly obnoxious illegal driving.

[via mymodernmet]