Deployable mobile tire spikes could stop you in your tracks
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Car chases of the future may be a lot shorter if MobileSpike gets its way. The startup firm is developing a deployable tire spike system that will allow police to get up close to a perpetrator's car and quickly flatten its tires.
MobileSpike won't require officers to plan ahead by throwing spikes out on the street in the hopes that the bad guy doesn't change his or her path. The system is integrated into a push bar on the front bumper of a police car. At the press of a button, the hydraulic system shoots out an arm that extends several feet outside the vehicle. Mounted to the end of the arm is a spike strip ready to shred the tires of a perpetrator's car.
If this latest spike system gains traction, it will mark the first major change in spiking technology in more than 40 years. Current spikes are thrown at vehicles, representing a major risk to police officers.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}So far, MobileSpike has raised more than $55,000 on FlashFunders.com for what it dubs a "retractable, in-motion tire-spiking system" that is apparently effective between about 15 and 120 mph.
The company says it has tested the deploying tire spike system with a handful of police departments and has had positive reviews from all of them.