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Buddy On Demand Inflatable Friend To Women Drivers
Buddy on Demand, a blow-up guy that will help women driving alone to feel more secure, has been introduced by a British insurance agency that caters to women drivers.
(Buddy on Demand from Sheilas' Wheels)
According to Reuters, Buddy fits in a car's glove compartment; at the flick of a switch, he inflates and rides shotgun. When the woman has finished using him, she pulls the plug - and he goes back into the glove box.
According to research by Buddy on Demand's creator, insurer Sheilas' Wheels, 82 percent of women feel safer with someone sitting in the car beside them and nearly a half don't like driving alone in the dark.
When reading this article, I was immediately struck by the similarity to a device that appeared in the film Men in Black II. (Okay, maybe not immediately, but right after all of the jokes about inflatable dolls and women drivers.)
(Inflatable chauffeur from Men in Black)
The science-fictional version improves on Buddy on Demand by not only presenting another person in the car, but by actually driving the car as well. Women might like that even better; and a perfect robot driver would reduce insurance costs even more.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 7/26/2006)
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I might also be thinking of K-9 from Doctor Who.
