dead man's switch

dead man's switch (plural dead man's switches)

2. A switch that ensures a fail-safe condition by automatically triggering an action (for instance, to stop a machine or vehicle) if a specified input from the operator is not made or is altered.

   Hypernyms: kill switch < switch < component, part

   Hyponyms: dead man's handle, dead man's brake; vigilance control, dead man's control, dead man's trigger, dead man's pedal, dead man's seat; Driver's Safety Device, DSD (official UK railway term)

   Holonyms: device, machine

   This seat is equipped with a dead man's switch. As the theory goes, "if the driver stops sitting, the machine is quitting."

   • 2020 December 10, HarryBlank, “SCP-5751”, in SCP Foundation‎^[1], archived from the original on 24 September 2024:

     P.S. What about using a disc collection with a specific weight as a dead man's switch? Or making up a new format out of rare, esoteric, or even thaumaturgical materials, and using the anomaly to duplicate them? Or...