Drivers, start your flirting

Flirtingintraffic.com, an Internet dating site of a different sort, aims to unite you with the cutie in the car next to you.

How does it work? Compared to other dating sites, getting started can be a bit of a process. You create a profile, and then receive a sticker for your car with a member ID on it. The next time someone catches your eye while you’re in bumper-to-bumper traffic, you look for their sticker (assuming they have one), then scribble down their ID number and send them a note on the site.

Founder Ben Philips, a 35-year-old Web developer, came up with the idea after chatting up an attractive girl in the traffic lane next to him.

“We made small talk at the light. The light turned green, and I never saw her again,” he says. “I drove around for about a week trying to think of how I can make it so I can meet girls in traffic.”

Philips soon realized that the concept of organized flirting could work for just about anyone, from the shy guy to the girl who doesn’t like to give out her number, and the site launched this winter.

So far, there are more than 3,000 registered members nationwide, with many of the flirts in Pennsylvania, where the site first launched.