dukey33
0
Bicyclists face some of the same challenges in traffic as motorcyclists. Failure-to-yield right-of-way being a shared cause of accidents for both. Root cause can often be traced to failure to see and identify the approaching bike.
I came across this article about a product that projects an image onto the ground ahead of the bicycle. The idea is to give pedestrians and drivers a warning that a bicycle is approaching.
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/07...-laserlight-makes-cyclists-safer-on-road.html
One of the things I didn't like about the design is the nearly arbitrary choice of 20ft distance the projection is aimed at. "Half the length of a bus." No basis in physics or human engineering to select an optimum distance.
Another thing I have to wonder is if a person would see the projection and focus on it, thus completely missing the approaching bicycle altogether.
If a bicycle is moving at 13mph, that gives just over one second for a texting-while-walking pedestrian to notice the green laser image go by and let their dog-like focus register "green squirrel !", track the direction which it went and step into the path of the bicycle. Distracted is still distracted.
Maybe the idea and product has merit. Their installation onto Citibikes may yield some data, but crash avoidance data is hard to collect. Maybe there will be a reduction in crashes, especially at nighttime. If so, then this product might prove to be more gadget than gimmick.
I came across this article about a product that projects an image onto the ground ahead of the bicycle. The idea is to give pedestrians and drivers a warning that a bicycle is approaching.
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/07...-laserlight-makes-cyclists-safer-on-road.html
One of the things I didn't like about the design is the nearly arbitrary choice of 20ft distance the projection is aimed at. "Half the length of a bus." No basis in physics or human engineering to select an optimum distance.
Another thing I have to wonder is if a person would see the projection and focus on it, thus completely missing the approaching bicycle altogether.
If a bicycle is moving at 13mph, that gives just over one second for a texting-while-walking pedestrian to notice the green laser image go by and let their dog-like focus register "green squirrel !", track the direction which it went and step into the path of the bicycle. Distracted is still distracted.
Maybe the idea and product has merit. Their installation onto Citibikes may yield some data, but crash avoidance data is hard to collect. Maybe there will be a reduction in crashes, especially at nighttime. If so, then this product might prove to be more gadget than gimmick.