Some clever tech to alert a car driver to peds, cyclists, motorcyclists, etc.

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Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on January 20, 2015 at 1:53pm

I have mixed feelings on this. I like new technology that helps promote safety. I worry about it becoming a crutch for lazy drivers.

In one of Malcolm Gladwell's books there is a section on safety with surprising unsafe consequences. For example, even though painted crosswalks are in place to give pedestrians a safe space to cross in more pedestrian-auto accidents occur in crosswalks than anywhere else. The problem is that pedestrians take the crosswalk as secure, think they are safe, let down their defenses and pay less attention to their surrounings. They do stupid stuff.

A distracted, drunken, texting or talking-to-the-kids-in-the-back driver who is use to being helped with technoloigy may react the same way as crosswalk pedestrians.

This technology is a step in the right direction, but proceed with caution.

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Permalink Reply by David P. on January 21, 2015 at 2:25pm

Gene,

I understand that concern but I think tech like this will only be an aid. After all, a crutch for alzy drivers will only lead to a net disbenefit if they don't already have relevant lazy habits, and I think the "accident" record, or at least our subjective perception of such, makes it hard to argue that they aren't :) Put more kindly, I think tech like this makes up for our shortcomings and makes drivers more aware of human-based hazards around them than they otherwise would be.

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Permalink Reply by Dean Bekken on January 21, 2015 at 7:32pm

Distracted and lazy will always describe car drivers. The Land Rover tech is good, but what about the car to his right, with no view of the cyclist about to come into view?

I posted an idea on an Active Trans forum, a cheaper solution to avoiding doorings: a quick double flash of tailights when an inner car door latch is touched. That half second would save a lot of skulls.

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Permalink Reply by Tricolor on January 22, 2015 at 10:10am

Dean Bekken said:

Distracted and lazy will always describe car drivers.

Lots of riders and pedestrians, too.  I see a ton of riders that stay to the right in bike lanes but go fast enough to really get hurt if anyone opens a door. And of course there are plenty of pedestrians that walk into the street without paying attention. They get hit by cars and bikes, who likewise aren't paying attention or prepared for a distracted pedestrian.

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