Bike-Mounted Sensor Could Improve Safety for Cyclists

A handlebar-mounted camera technology developed at the University of Arizona and Arizona State University could help keep cyclists safer on the road by collecting data about close-passing drivers, reports Kea Wilson for Streetsblog USA.

The camera is paired with a sensor that detects when a vehicle passes dangerously close to a cyclist and collects information that can be used for legal evidence and, collectively, inform planners and policymakers about close-passing “hot spots” and where safe bike infrastructure is lacking.

According to Wilson, “One Australian study estimates that up to 38 percent of motor vehicle drivers who hit cyclists were either overtaking or close-passing the vulnerable road user. But similar stats are hard to come by in most U.S. jurisdictions.” Now, advocates hope that technology like CycleSafe, as the sensor is dubbed, will help change that. 

Robert Heinrichs, associate professor at Arizona State's School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, says “it's not impossible that the CycleSafe software could someday be programmed to automatically notify EMS when a serious crash is detected, potentially saving lives in hit-and-runs; it could also generate video footage for educational campaigns aimed at showing drivers just how terrifying a close pass really is for a person in the saddle.”