Article: New technology could save riders' lives

Has anyone seen this (from the London Paper 12 May 2008)

New technology could save rider’s lives - Bags for cyclists
Airbags could be fitted to the outside of cars to save lives of cyclists and pedestrians, experts said today.
The bags inflate under the bonnet and at the base of the windscreen to reduce impact and prevent cyclist’s heads going through the glass. They are triggered by sensors that detect when a person is heading towards the car.
The invention has the potential to prevent dozens of fatalities said Mats Odman a spokesman for Autoliv, the Swedish manufacturer that had designed the airbags.
He said “in Europe, each year more than 10,000 pedestrians and vulnerable road-users are killed in collision with a vehicle. Most hit their head on the bonnet or the windscreen”.
Statistics show that for every kilometre travelled, a cyclist is about 20 times more likely to be killed than a car passenger. In 2006, 675 pedestrians and 146 cyclists were killed on Britain’s highways.
The London Paper 12 May 2008

I've got this funny image of hitting the bag and bouncing back onto the road o:O. I also like the fact that the title is about saving cyclists lives but.... 675 pedestrians were killed in 2006 vs 146 cyclists....

There is also some photos in the Evening Standard today showing buses, cars, taxis jumping red lights AH!

They are triggered by sensors that detect when a person is heading towards the car.

I wouldn't want to rely on that sensor. What about teaching people to consider other road users rather than giving them another safety net to absolve them of any responsibility/consequence.

675 pedestrians were killed in 2006 vs 146 cyclists....

But there are also a lot more pedestrians on the street than cyclists.

what happens if you're driving and someone runs at your car just for fun and sets off the airbag?

I was hoping this was going to be some sort of anti-bendy bus/white van RPG

im waiting for Hummer to design a bike....

+1 for inflatable vehicles. :)

What about your own air bag suit? Note how relaxed and confident the cyclist is.

im waiting for Hummer to design a bike....

What - like this one?

what happens if you're driving and someone runs at your car just for fun and sets off the airbag?

LOL you would have to be very stoopid to run at a car! (and also hope that there is an airbag fitted on the car ;)

A friend of mine has one of those without the hummer logo, suprisingly nice for a folding bike IMHO. I thought it would make a nice fix with a pair of rigid forks.

nice trick that

these are all over Japan:

http://peteinjapan.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/dsc_0064-blog.jpg

but no, i mean design, as opposed to simply branded tat :P

cyclists need to be given the same rights that they have in germany. there, it is an offense to overtake a cyclist without leaving a gap of more than 1.5m. Any accident involving a car and a bike will turn in the cyclists favour - that is where the benefit of the doubt lies. Cyclist have right of way.
What the fuck is this ridiculous, hair-brained scheme all about? It doesn't ingratiate cyclists to motorists if they need to pay extra for a bit of specialist cyclist-deflection kit. Also, it will make motorist more complacent towards cyclists if they know they can just 'bounce' them off.

This could all be improved radically by just passing a law to give cyclists power on the road.

What about your own air bag suit? Note how relaxed and confident the cyclist is.

I have one of those. It came free with a diet of cheese, steak and lager.

:)

what happens if you're driving and someone runs at your car just for fun and sets off the airbag?

that sounds like a fun game!!

Imagine if they fitted those air bags on london buses? Squeeze between 2 of em at speed and it's curtains!

that sounds like a fun game!!

Top fun! If some arsehole cuts you up in traffic, instead of taking his wing mirrors at the next set of lights you set off his airbag...

But there are also a lot more pedestrians on the street than cyclists.

major problem, they should stick to the pavement

and if a car comes too close to you.....your own air bag

cyclists need to be given the same rights that they have in germany. there, it is an offense to overtake a cyclist without leaving a gap of more than 1.5m. Any accident involving a car and a bike will turn in the cyclists favour - that is where the benefit of the doubt lies. Cyclist have right of way.
What the fuck is this ridiculous, hair-brained scheme all about? It doesn't ingratiate cyclists to motorists if they need to pay extra for a bit of specialist cyclist-deflection kit. Also, it will make motorist more complacent towards cyclists if they know they can just 'bounce' them off.

This could all be improved radically by just passing a law to give cyclists power on the road.

Very good point but I wonder if German cyclists go through as many red lights, as we do here?

you don't need to - light for bikes go green a few seconds earlier to get them through the junction before the cars go.

Statistics show that for every kilometre travelled, a cyclist is about 20 times more likely to be killed than a car passenger. In 2006, 675 pedestrians and 146 cyclists were killed on Britain’s highways

Ooh slightly poor figures from a marketing man... what do I expect... duh?

From the DFT:
Cycle fatalities for 2006 = 163
Cycle Fatalities per 100 million kilometres = 3.5
Motor car fatalities per 100 million kilometres = 0.9

I make that less than four times more likely to be killed per kilometre travelled not 20 times. But the cherry is of course when you take into account how far people actually travel by car / bicycle:

the average distance travelled by car users in 2006 = 9161 km
while the average distance travelled by bicycle was = 119 km

Maybe I am now on statistically shakey ground... okay I admit it I don't have a clue what I'm talking about... perhaps someone can do the necessary...?

its statistics, you can make them say whatever you want, that is why politicians use them all the time...

and another feature that cocoons car drivers even more is the last thing they need, far too many of them are oblivious to what is going one outside their little tin box!!!