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TECH NEWS

Device warning cyclists of vehicles behind aims for national prize in US (+ video)

Beacon Blind Spot Monitor gives riders audible warning, flashing lights alert drivers

A California-based company that developed a product that warns both motorists and cyclists of each other’s presence through audio and visual alerts, hopes to win a national competition in the United States for road safety technology and bring its product to market.

The device won first prize at a hackathon event at the Startup Weekend hosted by Hacker Lab in Sacramento in July this year, reports the Sacramento Business Journal.

Now the company behind it, Beacon Safety Technology, is aiming to scoop a prize of up to $10,000 through the ChallengePost Connected Intersections online competition for products, apps and other technology that makes roads safer for cyclists and pedestrians.

The device, which is deployed beneath the saddle of a bike, uses beeps to warn cyclists of a vehicle approaching from behind, the warning sounds getting increasingly rapid the closer it gets. It also uses LEDs to tell motorists that they are getting too close to the rider in front of them.

Voting in the competition is open until Tuesday 30 September, and you can see all the submissions – several of which relate to cyclists – here.

We’ve covered a number of similar devices here on road.cc, including Backtracker, which received more than $125,000 of backing on crowdfunding website Dragon Innovation but fell short of its $194,500 target.

In research carried out for the Department for Transport, the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory has found that while being struck from behind is not the most common type of collision involving a vehicle and a cyclist, it is the one that is most likely to result in the rider being killed.

Earlier this year five cities around the world including Belfast and Glasgow hosted Cyclehack, in which teams had a weekend to come up with ideas to improve urban areas for cyclists.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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22 comments

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notfastenough | 10 years ago
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Award for device that warns drivers of cyclist ahead = eyes?

Award for device that warns cyclists of drivers behind = ears?

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WolfieSmith | 10 years ago
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Utterly pointless. Reminds me of that NTNON sketch when Rowan Atkinson plays a deaf man with a light bulb on a head mount that tells him when the phone is ringing. Light goes on. Deaf man picks up phone: 'Hello?... Hello?'

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levermonkey | 10 years ago
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"Yes Your Worship, I did run over and kill the cyclist. However, I would like to enter into mitigation the fact that the cyclist had a 'Backtracker' fitted to his cycle. As he would have been aware of my approach he should have taken avoiding action and therefore is mostly to blame for the collision!"

Am I being too cynical? As "Cyclists Stay Back" stickers have been used as mitigation in court I fear I may not be being cynical enough.

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johndonnelly replied to levermonkey | 10 years ago
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levermonkey wrote:

"Yes Your Worship, I did run over and kill the cyclist. However, I would like to enter into mitigation the fact that the cyclist had no 'Backtracker' fitted to his cycle. As such he clearly shows complete disregard for his own safety and is clearly entirely culpable for this misadventure."

Fixed it. You weren't being cynical enough.

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ironmancole | 10 years ago
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The driver already has the facilities to achieve the same. I call them eyes, common sense, respect for life and plain decency. Sadly we continue to read of an increasing shortage of people with these items hence the on going victimisation of one vulnerable group at the hands of another.

The car needs to be automatically limited when a signal is detected ahead. Driver is warned in advance so they can anticipate another road user and the cars response to it.

40mph is quite fast enough to pass and if the driver insists on accidentally sticking their car into another person's body at least there is a decent chance of someone living rather than the ridiculous 80mph + passes I've been subjected to in the past.

History has well proven that the weak link in all of this isn't technology. It's the dumbass who is incapable of driving properly so all the bells and whistles under the sun will not change some people's attitude.

Until technology can wrestle the monkey away from the biscuit jar we'll continue to see cars hitting things.

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Leviathan | 10 years ago
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He is cycling on the wrong side of the road, that is obviously dangerous. The think looks like it weighs two kilos. Why not just fire a James Bond style EMP at any approaching car and disable it?

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2_Wheeled_Wolf | 10 years ago
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I have a more affordable low tech one, its called a Mirror. Great one for when you havent the time to shoulder check.

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Airzound | 10 years ago
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I can't the Dragons investing in or buying this. I am out too.

April 1st?

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samuri | 10 years ago
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Since there's bog all the rider can do about this even if the machine tells them, maybe it should have a series of appropriate messages to accompany the rider to their doom depending on the speed and proximity of the bellend in a car.

"Watch out, fuckwit approaching"
"You are going to die"
"Say your prayers"
"Goodbye"

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IanW1968 | 10 years ago
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What am I supposed to different when there's a car behind me?

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pedalpowerDC replied to IanW1968 | 10 years ago
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IanW1968 wrote:

What am I supposed to different when there's a car behind me?

Brace for impact?

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MaxP | 10 years ago
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But won't it alarm for any object coming behind you!?

If people want to use it, than fine. It's only a prototype so it will hopefully get smaller and neater. I can't see any drivers paying attention to flashing lights though and it will be a pain listening go all the beeping.

I just hope that if it does take off in the UK that the courts won't use it as another excuse to blame the dead cyclist for not having this item on there bike.

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horizontal dropout | 10 years ago
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Weird. The unit has lights facing rearward below the saddle. So the driver who hasn't seen you directly in front of them sees the lights? I don't think the designers or the selectors ride bikes in traffic.

As for the cyclist why not just look behind you? I agree you can't always hear a vehicle behind you, you do have to look. If you want to spend money on being safer get some cycle training!

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Gkam84 | 10 years ago
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What is wrong with a good old fashioned clip on mirror??

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jacknorell | 10 years ago
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Try slight headwind and a hybrid car behind... if you can hear that, you're probably a bat.

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rich22222 | 10 years ago
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It sounds like a better idea than most of the crap I've seen.
I'd like one that warns other cyclists against trying to draft my commute.

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Flying Scot | 10 years ago
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I find most cars have tyres....I can hear them coming.....

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CXR94Di2 replied to Flying Scot | 10 years ago
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I challange you to hear a modern car into a strong headwind. A couple of times I have been surprised to find a car behind when it's windy especially a head wind.

Drivers probably don't realise how little a rider can hear and might lead to frustration from the driver as they think the rider is being ignorant.

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bikebot replied to CXR94Di2 | 10 years ago
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CXR94Di2 wrote:

I challange you to hear a modern car into a strong headwind. A couple of times I have been surprised to find a car behind when it's windy especially a head wind.

Drivers probably don't realise how little a rider can hear and might lead to frustration from the driver as they think the rider is being ignorant.

And that's a reason why I use a small mirror on one end of my drops. Despite the occasional joke from riders about turning my head, I very rarely get surprised by tailgaters.

It's also useful to see drivers who like to inch forward into the ASL box on a red light when they think you aren't looking.

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Tony Farrelly | 10 years ago
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So basically for cycle commuters on busy roads it would be like riding with really loud tinnitus? That wouldn't be irritating at all

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PhilRuss replied to Tony Farrelly | 10 years ago
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Tony Farrelly wrote:

So basically for cycle commuters on busy roads it would be like riding with really loud tinnitus? That wouldn't be irritating at all

[[[[ Yup....even more annoying than the infantile "music" accompaniment.

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felixcat | 10 years ago
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Please tell me this is a joke.

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