Need help cyclists :)

[ashrichards1990]

Hello,
I am Ashley Richards and currently in my final year of university in the UK studying product design.
My project is too create something to make somebody's journey more enjoyable so I have targeted making cyclists journeys safer; therefore making people feel more safe from road users such as cars.

It would be greatly appreciated if I could have some feedback about any ideas that I could develop to make a product that improves your safety when using your bikes on the road. (Clothing, adaptations on the bicycle etc.)

An example: By adapting cars so they somehow know there are people on bikes in the area (say 10-25 metres) away, the car then alerts the driver.

Many Thanks

Ashley Richards

 

[JamieRegan]

Safer doesn't necessarily mean more enjyable.

 

[mickeyt69]

I think your idea of adapting cars is great as many drivers seem blind to bikes say fitting a bike with a small transmitter and a receiver in the car that sounds when a cyclist is near by you could even personalize what you transmit! good luck

mick

 

[ashrichards1990]

well it might make the journey more enjoyable, if there journey is safer. Iv looked at a lot of statistics and 67% of people said they feared going cycling on roads. So if I was to prevent some of that initial fear im sure it could make more people feel safer, therefore more cyclists on the roads.

Thanks for the feedback Mick

Just need a number of opinions. Even any problems that you have while biking so I have some problems I can address. I really appreciate the help

 

[Cyclopathic]

Some way of fitting an ashtray onto my bike would be handy.

 

[mickeyt69]

Some way of fitting an ashtray onto my bike would be handy.

HAHAHA

 

[Wankelschrauben]

A compulsory chime on the vehicle that goes off for no less than 2 minutes everytime they closely pass a cyclist within so many feet whilst moving at a speed of 15mph or more to account for filtering.

The chime should be loud, and could be implemented with a spinny light to get the attention of as many people nearby as possible to listen to the wrongs committed.

The chime would be similar to that of a seatbelt warning chime. The motorists could personalise it with different noises, voices or alerts indicating to them as to why their radio has quietened involuntarily and as to why they are being punished.

It could be connected to the speedo and would simply annoy the hell out of motorists evertime they passed a cyclist too closely.

It could be adapted for speeding, or other such menacing behaviour including the jumping of red lights.

The following could be used to embarrass and annoy.

"You are in violation of the higway code. You passed that cyclist too closely"

"You are driving too fast, decrease your speed now, your girlfriend is not impressed"

"The driver of this vehicle has a tiny penis, please note, this car is a penis extension"

"You jumped a red light, you are a cock"

 

[JamieRegan]

I guess what I meant by saying "Safer doesn't necessarily mean more enjoyable" is that if your project goal is to "make somebody's journey more enjoyable", then safety is potentially out of scope of that project as a lot of safety measures, though necessary, will make people's journeys less enjoyable. Road humps, for example. They slow traffic down safely, but certainly not enjoyable for anyone.

If you have a project goal, make sure that your work is in scope before going down a track that isn't. You don't want to do a whole lot of great work to then fail because you didn't understand your own project goals to begin with.

Lecture over.

If you had an alarm that detected cycles, it would have to know when that cycle was on the road, ie. You don't want alarms going off when my bike is sat in my front garden or parked outside a shop.

How about something that is picked up by GPS systems, rather than the cars themselves? Just like GPSs pick up speed cameras? Once you're on the GPS you could expand it into a whole load of other things. Maybe finding your bike if it's been stolen. Tracking journey times, etc.

 

[Cyclopathic]

A reliable, lightweight and above all very loud horn would be a useful safety feature. There are some on the market but I haven't seen any that look ideal and I think more could be done to develop better ones.

 

[Beebo]

The following could be used to embarrass and annoy.

"You are in violation of the higway code. You passed that cyclist too closely"

"You are driving too fast, decrease your speed now, your girlfriend is not impressed"

"The driver of this vehicle has a tiny penis, please note, this car is a penis extension"

"You jumped a red light, you are a cock"

Yeah, but BMW would never fit it as standard as their sales would plummet

 

[mickle]

The answer to cyclist's safety is firmly in the hands of the drivers of motor vehicles. Our lives would be much more enjoyable if the danger posed to us by drivers was removed, or at least minimised. Close over-takes, red-light jumping, left turn swipes. We need to change their behaviour. Permanently.

What's required is an electric shock delivery system fitted to every car in the land which may be activated remotely by anyone with the approved radio transmitter.

If you witness dangerous or slightly discourteus driving simply point the device at the vehicle, pull the trigger and 415 volts will be delivered through their perineum.

I think this is the only viable solution to the danger posed to cyclists and pedestrians by errant motorists.

 

[MissTillyFlop]

Hello,
I am Ashley Richards and currently in my final year of university in the UK studying product design.
My project is too create something to make somebody's journey more enjoyable so I have targeted making cyclists journeys safer; therefore making people feel more safe from road users such as cars.

It would be greatly appreciated if I could have some feedback about any ideas that I could develop to make a product that improves your safety when using your bikes on the road. (Clothing, adaptations on the bicycle etc.)

An example: By adapting cars so they somehow know there are people on bikes in the area (say 10-25 metres) away, the car then alerts the driver.

Many Thanks

Ashley Richards

This is an awesome idea and very "now" what with all the V2V technologies becoming en vogue. I work for a company that provides business intelligence and conferences for the Telematics Industry and we're just about to do an event about DSRC and road safety.

 

[4F]

Machine gun mount on the handlebars

 

[User16625]

A bracket for holding a gun onto the bicycle frame. This mostly applies to american cyclists but it would be designed in such a way that the trigger could not be pulled when clipped in. Thats the safety part covered.

 

[ashrichards1990]

This is an awesome idea and very "now" what with all the V2V technologies becoming en vogue. I work for a company that provides business intelligence and conferences for the Telematics Industry and we're just about to do an event about DSRC and road safety.

Thank you.

Do you think it would be good for cyclists?

I mean if the driver of the car knew that their was a cyclist nearby they would have to be cautious. There would be no instances where the driver could say 'I didn't know you were there because the car has alerted them of a cyclists presence.

Ash