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City Cycling

PSFK reports on a tech-heavy solution to the life-or-death problem of the blind turning lorry-drivers:

The initiative will see the installation of battery-powered RFIDs in the steering columns of 300 bikes as well as receivers at seven of the city’s most dangerous intersections. The RFID from the resident’s bicycle will send a signal to the traffic light when approaching the intersection; in turn, the traffic signal will automatically flash a ‘cyclist’ sign to warn drivers that they should keep an eye out for cyclists before making a right turn. In a similar effort, the Copenhagen city government will be is installing light diodes and sensors at busy intersections to notify drivers of bikers riding nearby. When a cyclist passes the sensors, the diodes will blink next to and ahead of drivers.

UPDATE: [Comments facility seems not to work, hence:] Huw comments:

So drivers only get a warning if there’s a RFID bike
there?

If this is “successful” and more and more bikes are
fitted with RFID, then it won’t be long before ALL
drivers only bother checking for bikes when they see
the warning flash. What if the RFID fails, or the
warning sign fails, or – heaven forbid – a non-RFID
bike is on their left?

Article posted Tuesday, December 18th, 2007
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