Bicycle commuting and alternate transportation has been growing fast in the USA.
From 1990 to 2012, the number of bicycle commuters nearly doubled in the 70 largest cities, according to data collected by the League of American Bicyclists. Today, Americans make more than four billion trips by bike each year. [1]
But the rise in urban bicycle commuting has been evidencing some alarming urban bicycle verses car safety issues. For instance a bike rider is in grave danger from a car door being swung out open in front of their path. Often a bike lane is situated right next to the curb where cars cross through the bike lane and then park swinging the car doors open into an oncoming bicycle rider’s path. Passengers and drivers in an automobile have the duty and responsibility to only open a car door when it is safe. For a bicycle rider, getting car doored is extremely dangerous and often deadly. A bicycle rider may be trapped in busy traffic and have no time and no place to go to avoid a car door.
In NYC in a very limited survey, “NYC counted bike-related infractions at 11 locations found that dooring (including near-hits) is a pervasive phenomenon with 77 infractions over the two days of measurement, 19 of them on one street alone.” [2]
While in Chicago, in a state that apparently tracks dooring as a subset of bike crash type, and have 3 years recent data, “In Chicago, one in five bike crashes were caused by a dooring incident.” [3]
If you have ever pedaled in a busy urban environment, even in well marked bike lanes, chances are you might have wished to have a car horn to get a car drivers attention when you are in a bad position and feel like the car is coming for you and for some reason not seeing you. “Loud Bicycle Horn” to the rescue for $95. It is what it says, a loud bicycle horn, not a wimpy bell but loud enough to project and be heard in the quietest car interior. [4] The inventor commented that car drivers seem to be concerned about not hurting their car more than hitting a human on a bike. This bike horn sounds like a car horn and should get a car drivers attention, and hopefully get you out of danger.
While Seesense, aims to help make a bicycle rider more visible especially from the side, and also flashes light patterns like a police car lights to alert when the bicyclist is swerving, stopping or turning. The idea behind Seesense has to do with also helping cyclists avoid getting hit from the side in dark conditions when the typical bike lights might be very bright but are projecting on the road ahead, the see sense lights help the side on visibility and hopefully protect bike riders from side on collisions. [5]
And if you’ve ever felt like you need a protective bubble around you, even when riding in a well marked bike lane, there’s the x fire ad hoc bike lane laser lights. The X Fire has two laser lights that project a three foot line creating a bike lane around you or clearly defining your bubble. As many states enforce giving safe room to pass a bicycle rider, these are an excellent reminder of a safe zone that a bicycle rider needs and the law enforces in many states, like Colorado. [6]
These gadgets all focus on accident prevention, helping to make your self more seen and heard. But the inflatable bike helmet attempts to work more like a car airbag, inflating on impact. One advantage that some bike safety experts are skeptical of, is the design of this inflatable helmet which won’t give you helmet hair as it sits when on around your neck and is one of the selling points that the company promotes. [7]
There’s many more neat items featured in the New York Times article on bike gadgets http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/well/2014/03/10/gadgets-to-boost-bike-safety/ Bike locks you can unlock from your mobile phone via an app. Smart back bike tires that keep all kinds of data for you like miles climbed, pedals per minute averages, calories burned. But, as a bicycle accident attorney, anything to keep a cyclist from getting seriously injured in a car accident is a great idea and worth trying. Bike League sponsored kid safe routes to school “bike trains” and even The X Fire ad hoc bike lanes are great.
NY TIMES Bike Gadget Article – has many more bike gadgets featured http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/well/2014/03/10/gadgets-to-boost-bike-safety/
2. Car Doored http://www.wnyc.org/story/285015-data-from-only-state-that-tracks-dooring-show-its-big-problem/
3. NYC Bicycle v Car Doored http://www.wnyc.org/story/284818-nyc-taxis-get-friendlier-for-bikes-with-anti-dooring-decals-and-a-taxi-tv-video/
4. Loud Bicycle Horn http://www.loudbicycle.com/
5. Innovative Bicycle Lighting – See Sense http://www.seesense.cc/#sthash.yVvSVIAL.VOWgJ2vA.dpbs
6. Bike Light Virtual Bike Lane – The X Fire http://thexfire.com/products-page/lighting-system/bike-lane-safety-light
7. Inflatable Bike Helmet http://www.hovding.se/