ALERTING BUSES AND LORRIES TO UNSEEN CYCLES
The city of York is the first city in the world to fit their inner city buses with Cycle Alert, a cycle specific detection system.
At some point in October, the Cycle Alert tags will also be available to students via the Union shop & to York cyclists at getcycling.org.uk. These work in conjunction with the devices fitted to the buses and alert the driver to cyclists that enter their proximity and may be at risk of not being seen because of blind spots.
Cycle Alert, the market-leading, cycle safety innovation is launching in partnership with The University of York, City of York Council and Transdev Unibus. Working in conjunction with City of York Council and Transdev Unibus, The University of York is to become the first to introduce the revolutionary Cycle Alert System on it’s network of Unibuses and with York University Students. York is a city renowned for its progressive approach to city planning and sustainable transportation. They have worked to create better cycling networks over the years having replaced train-tracks with Sustran cycle routes and providing both an extensive network of off-road cycle paths and on-road cycle lanes. The hard work has paid off with York being able to boast some of the best cycling infrastructure in Britain.
Cycle Alert has been designed to address the issue of increased incidents between cyclists and vehicles on the road. Primarily, the disproportionate amount of collisions and deaths to cyclists whilst travelling through busy junctions and when they come into contact with Heavy Good Vehicles. Cycle Alert encourages drivers and cyclists to take responsibility for making the road a safer place. And unlike other sensor and video systems in circulation, Cycle Alert is a cyclist specific system, tracking only cyclists up to two metres in proximity. Cycle Alert also evades the ‘white noise’ issue of existing systems indicating the presence of any object in the vicinity. The Cycle Alert system does not just alert drivers to a potential risk in areas frequented by cyclists – it facilitates a direct warning from a cyclist straight to the vehicle driver.
The system has three elements: a tag that is fitted to the bicycle (or worn by a cyclist on their person or helmet), sensors that are fitted to the HGV or other vehicle, and a cab-mounted device to alert the driver. The three units work in sync to form a communication network between all parties, alerting the driver – with maximum advance notice – of a cyclist in proximity. The in-cab receiver is designed to create minimal distraction for the driver, with a simple and audible ‘cyclist’ warning and a flashing light that indicates where the cyclist or cyclists are positioned near or around the vehicle. This allows the driver to react instantly and actively avoid any potential collisions. .
There are currently no systems on the market that can tell an HGV driver whether a cyclist is close to their vehicle. This is where Cycle Alert comes in. Everybody needs to take responsibility for their own safety on the road. Cycle Alert empowers cyclists to make themselves more obvious to HGV drivers.
Cycle Alert understands that drivers and cyclists will need to engage with the product to have a real impact on road safety. The system has also received approval from two of the leading names in the haulage industry: Eddie Stobart and Keltbray are both early supporters of the scheme and the Met Police have demonstrated Cycle Alert in all its recent ‘exchanging places events’ as part of its cyclist road safety programme.
Although designed initially with HGVs in mind, it should be noted that Cycle Alert can be used by all vehicle users, with a view to making the roads a safer place. A unique, inexpensive technology, Cycle Alert is an indispensable product for both cyclists and drivers.
Cycle Alert operates as a type of active RFID (radio frequency identification) system, where the RFID tags are on the bicycles and the readers are on motor vehicles. (Note that identification serves to indicate presence and not specific attributes of the bicycle or user). Each cycle unit is mounted on a bicycle. Whenever moving, the cycle unit advertises its presence regularly so that a vehicle can sense its presence. When the bicycle is stationary for a while, the advertising transmissions stop. Vehicles are fitted with Side Units and Cab Units. Together, they form a sensing system that allows the driver to know that a bicycle is near.
The general operation is:
- The Side Units report to the Cab Unit the received signal strength from a bicycle
- If the signal strength reports from the side units received by the Cab Unit pass a threshold level, then an audible alert is sounded and the cab display shows the approximate location of the bicycle.
- The Side Units co-operate with the Cab unit to maintain very low battery use for the Side Units.
- Cycle Alert active RFID has the advantage that the sensors on vehicles can be low-powered, low cost units with no wiring required and which give a highly reliable detection. This is in contrast to passive RFID systems which will require significantly larger, more costly and wired installation. Cycle Alert bicycle-mounted units operate for years on low-cost batteries, which are easily checked and replaced during scheduled maintenance periods.
#rfid #cycles
Thanks to Les Hammond for spotting this article
