CycleSafe Proximity Device

About

CycleSafe - Proximity Sensing, Warning, and Reporting Device Tech ID: UA20-165 Invention: This technology is a bicycle handlebar-mounted device developed by an interdisciplinary team of faculty and students at the University of Arizona. The device has a sensor that can detect when a car is too close to warn bicyclists of encroaching vehicles and provides a visual alert to the car’s driver to promote a safe passing distance from the bicyclist. The device can also take and store a picture of the vehicle and license plate for reporting to authorities if needed. Background: States generally have laws that mandate that an automobile must give a bicycle a minimum amount of space while passing on a road. The reality is that this rule is seldom followed. For an example, in 2013 there were nearly 50,000 bicyclists who suffered injuries as a result of automobile drivers. The introduction of bike lanes has been shown to reduce the frequency of injury and death by up to 90%, however not all roads contain bike lanes. Bicyclists continue to endure the risk of injury and death due to negligence of drivers who do not maintain a safe passing distance, regardless of whether they ride in a bike lane or not. This technology will create greater accountability of drivers and further decrease the rate of automobile-related bicyclist injury and death.