Now, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed over the years, but here at road.cc we tend to talk a lot about close passes committed on cyclists by distracted, poor, or just downright dangerous drivers (believe it or not, there’s actually a whole series
dedicated to this very thing. Who knew?).
And we also chat quite a bit on the live blog about the need to introduce more, and better, cycling infrastructure to protect riders from this kind of perilous driving.?
Anyway, an undergraduate student at Brunel University London reckons he’s come up with the perfect solution to these classic road.cc problems: by creating the ‘laser cycle lane’.
Laser Lane, the brainchild of 23-year-old Ibrahim Cam, a final-year Industrial Design and Technology student at Brunel, allows a cyclist – through the touch of a button on their handlebars – to create two beams of light on the road 1.5 metres either
side of them, indicating to passing drivers the recommended overtaking distance as noted in the Highway Code.
Cam’s new product, which was unveiled at last week’s Made in Brunel exhibition, showcasing gadgets and devices designed by final year students at the university’s Design School, also features touch-activated indicators, as well as front and rear
lights.
“The laser lane is intended to increase the visibility of cyclists and to improve communication with other road users,” the student says.
“The capacitive touch-activated front and rear lights are on the end of the handlebars so drivers can tell the true length of a bike, and the laser will show motorists the clearance that they must give cyclists.
“The front lights are white and the rear lights are red, so drivers can tell if they are looking at the front or the rear of a bike. There is also a capacitive touch-activated indicator, so cyclists can clearly indicate when they are turning a corner.
Cam says he was inspired to design Laser Lane after he started driving last year, when he says he struggled with overtaking and interacting with cyclists on the roads.
“I tried to give cyclists as much space as possible, but seeing how other drivers interacted with them made me think about it more,” he said. “I saw drivers overtaking cyclists around corners and not giving them the 1.5m that’s required. Many
drivers don’t respect the 1.5m rule, and the wind of a vehicle alone can be detrimental.”
Though he recognises dedicated infrastructure is the way forward, Cam believes that making cyclists more visible to motorists – which he believes will aid drivers’ “judgements” – will improve their safety and perhaps encourage more people to
get on their bikes.
“Drivers have air bags, seat belts, and metal between them and the roads, but cyclists have nothing. They just have their bike, their helmet, and the tarmac beneath them,” Ibrahim notes.
“There have been times when I haven’t seen cyclists in my blind spot until the last moment, and my heart sinks when I realise what could have happened.
“Less experienced cyclists might not feel confident enough to cycle at the moment, but if they feel safer on the roads, then they will cycle.”
“Getting more people to cycle will reduce their carbon footprint and result in less congestion on the roads,” he adds. “The increase in fuel prices is making driving economically unsustainable for people, and cycling could now be an option for them.
”
What do you reckon? Could Laser Lane provide a useful reminder to motorists to pass safely when there’s no cycling infra nearby? Or would a red line on the road be ignored just as readily as the Highway Code?
I sense a new slogan coming on: Laser beams are not protection…
https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-20-june-2023-301991#live-blog-item-46661
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