The New Wave of Bike Gadgetry: Necessary and Long Awaited
So early last month Meghan Petersen of the New York Times published an article in the Well section of their online editorial blog called Gadgets to Boost Bike Safety.
She wisely commented that one of the main challenges facing bicyclists and advocates for the continued improvement and funding for bike lanes and bike programs in major urban centers was that many people feel that riding a bike in the city is still a very dangerous activity. Sadly, in many respects they are not wrong in their thinking. The data regarding hit and runs and pedestrian accidents in major US Cities over the past few year has been alarming.
According to the NYPD data reports compiled by Streetsblog over 15,000 pedestrians and cyclists were injured in New York City traffic accidents in 2012, and 155 were killed. The number of reported cyclists injured was 3,844, which is a ridiculously high figure.
In a city like New York with a population of several million a number like 3,800 cyclists can seem miniscule. However, these are just the numbers reported to the NYPD, many cyclists know that often when they are hit no report is filed and they are left on the side of the road with nothing but a mangled bike and hopefully no broken limbs or major injuries.
Anything that could allow these numbers to drop, policy or innovation or a combination of the two is something that needs to be a priority for the city government of New York and other major towns across the U.S. and the World.
Then the inevitable happens. The innovators and dreamers and engineers of tomorrow, those delightful harbingers of passionate change come into the picture. It is always their lot and our species collective indifference to drastic change that brings their genius. Those people who rightfully see the need for something that has yet to come into existence, and thankfully facilitate it's manifestation into the tangible, instead of the unrealistic.
As I write this article these people are creating new technologies and devices that will drastically improve the safety of the modern bicycle. One such invention is the See.Sense.
Created by Philip McAleese of Newtownards, Northern Ireland, his See.Sense product once attached to a bike has sensors that respond to the light levels and movement of objects around the bicycle. This allows the cyclist to become far more visible to other bicycles which use traditional reflector pads or no reflecting surfaces whatsoever.
Another interesting addition to the world of bike gadgets is the Xfire Bike Lane Light. It comes with two-highly visible red lasers that project two separate three foot lines on the road which create a visible bike lane when no other lane is present. According to Ms. Petersen's article this laser guided bike lane is visible up to a mile away. Next time some car comes a little too close for comfort you show them your own laser guided line in the sand, or in this case asphalt.
I also really liked Meghan Peterson's mention of Mr. Jonathan Lansey's Kickstarter funded-invention, the Loud Bicycle Horn. Mr. Lansey, like most people who have at one time commuted by bicycle became increasingly tired of dodging cars that didn't see him during his daily commute in downtown Boston. In response to the poor attention spans of Bostonian motorists he developed a two-toned horn that produces a 112 decibel honk, which seems like it would be impossible to ignore.
The need for these devices may seem trivial to motorists, but their implementation and use represents a fundamental step forward in creating a level playing field between motorists, cyclists, and even pedestrians. If motorists are unable to avoid or ignore the lasers or honking horns of the new wave of cyclists then they will invariably have to change their driving habits, driving slower and more alertly, which will hopefully, in the future anyway, lead to more walkable and bicycle friendly urban areas.
On top of my brief editorial tirade I wanted to delve into the thoughts of one of the local cyclists experts here in Beacon, Kyle Helland of People's Bicycle. I wondered what he had to say about these gadgets and how he felt about their implementation into the modern cyclists arsenal.
Keenan Boyd: So now that you've had a chance to review some of the gadgets from the article what do you think? I think that lane marking laser is kind of cool. What do you think about all this stuff?
Kyle Helland: I think the idea mostly for those at least the lane marking thing is just to gets people to think about what our streets should be used for, instead of just using them for cars, and there's a lot of room on these streets. The amount space on our streets, and these are public streets, is amazing and they are here for everybody, and the fact that we're using them just for one type of vehicle, and to mostly just store cars is ridiculous. It's a total waste. THese people that are using these bike lights to show that you can use more space in these roads for multiple modes of transportation is great. I think that it's a way to show that there's more space out there then were recognizing, and to really utilize all of it is a benefit to everybody.
KB: Right.
KH: So those little bike light things, I don't think that they're really like a safety tool. I mean I wouldn't count on it in a pinch. There are laws about passing at a certain distance, it's called a five foot law, which maybe helps a little bit at night, but that Danish Helmet thing, that came out at least three years ago, and I don't know. There is this assumption with bicycling that because people see cyclists wearing helmets they assume that cycling is a dangerous 'sport'. So maybe not having a visible helmet makes it look like less of a dangerous thing to do. For the most part biking isn't dangerous, and you don't need a helmet for everyday riding around town. There's very little chance that you're going to hurt yourself if you paying attention to what your doing and obeying the rules of the road. Making yourself visible on the street. So having this invisible helmet…
KB: It's a fashion thing, a little bit anyway.
KH: Right it's a fashion thing, and I wouldn't use it. The only time I wear a helmet on my bike is when I'm intentionally riding faster, like bombing down hills at forty miles an hour. I wouldn't want to not have a helmet if I crashed in those situations, but I also wouldn't want to have a big, inflatable, shawl around my neck at that point either.
KB: Well they say it's really effective and you don't really notice it around your neck at all.
KH: Well it's got to be somewhat noticeable, and it's probably gonna' make you sweat. I don't know. I'm not a big fan of wearing helmets because once again it sends this message to non-cyclists that riding a bicycle is this really dangerous thing to do, and you need all this safety equipment and your brain is in constant danger. But really the biggest thing to make yourself safe is to pay attention, ride with traffic, and make yourself visible to others. I will say this, having kids wear helmets is pretty smart because they aren't as aware of themselves, or their bodies.
KB: Right. They're not as coordinated.
KH: Exactly.
KB: So what did you think about the The Loud Bike Horn?
KH: I really liked that. I like most things that makes a bike more like a car. We have those bikes now that have integrated lights, locks, racks are apart of it. Anything that makes it easy to just jump on and not thing about anything…In the car you get into the car and you don't say where are my lights they're already built into the car. Do I have something that's integrated into the car to help me carry things, yes, it's called the trunk. So anything that can make it more like a motorized vehicle on the street is great. But I think that it would hurt the riders ears more than anybody else's. You'd have to ride around with ear plugs in so that might not be such a good design.
KB: Right? Sounds like it would hurt. (laughs.)
KH: (laughs.) I do like transportation bikes that really focus on integrating all the qualities that you look for into one. It just makes it that less of a thought when you jump on, do I have a map? Do my batteries still work? Do I have my light? Do I have a lock with me? Can I carry something with me? Do I have to wear some kind of special clothes? Do I have to roll up my pants?
Any of that stuff that you don't have to worry about; makes it that much simpler. It makes cycling a lot more like jumping in your car which is why people like cars. They're easy. There's nothing really to think about.
Another question you have to ask yourself is this, is there parking where I need to go?
People take for granted that there's car parking everywhere. When you think about bikes you don't consider that there may not be bike parking where you're going. It makes it that much easier to jump on a bike when you have all the conveniences of a car.
This post is sponsored by Peoples Bicycle, an old-school bike shop with new-school style. 845-765-2487, 72 Maple Street, Beacon N. Open Wed-Sun, 12-7pm.