According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, approximately 961
cyclists were killed, and more than 130,000 are injured annually in motor
vehicle-related incidents—but could one student’s clever invention make
cycling safer?
Many municipalities have been slow to alter roadways and install
micro-mobility infrastructure like bike lanes that have been shown to
increase cyclist safety, despite the harrowing statistics, but to address
these issues, Ibrahim Cam, a 23-year-old student at Brunel University
Design School in West London, has come up with an ad-hoc cycling lane
called Laser Lane.

Laser Lane, showcased last week during the annual Made in Brunel
exhibition, “fits onto the ends of both handlebars and provides a laser
lane on both sides of the cyclist at the touch of a button,” according to
the news release.

“The laser lane is intended to increase the visibility of cyclists and to
improve communication with other road users,” Cam explained in the news
release.

Cam’s innovation to tackle rider safety was grown from his struggle as a
new driver trying to give cyclists the right amount of space when passing
them on the road and ensuring cyclists had a safer way to communicate with
motorists.

“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 1.5
meters that’s required. Many drivers don’t respect the 1.5-meter rule, and
the wind of a vehicle alone can be detrimental.”

In the United Kingdom, motorists are legally required to give cyclists 1.5
meters or 4.9 feet of space when overtaking them. The Laser Lane clearly
outlines this space “so drivers can tell the true length of a bike, and the
laser will show motorists the clearance that they must give cyclists,” said
Cam.

Touch-activated, the laser lane creates white lines in the front and red
lines in the rear, making an as-needed cycling lane or enhancing existing
cycling infrastructure.

In addition to outlining a rider’s space, Laser Lane includes turn
indicators “so cyclists can clearly indicate when they are turning a
corner,” Cam explained.

Cam feels Laser Lane can help cyclists, drivers, and the environment. “By
helping to give drivers better judgments, cyclists will feel safer on the
roads. Less experienced cyclists might not feel confident, but if they feel
safer on the roads, then they will cycle,” he added. “Getting more people
to cycle will reduce their carbon footprint and result in less congestion
on the roads.”

Lighting systems to illuminate cyclists are not new. In 2017, Citi Bike
introduced Blaze Laserlights, which “[broadcasted] the image of a bicycle
six meters (roughly 20 feet) in front of a rider, artificially extending
their road footprint.” The Niterider Sentinel 40 is an option that has been
around for a while, too.

Until cycling infrastructure becomes the norm rather than the exception,
something like Laser Lane may be what is needed to improve driver awareness
and rider safety.

https://www.bicycling.com/news/a44321576/invention-creates-as-needed-bike-lanes-wherever-you-ride/

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Spike