Latest news with #cyclistSafety
Fast Company
23-05-2025
- Fast Company
The technology to end traffic deaths exists. Why aren't we using it?
Right now, America is facing a traffic safety crisis unlike anything we've seen in decades. And it's only accelerating: 2023 was the deadliest year for pedestrians and cyclists in 45 years. Crashes are rising in nearly every state. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration just warned that traffic deaths are staying at 'persistently high levels,' despite fewer people commuting post-pandemic. Meanwhile, distracted driving deaths jumped nearly 12% last year alone, according to the latest federal data. Everywhere you look, it's getting more dangerous to move through your own neighborhood, whether you're walking your dog, riding your bike, or just driving home from work. It is a daily, growing threat to your family, your friends, and your community. A common nightmare Twenty-one months ago, my 17-year-old son Magnus was out on a training ride. He was on the U.S. National Cycling Team and was a U.S. National Cycling Champion. It was a Saturday at 12:30 pm. He was doing everything right. He was riding on a designated bike route, on the far right of a wide, 10-foot shoulder, wearing his Team USA cycling kit. A driver stayed up all night, drank whiskey and took prescription drugs, then got behind the wheel of her car. The driver passed out, crossed the white line into the shoulder at 60 mph, and drove straight through Magnus, never touching the brakes. Since Magnus's death, I've met countless other families living the same nightmare. Families who lost children, parents, siblings, good people who were doing everything right as a pedestrian or cyclist, but paid the ultimate price for someone else's reckless choices. This isn't rare. It's happening every day, all over America. Technology can move faster The brutal truth is that humans are flawed. We choose to speed. We choose to look at our phones. We choose to drive drunk. Our infrastructure is flawed too, especially here in the U.S. Streets designed for speed, not safety. Crosswalks painted on four-lane highways. Stop signs placed where they don't slow anyone down. And rebuilding all of it would take decades and dollars that we don't have. But technology can move faster. Technology can sometimes even compensate for human mistakes. It can spot dangers our eyes miss, respond faster than our reflexes, and protect lives even when people choose to drive recklessly. The technology exists today to save lives. It's real, it's proven, and it's ready. Safety features like lane-keep assist, automatic emergency braking (AEB), and blind-spot detection aren't luxury add-ons. They're lifesaving necessities. AEB alone cuts rear-end crashes by up to 50% and blind-spot monitoring reduces lane-change crash injuries by 23%. And yet, carmakers still sell models without them. Insurers still treat them as optional. Buyers still skip them to save a few hundred dollars at the dealership. If we want to stop the daily slaughter on our roads, the bare minimum must be mandating that all cars in the U.S. have this technology that corrects for human error. Immediately. Smart infrastructure powered by AI is already saving lives too. Cities like Bellevue, Washington, have seen serious crash reductions of over 20% after installing AI-powered traffic systems that predict and prevent accidents. Impaired driving is also solvable. On-demand breathalyzers, smartphone saliva tests, and eye-tracking sensors are all tools that already exist to stop drunk and high drivers before they even start the ignition. Uber is already testing real-time driver sobriety verification. Why aren't carmakers racing to put similar tech in every new vehicle? Better data Most importantly, we critically need better access to traffic incident data. Today, vital data on where, when, and how these vulnerable road user deaths and incidents happen is scattered, outdated, and buried behind bureaucratic walls. Advocates fighting for reform can't build a case without it. Companies trying to engineer safer roads and smarter vehicles can't act fast enough without it either. Technology and data companies must come together to unlock real-time, public access to nationwide safety data. Lives depend on it. Evidence fuels change. Right now, we are starving for it. Heightened urgency The tools are here, and they work. What's missing is urgency. Here's what must happen: Lawmakers must make safety tech standard in the U.S., not optional. Insurers must reward drivers and companies that use lifesaving technology. Consumers must refuse to buy vehicles without proven safety features. Technology companies must push harder, louder, and faster for adoption. Magnus's death was preventable. Hundreds of thousands of lives could be saved if we stop dragging our feet and demand better. Private industry and technology have handed us the tools to make death and injury on our roads obsolete. It's up to tech, business, and political leaders here in the U.S. to make them mandatory. The future we need is within reach. Now we have to have the will to make it happen.
CTV News
22-05-2025
- CTV News
Almost 25 per cent more pedestrians killed on Quebec roads in 2024
The number of people killed or injured on Quebec roads fell slightly in 2024 compared with the previous year, but issues remain concerning the safety of pedestrians and cyclists. According to data from Quebec's road safety report for 2024, released on Thursday, 379 deaths occurred on the province's roads last year, one fewer than in 2023. The number of people injured totalled 27,854 in 2024, down from 28,104 in 2023. In particular, the report shows an improvement in the safety of motorcyclists. The number of deaths among motorcyclists was 45 in 2024, 23.5 per cent down on the 2019-2023 average of 59. It illustrates, however, that particular attention must continue to be paid to the safety of pedestrians and cyclists. In 2024, 80 pedestrians were killed on the roads, an increase of 24.6 per cent compared with the 2019-2023 average of 64. Among cyclists, there were 13 deaths in 2024, one more than the five-year average. Since 2019, between eight and 16 cyclists have been killed each year in Quebec. In a news release, Carl Bélisle, the captain in charge of the Sûreté du Québec's transport network safety strategy analysis office, pointed out that human behaviour is the cause of 'the majority of fatal and serious injury collisions, which means that they were avoidable.' 'The adoption of safe behaviour by road users is therefore essential to reducing the number of road collisions, since road safety is a shared responsibility,' he said. Compared with the average for 2019 to 2023, the 2024 road safety report also shows a decrease of three deaths among young people aged 15 to 24, an increase of two deaths among people aged 75 or over, and an increase of five deaths among occupants of heavy trucks and road tractors. The Quebec Road Report is produced by the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec, in partnership with Contrôle routier Québec, the Sûreté du Québec and the Association des directeurs de police du Québec. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 22, 2025.
CNA
16-05-2025
- CNA
Katong road rage incident: Woman who drove with cyclist on bonnet fails in appeal against disqualification
SINGAPORE: A woman who drove off with a cyclist clinging to the bonnet of her car in a 2023 road rage incident in Katong lost her appeal against a 12-month driving disqualification order at the High Court on Friday (May 16). Ms Elaine Michele Ow, 50, had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of a rash act endangering the safety of cyclist Nicolette Tan Shi'en and was given a short detention order (SDO) of three days by a district court in December last year after An SDO is a community-based sentence that detains an offender in prison for not more than 14 days and does not leave a criminal record. Ms Tan, a lawyer, was given a five-day SDO for her role in the incident. Both women have since served their SDOs. In addition to her SDO, Ms Ow, a private chef and cooking instructor, was also disqualified from driving for a year after her release. Ms Ow subsequently lodged an appeal against the disqualification order. This appeal was heard on Friday by Justice Hoo Sheau Peng, who dismissed it after finding that Ms Ow must be held "fully liable for her conduct". BACKGROUND The dispute between Ms Tan and Ms Ow occurred on Jun 2, 2023. Ms Ow was driving along Still Road South on the way to i12 Katong mall to teach a class. Ms Tan was cycling along the same road and felt that Ms Ow's car was too close to her when they entered a slip road. Ms Tan then followed Ms Ow's car and caught up with her at a junction where she confronted the driver. Ms Ow tried to drive around Ms Tan several times, but the latter kept blocking her car. Ms Ow apologised but the situation re-escalated when her vehicle came into contact with Ms Tan's bicycle and Ms Tan opened Ms Ow's car door slightly. After this, Ms Ow picked up Ms Tan's bicycle and carried it to the side of the road, saying she had a class to get to. When Ms Ow tried to inch forward and nudged Ms Tan's legs, Ms Tan jumped onto the bonnet of the car. Ms Ow accelerated and drove off with Ms Tan clinging to her bonnet and banging on the windscreen. Tan slipped off at the entrance of the i12 Katong mall's car park about 100m away. APPEAL ARGUMENTS Leading the appeal, Ms Ow's lawyer Kanthan Raghavendra said that the SDO was sufficient punishment, and sought to have the disqualification order set aside, or in the alternative, for the order to be reduced. He said that there was "no necessity" for his client to "be punished twice" with a disqualification, following which his client would have to retake her driving test. A person disqualified from driving for a year or more must retake and pass a test of competence to drive to regain his or her licence. The lawyer sought to paint the case as a unique and unusual road rage situation. "We wish to highlight to this honourable court that (Ms Tan) was unnecessarily aggressive and persisted in the harassment of the appellant," he said. He pointed out that his client was the initial road rage victim up until she drove off with Ms Tan on her bonnet. Ms Ow had made multiple attempts to de-escalate the situation by apologising and was in "fight or flight mode", while Tan was in "fight mode" as shown by her aggressive behaviour, Mr Raghavendra argued. The lawyer highlighted several factors, including how Ms Tan had used abusive language, obstructed Ms Ow's car and tried to open her car door in a threatening manner. "Any reasonable person would be shocked," said Mr Raghavendra. Ms Ow's act of driving off with Ms Tan on her car bonnet was also prompted by circumstances, Mr Raghavendra said. During the lower court's proceedings, Ms Ow had submitted a psychiatric report which stated that her stress during the incident contributed to her state of panic and anxiety. Ms Ow had been close to a junction, in the middle of the road when traffic lights had turned green, and cars behind were honking, resulting in her acting the way she did, the lawyer said. "In the spur of the moment her reaction was to continue to drive forward to a space away from the main road, away from danger," Mr Raghavendra said. The lawyer also argued that the degree of potential harm was low and actual harm caused to Ms Tan were minor injuries that did not require medical attention. Arguing for the appeal to be dismissed, Deputy Public Prosecutor Sunil Nair said that there had been no excuse for Ms Ow to inch forward when Ms Tan had been in front. Instead, Ms Ow should have waited for the police to arrive, he said. The prosecutor added that harm cannot be considered to be low as Ms Tan was considered a pedestrian, who would be particularly vulnerable in incidents involving motor vehicles. "We say it should be second nature of all drivers to be mindful to all pedestrians," said Mr Nair. The prosecutor also rebutted Mr Raghavendra's point that Ms Tan pulled open the car door to shout abusive language. Ms Tan only used vulgarities in response to Ms Ow's car hitting her bicycle, Mr Nair said. After hearing arguments, Justice Hoo said she agreed with the lower court's reasons for a disqualification order, adding that she did not find the length to be excessive. While she acknowledged that Ms Tan had been at fault - especially at the start of the incident - and that Ms Ow tried to de-escalate the situation, the turning point came when Ms Ow decided to drive off with Ms Tan on her car bonnet. She should be held fully responsible for her conduct thereafter, said the High Court judge. While Mr Raghavendra argued that this was a "unique and unusual situation" it remained a road rage case "with fault on both sides" with Ms Ow accountable for her actions, said Justice Hoo. After the appeal was concluded, Mr Raghavendra sought to defer the disqualification order by two weeks for his client to hand over equipment in her car, and to settle administrative matters as she was the only one who could drive it currently.
Fast Company
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fast Company
This Subaru has an external airbag to protect cyclists
If someone driving a new version of a Subaru Forester crashes into a cyclist, an airbag will immediately inflate on the hood to help protect the person on the bike. The SUV, which offers the feature only on vehicles sold in Japan, isn't the first Subaru to include an external airbag. The company started including pedestrian protection airbags on its Japanese cars nearly a decade ago. But the brand says the new design is the first in the world intended to also protect cyclists. It's a basic, commonsense idea. 'Airbags have been proven to be effective to protect the occupants in a vehicle,' says Ben Crowther, policy director for America Walks, a nonprofit focused on walkability and safety. 'And there's plenty of testing to show that the same is true for people outside vehicles.' The Forester's hood is also designed to have as few hard parts as possible, and to easily deform to help cushion the impact of a crash. But the bottom edge of the windshield and the pillars that go up to the roof have to stay rigid because they're part of the frame. When a pedestrian is hit by a car, head injuries are most likely in those places—and that's where Subaru's U-shaped airbag can help. In a crash, the cyclist usually ends up higher on the windshield. That's why the company redesigned its airbag to cover a larger area. The system deploys when sensors detect a certain amount of pressure on the front bumper. The vehicle has a suite of other safety features. When a driver turns on the turn signal at a corner, for example, the headlights light up an area diagonally in front, making it easier to spot pedestrians or cyclists on the road. A set of three cameras and radar offer a wider-angle view than in the brand's previous cars, so it's more likely to spot other road users. The vehicle also aims to reduce blind spots in all directions. These are all efforts toward Subaru's goal to have no traffic deaths involving its cars by 2030. Of course, it's possible to go even further—one of the best ways to make vehicles safer is to make them smaller. Beyond car design, infrastructure also obviously matters: With separated bike lanes, for example, a crash is less likely in the first place. Speed limits are critical. If you're a pedestrian who gets hit by a car going 20 mph, one study found that you have a 5% chance of being killed. If the car is going 30 mph, that chance jumps to 45%. At 40 mph, the pedestrian's chance of being killed is roughly 80%. (Japan has lower average speed limits than the U.S., along with other policies that support pedestrian safety, and much lower fatality rates for pedestrians and cyclists in traffic accidents.) External airbags aren't a panacea, but they can help. It's probably unlikely, though, that they'll show up in the U.S. anytime soon, especially as automakers are already struggling to deal with increased manufacturing costs because of tariffs. And while the Biden administration was working on safety issues related to vehicle design, it's not clear what will happen with policy now. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy 'has certainly touted safety as something that his U.S. DOT wants to pursue,' Crowther says. 'But there's a lot of mixed messages, particularly through the reducing in staff at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.' The cuts at NHTSA made by the Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year , according to reports.
