Sensor-assisted cars that can avoid injuring pedestrians and cyclists are here, and will become the standard in a few years by Steven Goodridge "A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm." - Isaac Asimov's First Law of Robotics An interesting thing happened on the way to the self-driving vehicle: Smart collision prevention technology such as automatic emergency braking became practical for regular cars. After premiering in high-end vehicles with adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning systems, radar and camera systems … [Read more...]
Car-Bike Crash Types and Frequency in NC
The following charts are based on car-bike crash data available at http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/pbcat_nc/_bikequery.cfm … [Read more...]
Cyclists Discuss HB232 with Representatives
Yesterday, March 31, Bike Walk NC board members Steve Goodridge, Ed Harrison, and Executive Director Lisa Riegel along with Bike Law attorney Ann Groninger were at the legislature to give testimony on House Bill 232 entitled, “An Act to direct the Department of Transportation to study the bicycle safety laws in this State and make recommendations as to how the laws may be revised to better ensure the safety of bicyclists and motorists on the roadways.” In short, HB232 was amended to address some of our concerns, passed the Transportation Committee and was heard a few hours later by the full … [Read more...]
Safe Passing and Solid Centerlines
Update: Since the time this article was written, the State Legislature has legalized passing a bicyclist in a no-passing zone when done safely with no oncoming traffic and adequate sight distance, passing at a distance of at least four feet or moving completely into the next lane. See § 20-150. Limitations on privilege of overtaking and passing. Narrow two-lane state roads are important travel routes for commuting and recreational bicyclists in North Carolina. Every day thousands of motorists pass bicyclists on these roads without incident. When there is little or no shoulder and the travel … [Read more...]