hotbike

Bicycle to Vehicle Electronic Beacon Thingy

I’ve advocated this concept for several years:

“....The gist is that this B2V standard would operate in ways similar to how V2V communications work, with the bike (or a scooter or an accessory, as they're a part of this, too) sending out standard Basic Safety Message (BSM) signals to automobiles, while also receiving signals from those cars and infrastructure components like street lights...”

PaulH

I think this is a good idea. Humans are really bad at making decisions, but really good at making decision-making algorithms.

Notso_fastLane

The biggest problem with this is that some cyclist will forget to charge their widget, then they'll be blamed when the careless driver runs them over because they weren't pinging.

Moe Zhoost

I recall that there was some discussion about this on BF a few years ago. Many here were negative on the concept because: 1) Motorists should pay attention and not hit cyclists, 2) Not wearing one and getting hit could shift blame to the cyclist, and 3) Projecting that the government will make them mandatory, it would be an infringement on personal freedom. All of these are reasonable arguments, though the last could be carried a bit far.

Personally, I like the idea and would willingly ride with one.

hotbike

As long as this V2V is going to be installed in cars , trucks, and traffic lights, I want one for my bike (each one of my bikes) .
I will be frustrated if the black box costs more than some of my bikes. I will probably waste time complaining, the device will be available on wish.com for $8.00 ( plus $7.00, plus tax) before too long (probably)...

My main concern is fog conditions, and low sun angle, where there is zero visibility. My secondary concern is that I need to be alerted of a distracted driver is heading towards my bike.

If the government starts tracking the movement of every bicycle, then that should just about eliminate bicycle theft, I would think 🤔.

billridesbikes

I think it’s a Bluetooth 5 protocol, so something that can probably be integrated into your smartphone. Your phone already knows where you are all the time anyway.

Besides ‘He swerved’ is good enough excuse to kill a cyclist and not even get a ticket. Pinging is the least of our worries. The way the system should work is even if a cyclist, scooter, or ped isn’t pinging the V2V mesh should ‘know’ they’re there if one car pings them with radar or camera then that will be communicated to all the nearby cars.