Iride01 

I don't think I have an irrational fear of dying that makes me wish to add incident detection to my everyday riding. It is just that it has become something that the technology has gotten to the point where it somewhat works and is inexpensive enough to get. It's not something I'm going to obsess about to the point I wouldn't ride if for some reason it wasn't working that day or days.

As for my one incapacitating crash in over fifty-five years of riding a bike, I just wonder what my outcome would have been if I'd crashed at the other end of the trail that is less frequented by riders, and particularly that day when only a few were out at all. Being dead wouldn't be a problem for me, but being brain damaged or other resulting chronic issues from not getting quick medical attention would be a problem.

Like I previously mentioned, the technology and price of these things is getting close to the point that everyone might ought to talk about and consider if one is appropriate for them. Now if we were talking about requiring their use or such, then that would be something I think is going too far.

jppe

I have told folks that don’t feel comfortable to be out riding on the road with vehicles to not ride. It’s tough enough of an activity that if your not comfortable and completely enjoying doing it, maybe it’s not for them.

My situation is not so much about what I’m comfortable with right now. It’s more about keeping my wife supportive of my riding. She’s never said anything negative about my riding, extended time away, costs etc. Heck, she even sagged for me riding across the US, volunteered at tours so I could get into the event and ride, and even rode a week with me across NC on a tandem. She’s very aware of the risks and rewards. When her sensitivities get out of balance I’m just trying to pull them back into balance.

Plus even if there weren’t her concerns, these features or Apps I’ve added should be great tools for her and I in the future. Thinking ahead of riding Natchez Trace in April where she will be sagging for me again, she can now track my location (and me hers) which will greatly help us as we plan stops along the route. It can give her more freedom to do side trips off the Parkway to explore and not worry about if I’ve already passed by.

I will say that there is more risk of getting in an accident today than even 10 years ago in the area that I normally ride in. There’s a tremendous amount of growth in people and vehicles and infrastructure will never catch up. It takes longer to drive to places and people have become more aggressive drivers. Speeding is rampant and out of control. Add to that driver distractions from phones and more people driving under the influence. I’m still riding and hope to be as long as I can but it’s critical to be smart about it.

Rajflyboy

keep family happy and use the tech available in order to get help if ever needed

I-Like-To-Bike

Your response makes much sense. I assume that the GPS function of smartphones and a suitable app that allows your wife to keep track of your real time location would meet both you and your wife's needs.

The "incident detection" function, given its unreliability and tendency to give false alarms (as described in several other posts on this thread), seems more likely to cause problems for both the bicyclist and those who either receive the false alarms, or are depending on being the first to be notified of a serious problem from a system that may or may not ever be reliable enough to be counted on in the unlikely event it is ever needed.

I have a question for you or anybody who is familiar with the operation of various incident reporting systems: Do they automatically send unfiltered "incident" notifications to 911 or other local emergency services whenever the system detects an anomoly that it interpets as an "incident"? If so, how do those agencies feel about responding to multiple false alarms?

jppe

Good question and I’m not 100% sure......but the applications I’ve seen don’t automatically contact emergency services. You have the ability to enter the information for the people you’d like contacted. In my case I’ve entered my wife and also my brother who is also a cyclist. I’m not sure if the devices actually make phone calls or just do texts and emails. The ones I’ve looked at don’t do phone calls. My wife and brother know to first attempt to get in touch with me should they receive an alert text. I told my wife that I was going to ride my gravel bike on some bumpy roads so she might get a false alarm. I haven’t tested the incident detection, like throwing it down so we’ll see what happens over time.

GeneO 

With the Garmin you can easily turn the alarm off before it alerts anyone (not 911 btw). I have only had one instance of that. It is not unreliable - better a false alarm here or there than no alarm when you might need it. It does have one flaw however - it depends on your phones data capability. That means it is not effective if you are out of cell tower range or your phone gets severely damaged in the incident.

adamrice 

I also use Cyclemeter, and I generally like it. I suggested to them that they tie into the iPhone's accelerometer to detect sudden deceleration and send alerts. They passed on that idea. I have used it to send periodic updates to my wife when I was riding the Southern Tier, which she told me reduced (but did not eliminate) her worries about me. Apple treats Messages (its texting app) as a crown jewel, which is why Cyclemeter can't tie into it. In theory, one could route an e-mail message through a service like Zapier to trigger a text message. One can also post regular updates to Twitter or Facebook, although I don't consider that an improvement.

One thing you can do with an iPhone, without using any 3rd-party apps, is open the Health app and set a Medical ID profile, which will include contact numbers and more information than you could fit on an ID bracelet. This info can be called up by anyone with access to your phone (even when the phone is locked) if they know to look for it. I've never asked a first responder if they're aware of this feature--I hope they are. I assume something similar is available on Android phones.

I-Like-To-Bike

So said the boy who thought that yelling "wolf" here or there could have no negative effect on an expected response when a real incident occurs after a few false alarms.

Those who receive the false alarms may not agree with your no harm -no foul assessment of sending out false alarms about "incidents" to loved ones or the authorities.

GeneO 

Perhaps you didn't read what I and others wrote. 1. You can turn the false alarm before it notifies anyone (which I had happen only once - it is not an inconvenience) so there is no "cry wolf". 2. You don't set it up to call 911.

Drk

My wife gets nervous when I ride alone, especially since we had a friend who had gotten injured in a fall. I usually have my cell phone on my bike so I have starting using an app called Glympse so she can see my location. I can tell it works pretty well as I received a concerned call from her when I was repairing a flat. Since then I tend to send her a text if I'm going to be stopped for a period of time.

stephr1

I wouldn't be too sure abt that. I took a nasty fall (severe arm injury, among other issues) on a MUP right next to a well-traveled road in the morning during commute time, and no one stopped to see if I was OK (and I live in a fairly bike-friendly area!). I wasn't down for that long, but long enuf and sprawled out such that it should have been apparent I had done something serious.

Moral is: Don't depend on anyone else to help. Always have some kind of backup plan (See my "signature" below).

Cheers....

gotrek99

I have the Garmin Edge Explore (came out a year ago). It has incident detection. The Edge senses a "fall" and connects to my phone via bluetooth and calls a number I put in the Garmin and can give location od incident. I have not turned this feature on yet. Guess I am waiting until it;s too late. The Edge is not the only Garmin to do this, and I think other devices do this via your phone. Search garmin incident detection.

jimincalif

we had paramedics come to one of our club meetings, they made it clear that they are NOT going to be checking phones or calling services like RoadID. They said the most useful info for them is date of birth, any medical conditions, allergies, and medications. We had cards made up for members to fill in this info along with their names and emergency contact name and number. We printed one of the common medical logos on the other side so it would be hopefully be noticed by a first responder.

CliffordK

I figure that if I go down on one of the city/suburb/close rural roads, then someone will find me.
Nonetheless, one would want a system that was good enough to detect problems without false positives.
So the system should ignore:

• Stopping for a break.
• Flat Tires, broken spokes, broken chain, etc.
• Hill Climbs.
• Shopping
• Going for a walk.
• Piddle Stop.
• 

I think some of the systems are now smart enough to use changes in HR as part of the heuristics.

My biggest concern would be going down on a mountain pass cross-over. Often steep, switchbacks, dropoffs, and I presume no cell service for any carrier.

If I went over the bank, I might be lucky if my bike was found a decade later, and connected back to the missing person.

John_V 

Someone beat me to it but I was also going to mention the Specialized ANGI. I was reading about it and looks like it's exactly what you are looking for if you want a device on yourself or your bike. Also, someone mentioned the free RoadID app. It uses your phones gyro to detect falls. This is what I use and it works really well. It sends emails to the people you have in your contact list as well as the coordinates of where you are at. It also allows you to dismiss the alerts in the event of a false alarm. Probably not as good as the ANGI but it's free and works with iPhones and Andriods.

John_V 

I'm a retired paramedic and I can confirm what the paramedics told you. They will not waste any time looking for your wallet, going through your jersey pockets or bike bags if you are in a serious crash and unconscious. However, if you have a card made out with the information you stated, it would also be nice to have something on your person that is easily seen and lets them know exactly where this information is at. If you are conscious, it doesn't matter if you have a card or anything else with that info as you can answer the questions yourself. I use a road ID and on the last line is where all my info is located. Mine is in my Notes app because at the time I started doing this, there was no Health app on the iPhones. So if I'm unresponsive, they only need to read my RoadID bracelet and grab my phone (which 99% of the time is unlocked).

qcpmsame 

John_V , our local EMS has been working to bring attention to the RoadID, I've had several ask me about mine recently, seems that the RoadID is becoming recognized by the professionals. I changed from the first generation web band type to a plate for my Apple Watch4, it goes on the band and is larger, and is more noticeable. I've been sing them since 2013, and my wife is much more comfortable knowing I have mine on, and I use the app and its fall/stopped recognition, along with the iPhone and Apple Watch4 fall recognition coupled with the cycling app I use.

Bill

CyclingFool95 

I have it on my Edge 520. I learned what it did when I was bouncing my back wheel on the pavement trying to track down a rattle, and it activated. Freaked out my wife.

GeneO 

The caveat being, for any phone based reporting or information, that the phone must be undamaged, which might be unlikely in the event of a hard crash or auto collision. But it is much better than nothing at all I may look into a plastic card on a necklace with identity and health info - doesn't sound comfortable though.

indyfabz

I have been wearing a Medic-Alert bracelet since 1990, when I became the owner of a mechanical heart valve and had to start blood thinners for the rest of my life. It's not bad at all.

indyfabz

A good possibility.

John_V 

Unfortunately, no system is fail safe. Some are better than others. Having worked on both sides (cyclist and first responder) I can say that anything you do that will provide them with the needed information, in the event that you are not able to, is good. However, for first responders to have that info, they need to know where it's at or it stays at the scene. The more visible this info is, the better. And it's true that the phone can break but something like a RoadID with ICE numbers on it is still better than nothing.

Since we're talking trauma here, paramedics aren't going to administer much in the way of medications while enroute since there's really not a lot of medication they can give, especially if you're unresponsive.. I'm more concerned with the hospital treatment. Since they have the staff to do so, the phone numbers will get called, provided they have them.

John_V 

This is a little off the topic of incident detection devices, but my wife also is very concerned with my riding on public roadways. Her biggest fear is when I do charity rides and more so, my annual cross state ride. Just before my last cross state ride, she got me a Garmin radar. It doesn't have crash detection but it's another tool to make you more aware of your surroundings. I use it along with live tracking and the RoadID app, which has crash detection. Now she's more relaxed and not as worried as she was before. You may want to run that by her and see if that helps her be more at ease. It's a bit more expensive than an ANGI unit but it does let you know if a car(s) is behind you and shows the relative distance and approaching speed. And now that they are supported by Whaoo units, it's a win-win situation for me.

I-Like-To-Bike

Has anyone here actually had an "incident" occur while riding that left them physically unable to use a cellphone and the incident detection device/app combination(s) sent out an alert that resulted in the first (or any) appropriate response from an emergency agency?

If not, do you know of any credible reports of the incident detection equipment under discussion actually resulting in the initial emergency response or aid to any "incident" incapacitated cyclists? Has any "incident alerted" spouse become the actual first responder or been the first to notify 911 personnel of an incapacitated cyclist?

jppe

Only second hand. A local cyclist was riding on the road when he was hit by a 24 year old female driving a pick up truck, and she did not stop. He was injured and unconscious. His wife was alerted via Garmin’s incident detection.