06 February 2015

Spike in road casualties blamed on in car gadgets

Friday, February 06, 2015 | | Edit Post
The increased use of in car gadgets, hands free phones, Sat Navs and digital music systems are being blamed for an increase in accidents on the UK's roads.

The rate of accidents involving death or serious injury had been on the decline for the previous 3 years, but in the 12 months to September there was a 4% increase, reaching almost 25000.
Incidents involving cyclists showed the biggest increase, with 3500 accident involving death or serious injury, an increase of 8%.
Officials suggested that the increase was driven by a rise in the number of cars taking to the road over the past 12 months.
The RAC have suggested that many motorists are becoming distracted by the sheer number of gadgets installed on the dashboard of new vehicles. Its own polling has shown that mobile phones are a 'major source of distraction' for more than a quarter of their drivers - rising to 40% among those in their late 20s.
In all 1730 fatalities were recorded in the 12 month period, up by 1%. 24360 people were involved in accidents resulting in death or serious injury, a rise of 5%, and there were 192910 casualties of all types, a rise of 5%.
This is only the third time in 30 years that the number of deaths and serious injuries had increased.

If you have suffered an injury as a result of a road accident that was not your fault, speak to Cycle Accident Helpline - the No Win No Fee experts - today for a no obligation chat.
Help is only a click or call away.
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21 January 2015

'Bike Sense' being developed by Jaguar Land Rover

Wednesday, January 21, 2015 | | Edit Post
Jaguar Land Rover have released a video showing their Bike Sense warning system that literally taps the driver on the shoulder to warn of a passing cyclist.
The system detects when a cyclist or motorcyclist is passing on the inside or outside - and even has a warning when the driver is about to open the door into the path of a passing cyclist.
Following last weeks post re the developments being done by Volvo on cycle safety it is great to see that the manufacturers are getting behind cycle safety.
The great thing about the JLR version is that no additional equipment is required by the cyclist or motorcyclist - Bike Sense links sensors on the outside of the car to a computer. The sensors detect movement and the computer processes the signals to identify approaching cyclists and motorcyclists.


The video give a better idea of how the system works - and can be seen here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faRHh2hIKlg

Jaguar said that Bike Sense would be able to prioritise hazards in urban driving situations, when a motorist can be surrounded by those on two wheels, and pedestrians.

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Potholes - what can you do if you suffer an injury on your bike?

Wednesday, January 21, 2015 | | Edit Post
Following last weeks National Pothole Day - we look at the issue from the point of view of the innocent cyclist - injured as a result of a pothole.
Some of you may recall the widely reported case of Alan Curtis, who received £70000 in compensation following a particularly nasty accident with a pothole in Rickmansworth. His full story can be found here: http://bit.ly/1rnYPch
If you come off your bike as result of hitting a pothole, and suffer an injury, do you have a right to claim compensation? The answer, as so often in legal matters, is - it depends.
Councils owe you a duty of care to maintain the roads – this means that they are responsible for the maintenance and repair to keep the highway ‘in a fit state to accommodate the ordinary traffic which passes or may pass along them – that is cars, lorries, buses, motorcycles, cyclists etc'
So far so good. But does that mean that if you have an accident caused by a pothole you have a claim?

As with all claims – each will be dealt with on its own merits, and a judge would consider whether the highway was in a dangerous condition. The Judge will consider whether it was forseeable that the condition of the highway could give rise to an injury.
Over the years, in tripping claims, it has become accepted that a defect of over 1 inch (the height of a 50p piece) on a pavement would satisfy this test. With potholes in the road there is no such clear criteria - and evidence is everything.
In practice this means that you should take photographs of everything, preferably showing measurements. You need to show not only the width of the pothole, but also it's depth. The position of the pothole within the road will also be important so - as long as it is safe you would want close up photos showing measurements -and photos showing the pothole's position in the road.
So - if it's a 'big' pothole are you home and dry?


Unfortunately not! Under Section 58 of the Highways Act a highway authority may, in its defence, prove it had taken such care as in all the circumstances was reasonably required to ensure that the highway was not dangerous.
In practice this means that the highway authority would need to provide evidence of regular inspection and maitenance to show that they had taken reasonable steps to detect each defect and repair it within a reasonable time. What is considered reasonable will depend upon the nature and character of the particular road - the size and position of the pothole.
It's not unusual for claims to be rejected in the first instance - but take Mr Curtis' claim as an example - when you have a good case it is worth pursuing to the end.

For help and advice with any Cycle Accidents please visit cycleaccidenthelpline.com - or our associated blog - which has many helpful articles. Alternatively call 0800 7569708 - free (from landlines)
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08 January 2015

New Cycle Tech at the CES

Thursday, January 08, 2015 | | Edit Post
The international CES is a global electronics and consumer technology tradeshow that takes place every January in Las Vegas.
This year a couple of cycle products have caught the attention of The Times.
They have highlighted a 'smart' pedal that helps to trace bicycle thieves. The pedal houses a GPS tracker and a SIM card that work together to alert the owner to an attempted theft - or to the whereabouts of a stolen bike.
The aluminium pedal is also able to track speed, distance and calorie count over the course of a bike ride, and send this data to the cyclist's smartphone.
The pedal requires no batteries because it generates its own power from kinetic energy absorbed during a ride.

The pedal has been developed by French company Connected Cycle  - and the pedal prevents tampering by thieves as it can only be removed with a special key.
The company website can be found here: http://connectedcycle.com/
Also highlighted was a concept bicycle helmet developed by Volvo, designed to make city cycling safer. The helmet links with a rider's smartphone app that transmits their location to nearby vehicles fitted with the company' City Safety system.
This warns drivers when a cyclist is nearby, and warns cyclists when they are in a driver's blind spot.
It also analyses the routes of both vehicle and bike, and predict when an accident is about to happen. It can automatically apply the car's brakes and illuminate a warning light inside the cyclist's helmet to avert a collision.
Fortunately there does seem to be a lot of research going into cycle safety - specifically related to HGV's, as the Volvo product does seem to be attempting to tackle the same problem as the British Cycle Alert. cyclealert.com
It is good to see that the world of Tech is concentrating on the everyday issues faced by cyclists - as well as the design and development at the elite level.
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