Car seat nudges driver if they're too close to a bicycle

Cars of the near future will physically nudge the driver if they get too close to a cyclist. Jaguar Land Rover this week revealed Bike Sense technology, which taps the person behind the wheel on the shoulder and rings a bicycle bell inside the car to help prevent collisions with bicycles and motorbikes.

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If a bicycle or motorbike is is overtaking, or passing the vehicle on the inside, the top of the car seat extends to tap the driver on the left or right shoulder. The idea is that the driver will instinctively look over thier shoulder and spot the other road user.

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To help the driver understand where the bike is in relation to their car, the audio system will make it sound as if a bicycle bell is coming through the speaker nearest the bike.

Another innovation designed to reduce needless serious injury, is interior car door handles that 'buzz' the driver's hand to prevent doors being opened into the path of bikes.

Lastly, the accelerator pedal vibrates if pulling away in the car would cause a collision.

No substitute for proper observation

Daytime running lights and before them airbags, anti-lock brakes and even seatbelts may have improved safety for car drivers, but they have also allowed motorists to subtly abdicate their duty of care to those road users more vulnerable than themselves. The Bike Sense technology is clever and does its best to tackle the ‘sorry mate, I didn’t see you’ school of driving, but it is no substitute correct use of all mirrors and over-the-shoulder observation. One of the most effective ways of becoming a safer driver is to spend time cycling on the roads.

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