Handlebar-mounted sonar checks for close overtakes

“Measuring the distance a motorist gives a cyclist when overtaking is usually done by “eye” or by estimating distance from video recordings, both of which can suffer from inaccuracies. Now an American company has created a handlebar sonar unit.

The C3FT was designed by Austin-based engineering firm Codaxus for a US police force in a State with a “3 foot passing law”. However, the unit could be used by academics, local authorities and police forces worldwide. Video-equipped cyclists now regularly post footage of close overtakes but the cameras favoured by “helmetcam” cyclists often give distorted wide-angle views.

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Read the full article here: http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/handlebar-mounted-sonar-checks-for-close-overtakes/018344

Bike Sonar C3FT Is Helping Cops Catch Rude Drivers That Ride Too Close To Cyclists

“If you are a frequent cyclist, chances are you have had a close encounter with a car that was riding a little bit too close to the bike lane. But now a new bike sonar has been developed that is helping cops catch these rude and unsafe drivers.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), as of June 24, there are 25 states that have safe-passing laws to make sure that vehicles share the road with cyclists, giving them 3 feet of space to prevent sideswiping accidents.

Florida, one of the states that enforces the 3-foot law, gave out about 500 tickets last year to drivers who failed to share the road. While these laws are enforced, it’s close to impossible for police to know the exact distance between cars and bikes to hand out a ticket or win the case once the ticket is written.

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Read the full article here: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/73149/20150730/bike-sonar-c3ft-helping-cops-catch-rude-drivers-ride-close.htm

 

Read the full article here: https://www.fastcompany.com/3048291/bike-sonar-is-helping-police-catch-drivers-who-squeeze-cyclists

Chattanooga, Tenn., Tests Technology That Could Make Roads Safer for Cyclists

Most states have laws to protect bikers from cars, but they’re hard to enforce. One city is testing a new device that makes it easier.

“Last month, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley signed a bill into law requiring drivers to pass bicyclists at a distance of at least three feet. That makes Alabama the 35th state with a “safe passing” law that specifically mentions bicyclists. As police in Alabama look to implement the new law, they may want to learn from a pilot project underway in Chattanooga, Tenn., where cops use radar and cameras to hold drivers accountable for violations.

Safe passing laws have seen dramatic growth in popularity over the past 20 years. In 1973, Wisconsin became the first state with such a law aimed at protecting bikers. All states have a safe passing law of some kind, but until the early 2000s, only three followed Wisconsin’s example of prescribing a specific distance for passing a bicyclist. Now, more than half do.

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Read the full article here: http://www.governing.com/topics/public-justice-safety/gov-ultrasound-codaxus-chattanooga-bicyclists.html

This Invention Could Boost Bicyclist Protection Laws

“It took just a quarter of a mile with the device mounted on the handlebars of the patrol cop’s bicycle before it became obvious: This invention by a little Austin company, designed to enforce laws requiring that vehicles give at least three feet to cyclists when passing, could actually change the roads for cyclists everywhere.

“I was riding in full uniform and within three blocks, I had a car pass me inside three feet,” says Chattanooga police Officer Rob Simmons. “And it was all day long.”

A bike cop in the southern Tennessee city for seven years, Simmons didn’t realize just how often drivers broke the law when passing him — and figures the drivers didn’t either.

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Read the full article here: https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/bike-safety-device-measure-passing-cars

C3FT adds teeth to passing law in Chattanooga

“For Chattanooga Police Department Officer Rob Simmons, patrolling motorists passing habits on the road became personal a few years ago.

The bike patrol officer’s friend, David Meek, died in a cycling accident in 2009 after a motorist failed to follow Tennessee’s “three-feet” passing law, which requires motorists to remain three feet from cyclists when passing.

“He got sideswiped by a vehicle trying to pass him,” Simmons told American City & County. “That really resonated with me.”

Simmons has led the effort for his police department to be the first in the country to utilize C3FT V2.0 – a bicycle-mounted passing detector system – that will better educate and enforce vulnerable road user laws, which apply to pedestrians, cyclists and others.

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Read the full article here: http://americancityandcounty.com/law-enforcement/c3ft-adds-teeth-passing-law-chattanooga

A Nifty Device to Stop Cars From Driving Too Close to Bikes

“Maybe your state is one of the more than two dozen around the U.S. with what is known as a three-foot passing law—a provision that requires drivers to give people on bikes at least that much clearance when passing them on the road. (Pennsylvania calls for a more generous four feet.) But are these laws enforceable? Or are they just an empty promise of safety?

One police officer in Chattanooga, Tennessee, wanted to find a way to give the law in his jurisdiction some meaning. Officer Robert Simmons, who has been with the city’s department for 12 years and on full-time bike patrol for seven, came up with an idea for a device that can measure and record the distance between a bike and a car.

“I thought, I wish there was a data-driven way, like a radar gun,” says Simmons. “This is what I want to build; this is what we need to prove it in court.”

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Read the full article here: https://www.citylab.com/life/2015/06/a-nifty-device-to-stop-cars-from-driving-too-close-to-bikes/397055/

Cycling Cop Creates Space for Cyclists on Tennessee Roads

New technology and one dedicated bike cop are changing the face of cycling law

“Rob Simmons is one of those cops who loves cyclists. He has been a recreational rider for years and is currently a bike patrol cop in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where police officers have been using groundbreaking new technology to explain cyclists’ rights to oblivious drivers.

More than 20 states have a law requiring drivers to allow at least three feet of clearance when passing cyclists, yet those laws are rarely enforced. However, in Chattanooga, Simmons spends chunks of his day chasing down lawbreakers on his bike, showing them just how close they came to him on his bar-mounted GoPro camera and explaining the law.

RELATED: The Secret to Safer Streets

Thanks to a device called the C3FT, developed by Codaxus, LLC, Simmons knows to the inch exactly how close drivers come to him. All of the drivers who he pulls over are given educational pamphlets, and those who haven’t learned their lesson get tickets and can be sent to a 90-minute “Cycling 101” class with Outdoor Chattanooga for re-education.

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Read the full article here: http://www.bicycling.com/culture/people/cycling-cop-creates-space-cyclists-tennessee-roads

COPS USE NEW DETECTOR LIKE RADAR FOR BIKE-BUZZERS

“Did you know there’s a law in many states dictating how much passing space you need to give a bicyclist on the road? Wisconsin set the tone for the legislation back in 1973, and since then 33 states have added some kind of legislation of the books covering “Safe Passing,” 26 of which have set an actual minimum distance between the driver and the bike.

Up until now that has been a mere suggestion, since there’s been no real way to measure such offenses other than by eye. Codaxus LLC, an Austin-based startup has created an ultrasonic detector called Physics Package C3FT that mounts to bicycle handlebars expressly for the purpose of deducing passing distances. The detector itself sits on an adjustable arm and displays the distance measurement; sound and LEDs let the rider know when they’re too close.

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Read the full article here: https://www.digitaltrends.com/health-fitness/new-device-catches-drivers-buzzing-cyclists/

Police use ultrasonic device to make sure drivers stay 3 feet from cyclists

Chattanooga Police now armed with custom-built device to teach drivers the law.

“For the last month now, Chattanooga Police Officer Rob Simmons has been biking around town with a new, unique ultrasonic sensor to make sure that drivers are obeying the state’s three-foot buffer law.

The law, which took effect in 2007, requires that when motorists pass a bike, they’re supposed to allow that much distance. But enforcing this law using only human eyes is pretty much pointless—it would be like trying to enforce speed laws without a radar gun. Tennessee is one of 24 states nationwide to enact such a law, but no other states have enforced the law using a device like this.

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Read the full article here: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/06/police-use-ultrasonic-device-to-make-sure-drivers-stay-3-feet-from-cyclists/