

Clever bike lane hack - pingswept
http://dustbowl.wordpress.com/2009/01/09/light-lane-concept-from-altitudes-alex-tee-and-evan-gant/

======
furyg3
::Ponders tying system to speedometer so that the bike lane logo stays fixed
to a point on the ground and then repeats::

Thankfully I'm now living in Amsterdam where the problem virtually doesn't
exist due to a heavily funded, well-maintained bicycle network (where lanes
are generally separated from cars). This would be a godsend back in the bay
area, though.

Until then you can use the almost-as-effective strategy of not wearing a
bicycle helmet: <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article636281.ece>

~~~
11ren
Similar to your idea, if the laser wasn't rotationally stabilized, the image
on the ground would jitter around as slight angular tilts of the bike frame
would be exaggerated the further the distance the image was projected. Imagine
standing to pedal hard up a hill - the lanes would swing wildly left and
right.

How about a lighted fog beneath the bike (like those under some hotted up
street cars), giving it the same visual footprint, and territory, as a car?

~~~
silentbicycle
Or even just a spoke POV system[1], so there is quite a bit more light visible
from the sides?

[1]: <http://www.ladyada.net/make/spokepov/>

~~~
11ren
hey, that's really cool. I like your point that it's lateral visibility that
matters. But I think in practice, the side of the bike is visible only for a
very short time (as a car passes it), and the driver is looking forwards (not
to the side). The bike needs to be visible from behind.

Another projection idea is a downward-facing rear light - perhaps angled so
that the light reflected from the road hits the eyes of the drivers behind?

~~~
silentbicycle
I've biked as primary transportation for five years (including through
Michigan winters), and in my experience ensuring that other drivers see you
_at intersections_ is most important. They're often unclear about intent, who
has right of way, etc., when they see you at all, and that's where paths
cross.

Being visible from behind is also important, but doesn't take anything
extravagant: A five-red-LED blinker on your bike and a blinker on your helmet
or large reflective strips on your bag is almost certainly sufficient. As long
as you're not weaving from lane to lane and not terribly unlucky (e.g. being
followed by a drunk or a car full of reckless teenagers), it's unlikely you'll
get hit from behind.

(Fog/glow under the bike would be awesome, though.)

~~~
11ren
OK, your empiricism beats my theorism.

Thinking of my own experience (I've ridden daily for a couple of years), the
only two close-calls I've had are from a car that's in front of me, when it
suddenly sees a parking spot, and swerves across, almost side-swiping me.

I could probably avoid this by riding in a full car lane, instead of to the
left of it (between the lane and parking spaces), but it seems wasteful to
take up a whole car lane (and I can't pass cars then). Also, what I'm doing
may be illegal, as it's not marked as a bike lane.

(Bonus: fog/glow is more visible when raining.)

~~~
silentbicycle
1\. I don't know why I didn't check Instructables sooner. :)
[http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Glow:-Ground-Effects-
Lig...](http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Glow:-Ground-Effects-Lights-For-
Your-Bike!/)

2\. Barring unusual state laws, taking the lane is usually legal. IIRC, in
Michigan the law says something handwavey about riding as far to the right as
is safe and practical. I will generally take the lane (right lane if there's
two, or a wide shoulder), but try to be cognizant of traffic buildup behind
me. Riding in a manner that seems predictable to drivers contributes more to
safety than following the law to the letter, anyway. Route choice probably
also makes a big difference.

~~~
11ren
1\. That glow ground effect is pretty much what I was thinking, except, for
the glow source to not be visible itself - you just see a mysterious glow from
under the bike.

Easy enough to shade the sides (perhaps with a reflective surface, so as to
not waste the light). Of course, being more visible makes it better - just
doesn't look as cool (IMO).

But also, it doesn't give a sense of the space around the bike. That was the
main idea I got from the original article, of a projected "lane" - it's not to
make the bike more visible, but to display a cushion of space around it (a
territory), so cars don't drive too close.

2\. I meant it was illegal what I do (which is to ride between the parked cars
and single lane of the road. Also a danger of a parked car's doors opening). I
agree with your other points (esp route taken!)

------
mattmaroon
That has to be illegal. Projecting unauthorized lane markers on the road is a
hazard. That could easily cause accidents. Drowsy driver at night suddenly
sees a bike lane appear out of nowhere, and he's straddling it or about to be,
swerves...

~~~
harpastum
I agree that it's probably illegal, and definitely causes trouble for drivers,
but if they're straddling the lane, that means they have a lot more to worry
about--they're about to hit a biker.

~~~
mattmaroon
That's a lot less for the driver to worry about than swerving into other lanes
or oncoming traffic.

~~~
seano
So this straw man driver swerves for unexpected road markings but not for
unexpected cyclists? Not only is he drowsy but insane too?

~~~
mattmaroon
Well, if he's made of straw and he's driving a car, he's probably possessed,
in which case it doesn't really matter.

------
jaytee_clone
I like the out-of-the-box spirit.

But what if the biker is not biking on the right edge of the road? (Like when
he wants to make a left turn from the left lane.) This will be confusing and
distracting for the driver behind.

------
silentbicycle
_Yet, only a small fraction of streets have dedicated bike lanes, and with an
installation cost of $5,000 to $50,000 per mile, we shouldn’t expect to find
them everywhere anytime soon._

Why are they so expensive? Adding a bike lane consists of painting a stripe
down the side of the road and adding a little icon of a cyclist. The latter
could just be painted with a stencil. Keeping the line parallel to the others
means a road maintenance truck would probably do it, but is there really
_that_ much bureaucratic overhead? That's $1-10 per foot of bike lane.

I saw a system that attached a paint roller to the back wheel for a "DIY bike
lane", for something that uses paint rather than lasers. (I can't find the
link.) I still don't think it's a good idea, but paint of any kind is probably
an improvement over lasers.

Is adding bike lanes even approaching the problem from the right angle,
though? They arguably help prevent a driver from hitting you from behind, but
they don't improve misunderstandings about intent/right-of-way at
intersections, which is where more collisions actually occur.

~~~
twopoint718
It can't possibly cost that much to actually do the painting. The hard part
probably has to do with the width of the road. All the bike lanes that I know
of are on rather wide streets where there is enough width for the standard car
lane and the bike lane beside it.

------
iuguy
This isn't a hack. It's a blog post about someone coming up with an
interesting but ill-thought out concept.

------
kwamenum86
How much money does it costs to maintain a laser based system over time? How
much does it cost to maintain paint on the ground over time? Where are the
lasers coming from? Are they safe? This articles raises more questions than it
does solve problems.

~~~
seiji
Good points. Powerful battery operated lasers have a duty cycle of 30 to 60
seconds before you should turn them off so they don't overheat immediately.

The lasers (or a laser with a pattern to shine through) were mounted on the
bike. They are probably safe as long as you don't ride over any mirrors or use
overly powerful laser sources: <http://www.wickedlasers.com/>

------
beefingjection
I haven't been able to find anything about a functional prototype. Is there
one?

I'm dubious that light projected onto a rough-surfaced road from in front will
be very visible from behind. Maybe when it's rainy?

