CTC, the national cycling charity, and the Allianz Digital Accelerator, in partnership with Allianz UK, have launched a competition to help improve cycling safety in the UK.
The competition invites members of the public to submit their ideas on the topic of safe cycling and how the challenges faced on modern roads can be overcome using technology.
From apps to wearable devices, all technology based ideas will be considered by a panel who will then award the winning idea 5,000 Euros and the chance to turn their idea into reality with development support from the Allianz Digital Accelerator.
The judges are looking for innovative ideas that help reduce the number of cycling injuries. They suggest that inventions could involve:
- Helping people navigate quickly and safely to their destinations
- Helping drivers avoid being in collisions with cyclists
- Identifying patterns of collisions and near-misses
- Collecting data on and understand cycling collisions better
- Informing people of potential risks before they travel
- connecting people and enabling them to share safe and fun routes
David Murray, CTC’s Head of Communications and Campaigns said: “While cycling is not a risky form of travel, there are still too many near misses between cyclists and motorists on our roads. By teaming up with a technology hub like the Allianz Digital Accelerator, we hope to encourage budding tech entrepreneurs and the wider cycling public to share their ideas on how we can make cycling even safer.”
Richard Foulerton, Allianz UK CSR Manager said: “Allianz is committed to improving road safety and is currently involved in a variety of initiatives across the globe. The idea behind this competition is that we want to hear from the people who experience issues on the road and have thoughts about how they can be tackled through technology. We want to generate as many ideas as we can as this is a topic that affects all road users.”
He added: “This is a great opportunity for the public to get involved and share their thoughts. Cycling is extremely popular in the UK so it is important that people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities are able to cycle safely and easily.”
The competition closes on Monday 14th December. Entries can be submitted here.
After an unpromising start, having to be bribed by her parents to learn to ride without stabilisers, Sarah became rather keener on cycling in her university years, and was eventually persuaded to upgrade to proper road cycling by the prospect of a shiny red Italian bike, which she promptly destroyed by trapping a pair of knickers in the rear derailleur. Sarah writes about about cycling every weekend on road.cc.