Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Back to news
news
Collision
Miscellaneous
NCAP won't test collision-avoidance systems on cyclistsVolvo Cyclist Detection System 01

NCAP won't test collision-avoidance systems on cyclists

Pedestrian-avoidance only criterion, says Volvo researcher
by John Stevenson
Mon, Oct 14, 2013 15:54
7

Automotive collision-avoidance systems have been much in the news this year with developments from Ford and Volvo, among others. But the Euro New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) standards will only test them for their ability to avoid pedestrians.

Speaking to Carlton Reid of BikeBiz.com and QuickRelease.tv, Volvo software expert Dr Andrew Backhouse said: “Euro NCAP is planning to introduce ratings for collision avoidance systems. 2014 will see the first ratings. There is a lot of talk about testing the system on pedestrians. Nothing is planned for cyclists though.”

In 2012, 5,979 pedestrians were killed or seriously injured on UK roads, 420 of them fatally, so equipping cars with systems that detect and avoid them when the driver fails to  can only be a good idea.

But the situation isn’t much better for cyclists: 3,340 killed or seriously injured in 2012, and 118 fatalities. Manufacturers like Ford and Volvo are claiming that their systems can avoid cyclists - indeed Volvo’s system is called ‘Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection with full auto brake’ - so those claims should surely be tested by NCAP.

Volvo’s system includes adaptive cruise control, which slows a car down if it senses the car in front braking, and was proving “very popular” Dr Backhouse said even though it adds £2,400 to the price of a new car.

The logical extension of all this technology is driverless cars, and companies such as Mercedes and Google have been working toward that goal for a few years now.

Carlton’s article on how driverless cars might affect cycling and cyclists is well worth a read. The CTC’s Roger Geffen said: “It might lead to vast improvements in cyclists’ safety, eliminating the risks from those who drive aggressively, irresponsibly or just without paying attention.”

On the other hand, roads filled with phalanxes of driverless cars would have no place for cyclists.

Driverless cars are suggested as a way to increase road capacity but according to consultant Brad Templeton, “the only way this works is if you remove pedestrians and cyclists from the equation. As long as someone can still step out in traffic who is not controlled electronically, then you really can’t increase speeds and volume much beyond what they are now.”

Ford
Volvo Cyclist Detection System
Volvo
John Stevenson

John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.

He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.

Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.

John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.

He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.

Latest Comments