RFID tags
Since 2009, 28 cyclists have been killed in a collision with a large goods vehicle on London’s roads; a large proportion of these occurred when the vehicle was turning left at the time of the accident. |
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Transport for London (TfL) has therefore requested TRL to carry out a market survey of existing or near market products with the aim of reducing such casualties. The main problem is the inability of the vehicle driver to see cyclists in their blind spots (down the nearside of the vehicle and immediately in front) despite improvements to mirror systems in recent years. The concept is to explore the options for an RFID style solution in which the cycle is fitted with a low cost RFID tag and the vehicle is equipped with a detection system which monitors the blind spots and provides the driver with a timely and reliable warning of cyclists in those areas. Key features include the ability to provide alarms only within the blind spots and not elsewhere (and hence develop a product which can be easily tuned for different vehicle configurations), and to keep the distraction of the driver to a minimum.
The market survey will ascertain whether suitable products or near market prototypes are available. This will be followed by a trial of the best candidates at the TRL test facility in Crowthorne.
