Despite offering a good starting point, there’s still plenty of information missing when you look at the Walkscore of a specific location. As has been pointed out plenty of times there are some serious limitations when it comes to the most prominently cited rankings of a neighborhood’s walkability. In addition to not considering factors like [...]
Posts Tagged ‘technology’
What’s the true measure of a city’s walkability?
Posted Friday, February 22nd, 2013New cardboard bike helmet absorbs three times the impact of a standard helmet
Posted Friday, December 14th, 2012Inspired by the woodpecker, a species that sustains severe impact to its head every time it pecks, Anirudha Surabhi set out to create a helmet capable of more efficiently absorbing the substantial force cyclists experience during a crash. The result of his efforts: the Kranium, a cardboard bike helmet. Although a material as seemingly flimsy [...]
Safety light offers cyclists moving DIY bike lane
Posted Friday, December 7th, 2012With Governor Brown’s recent veto of the three foot passing bill, there’s a new product popping up specifically for cyclists looking to preserve a bit of personal space. The bike safety light from XFIRE allows riders to create their own bike lane (as they ride) by projecting red laser beams onto the ground on either [...]
Bikway pitches more efficient method for creating bike infrastructure in major cities
Posted Thursday, October 18th, 2012A Scandinavian company called Bikway is suggesting a new way of looking at what it takes to create bike infrastructure in major cities. In a video created as part of the Nordic Startup Awards, Bikway cofounder Simon Hansen proposes installing reusable, “modular bike lanes” directly over paved surfaces rather than taking the standard approach of [...]
The safety implications of driverless cars
Posted Wednesday, September 26th, 2012California is now the third state to legalize driverless cars, joining the ranks of Nevada and Florida in paving the way for what might be the new technology’s largest obstacles yet: testing and regulation. With an estimated 80 percent of all accidents occurring as a result of human error, the safety implications of reducing that [...]
What can employers do to prevent distracted driving?
Posted Wednesday, September 19th, 2012In the six states where texting and driving is still legal, employers are being placed in the unenviable position of having to discourage those driving on their behalf from engaging in potentially dangerous behavior. Now, businesses are starting to take initiative by implementing policies that prohibit distracted driving. Office Depot (based in Boca Raton) was [...]
New ‘Invisible Bike Helmet’ tries to target fashion forward cyclists
Posted Wednesday, August 15th, 2012There are plenty of excuses people give for why they don’t wear a helmet. Reasons ranging from the understandable complaint that they’re bulky and hard to carry around to self-conscious concerns about helmets “looking silly” or messing up the rider’s hair. Now, a new invention from two Swedish entrepreneurs is targeting an even more vain [...]
New SideCar app helps facilitate ride shares
Posted Thursday, July 12th, 2012SideCar, a new San Francisco-based company, is helping encourage ride shares with a new app that matches drivers with nearby passengers in need of a ride. The app works by allowing users to indicate their current location as well as where they’re trying to go, and matching them up with a pre-screened set of nearby [...]
What Strava’s pending lawsuit could mean for the company and its users
Posted Friday, July 6th, 2012Strava is currently being sued by the family of a 41-year-old engineer from Oakland, CA who died two years ago while trying to better a ‘King of the Mountains’ record. At the time of his death, William ‘Kim’ Flint was riding a segment in Berkeley’s Tilden Park at 10 miles per hour over the road’s [...]
LumaHelm Interactive Helmet would allow riders to signal intent to surrounding vehicles
Posted Wednesday, June 20th, 2012When it comes to cycling, using the proper hand signals is an essential element of making sure you’re riding safely. Now, a new helmet created by Exertion Games Lab is trying to make it even easier for cyclists to let surrounding vehicles know what they’re about to do. The LumaHelm, currently a prototype, allows riders [...]
New Jersey judge rules text message sender not responsible for recipient’s crash
Posted Friday, June 8th, 2012In a case that garnered national attention, a New Jersey judge recently ruled that the sender of a text message cannot be held responsible for accidents caused as a result of the driver reading the message. The case, resulting from a 2009 accident in which Kyle Best collided with David and Linda Kubert while distracted [...]
Transportation secretary encouraging feds to pressure states to crack down on distracted driving
Posted Thursday, June 7th, 2012Today U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced a “Blueprint for Ending Distracted Driving.” His new initiative pressures 11 states that currently do not have distracted driving laws to adopt them in an effort to make the roads safer for drivers and pedestrians. LaHood encourages Congress to adopt a national ban on cell phones, although he [...]
California Senate unanimously approves bill in support of self-driving cars
Posted Friday, May 25th, 2012By a margin of 37-0, the California State Senate voted to approve a bill that will allow self-driving vehicles on California streets and highways. The bill (SB1298) was designed to establish guidelines for autonomous vehicles to be tested and operated in California, and thanks to a unanimous vote earlier this week, will now be moving [...]
New studies reveal cell phone use while driving is on the rise
Posted Monday, May 21st, 2012According to an observational survey recently released by The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), the number of drivers using cell phones while in transit jumped from 7.3 percent in 2011 to 10.8 percent this year. When it comes to drivers between the ages of 16 and 25, the increase was even more noteworthy, with [...]
Driving simulator cautions teens about the dangers of texting and driving
Posted Wednesday, May 16th, 2012Despite nearly all teen drivers saying they think it’s dangerous to text and drive, 43 percent continue to do it anyway. So, in an attempt to show teens the possible ramifications of engaging in such a dangerous behavior, AT&T is touring the country with a driving simulator designed to demonstrate the risks of texting and [...]
Safety experts disagree on whether voice controls are really an improvement
Posted Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012Despite proposing guidelines for in-car technology back in February, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration doesn’t plan to address voice controls until at least 2014. However, in the meantime, some safety experts are suggesting that voice controls may be almost as dangerous as cell phone use. One expert, currently doing research on cognitive distraction, says [...]
Digital Distractions Lead to New Phenomenon of ‘Parking Rage’
Posted Friday, March 30th, 2012Even if you’re trying to be a responsible driver and refrain from using your phone while driving, there’s still a chance you’ll cause conflict before ever pulling out of a parking spot. More and more people are using the time between getting in their car and putting the vehicle in drive to check email, browse [...]
Debate rages over whether interlock devices should be required for first time DUI offenders
Posted Tuesday, March 27th, 2012As we mentioned a few weeks back, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is pushing for legislation that would force states to require interlock devices for all drunk driving convictions or risk losing out on federal highway funds. Now, with the Senate’s transportation bill including a provision directing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to [...]
Volvo designs external vehicle airbags to help increase pedestrian safety
Posted Monday, March 12th, 2012Volvo has always been at the forefront of safety technology, having developed a slew of features that other major car manufacturers have since copied (the three-point safety belt, safety glass, and the first frontal air bag, to name a few). Now it seems as if the company is thinking even further outside the box by [...]
New study shows interlock devices reduce alcohol-related fatal crashes
Posted Tuesday, March 6th, 2012A study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has determined that requiring an interlock device for people convicted of driving under the influence helps reduce the rate of repeat offenses. In Washington State, one of just 15 states in which anyone convicted of drunk driving is required to install an interlock device if they [...]
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