Designing safety
Published 25 January 2011
Teams of University of Brighton product design students are working on a project to solve the "looked but didn't see" bike collisions in Brighton and Hove.
Data shows that the majority of cycling casualties in the city involve 15-35 year-olds and while traditional safety wear doesn't often appeal to that age range, the project aims to develop designs that will.
Factors which might inspire product designs include making drivers more aware of cyclists.
Highlighting the difficulty HGV drivers have in seeing cyclists, Brighton and Hove Bus Company are helping launch the project on Thursday this week (27 January).
Student organisers Anthony Mills and Emily Brooke
Students at the Moulsecoomb campus, Brighton, will be shown blind spots on HGVs and view CCTV footage showing how challenging it is for drivers to see cyclists wearing dark clothes at dusk in the rain.
The two week project will produce a variety of innovative product ideas which will be evaluated by the university, city road safety experts and East Sussex Fire and Rescue.
Keith Baldock, city council road safety officer, said: "The project highlights the importance for all road users to share the roads, share responsibility and to get round the city safely."
For more information contact: Keith Baldock at Brighton and Hove City Council, Room 404, Hove Town Hall, Norton Rd, BN3 3BQ.
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