Volvo cyclist detection system. - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

HuskyMan · #1 03-14-2013, 08:40 PM

Volvo Cyclist Detection system | Watch the video - Yahoo! Autos

spdrun · #2 03-14-2013, 09:21 PM

And Volvo drivers need such a thing more than drivers of other cars!

SwampYankee · #3 03-15-2013, 08:13 AM

That's pretty interesting since cyclists tend to be either oblivious or DBs; and are generally unpredictable.

My detection system works just fine. They're usually in the middle of the road, often side-by-side. And if there's a stop sign or red light, it's safe to assume a cyclist will come flying through it.

My brother falls into the oblivious cyclist category and was hit by a car several months ago. No injuries but it totaled his $2000 Trek, which was replaced by the driver's insurance company no questions asked (I'm sure they were fully expecting a lawsuit and were happy to see it settled so easily).

tbomachines · #4 03-15-2013, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SwampYankee

That's pretty interesting since cyclists tend to be either oblivious or DBs; and are generally unpredictable.

My detection system works just fine. They're usually in the middle of the road, often side-by-side. And if there's a stop sign or red light, it's safe to assume a cyclist will come flying through it.

My brother falls into the oblivious cyclist category and was hit by a car several months ago. No injuries but it totaled his $2000 Trek, which was replaced by the driver's insurance company no questions asked (I'm sure they were fully expecting a lawsuit and were happy to see it settled so easily).

Hey now!

SwampYankee · #5 03-15-2013, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbomachines

Hey now!

I'm one of those bike dorks that still uses hand signals, stays near the curb and obeys the rules of the road.

anghrist · #6 03-15-2013, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SwampYankee

I'm one of those bike dorks that still uses hand signals, stays near the curb and obeys the rules of the road.

Staying near the curb out here will get you killed. In fact, riding on the road on a bicycle is so risky that I wouldn't want my family members doing it.

I was on a two lane one day and had traffic approaching from the front. Everything was fine until the rear car decided that it was okay to pass, because cyclists shouldn't be on the road anyway.

I couldn't get off the road due to a 6 foot dropoff into a snake infested ditch. So I had to quickly dismount & stand on the edge of the pavement, while this DB in a Ford Explorer whizzed by just centimeters from me at 65mph. His wife was screaming at him from the passenger seat as they went by.

spdrun · #7 03-15-2013, 10:04 AM

Why not call Exploder-boy into the cops as a probable drunk driver who was also talking on his cell?

E150GT · #8 03-15-2013, 10:09 AM

This is why I only ride downtown where the speed limit is low and the traffic wont permit speeding. Either that or I put the knobbies on and go ride a trail devoid of all cars.

spdrun · #9 03-15-2013, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by E150GT

This is why I only ride downtown where the speed limit is low and the traffic wont permit speeding. Either that or I put the knobbies on and go ride a trail devoid of all cars.

Crowded traffic seems almost worse than fast traffic. This being said, I still ride in Manhattan so I'm not one to talk.

Stretch · #10 03-15-2013, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spdrun

And Volvo drivers need such a thing more than drivers of other cars!

X2!

tbomachines · #11 03-15-2013, 11:09 AM

I am an avid trail (paved) rider. I just fixed up an older bike and intend to ride to work on it but it's mostly through neighborhoods. I know more than one person who's gotten hit and killed on their bike.

anghrist · #12 03-15-2013, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spdrun

Why not call Exploder-boy into the cops as a probable drunk driver who was also talking on his cell?

Sorry, I didn't get the plate# otherwise I would have had the PO on him in a heartbeat. I was more worried about dodging his side mirror at the time.

Here is the road it happened on. Visibility was not a problem.

Can't Know · #13 03-15-2013, 11:45 AM

Terrific.

Now the numbskulls who already sit obliviously behind the wheel can relax and spend even more time doing makeup and hair, shaving, reading, texting, facebooking, tweeting, eating, clipping their fingernails -- you name it.

I'm slightly bemused at the way so many people seem to have forgotten that when you're behind the wheel, you are called a DRIVER, which requires that you be fully engaged and use your sense (and your senses) to proceed as safely as possible, both for yourself and your passengers, as well as the others around you.

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for uses of technology that will make things safer. But if you're a conscientious DRIVER, you're already looking out for the situations that will present themselves as you travel. And if you're not conscientious when behind the wheel, technology isn't going to save you, at least not until we really have the google-cars that simply take us where we want to go while we sit in the passenger seat and eat while surfing the web or watching a movie, or if we're curled up in the back seat snoozing.

Stretch · #14 03-15-2013, 11:48 AM

I think Volvo also has similar technology for pedestrians - I think I remember Vicky Butler-Henderson-Jamie-Lee-Curtis-esquire on 5th gear driving at cardboard cut outs of Tiff...

...for me they need to have a little adjustment knob that allows you to adjust how many microns the car will stop from someone's trouser leg just to s##t them up.

anghrist · #15 03-15-2013, 11:57 AM

Tried riding to work once...

It is truly amazing how, in the middle of nowhere, with a 4 lane limited access road, you still have drivers who are unwilling to move into the left lane to avoid hitting cyclists. Ir even just to give them room.

Needless to say, I do not ride to work due to how dangerous it would be.

Tell me, honestly, don't you think that there should be enough room to move over if you see a cyclist on this road?