New app launched to help drivers and cyclists stay safe

The last time you were bumper-to-bumper on your way to work did you find yourself thinking “the traffic seems to be getting worse?”  Well you were probably right.  In the last decade Britain has seen 4million more vehicles take to our ever-crowded roads.  As well as the obvious environmental impact another depressing consequence is that annually around 19,000 cyclists are involved in reported road accidents as they compete for precious road-space, and of these more than 3,000 are killed or seriously injured.

If that’s not enough to make all drivers more aware then the shocking fact that almost a quarter of victims are children surely will.

But a new app could help slash these numbers by alerting drivers whenever a bike or motorcycle is approaching their car.

Thebikeshieldapp.com is a cross-platform mobile app which establishes communication between cars, motorcycles and bicycles that are sharing the road.   The app beeps to warn the driver about motorcycles and bicycles about 5-10 seconds before they reach the car which the website claims “raises drivers’ awareness and reduces distracted manoeuvres that may result in a fatal crash.”

Some critics argue that another piece of technology for those at the wheel adds to distractions posed by mobile phones and SatNav’s especially as this app has features such as the Trip Reports which sends ‘useful trip information’ to your phone.  But we wait with baited breath for user-reviews as cycling is a fantastic method of sustainable transport and anything that can make it safer must be a good thing.