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news
“Game changing” device allows cyclists to control traffic lights (Twitter, Shawlands Bike Bus)“Game changing” device allows cyclists to control traffic lights so children stay safe
A school bike bus in Glasgow is believed to be the first in the UK to trial a new smart device which allows cyclists to control traffic lights so every member of the group can safely pass through a busy junction.
The device uses a military-encrypted signal to pause traffic lights for a period of up to 45 seconds and is designed to work at a specific junction during a limited weekly time frame, reports GlasgowLive.
It was developed in conjunction with Glasgow City Council by the Preston-based company Sm@rt Technology, which specialises in innovative solutions for visually impaired people and other disability groups.
> Glasgow City Council orders an “unacceptable” bike shed to be dismantled
The Shawlands Primary School bike bus, which was launched last year and operates in the south-east of the city, is the first group to take advantage of the ground-breaking new technology.
Using the device’s time-restricted capabilities, the leaders of the Shawlands Bike Bus can control the traffic at the junction between Kilmarnock Road and Moss-side Road between 8.30am and 9am on Fridays.
> School bike bus being used for “political ends”, claims MSP
So far, the trial has proved a resounding success, with Shawlands Bike Bus taking to Twitter last week to praise the roads team at Glasgow City Council for their work in developing the pioneering tech.
However, the bike bus leaders pointed out that the “game-changing” device – as useful as it is – can’t simply be viewed as a substitute for safe, segregated infrastructure:
…this. Which, believe it or not, allows us to control the traffic lights so the #bikebus can safely get through. It’s a game changer, and a UK first?! We still want safe segregated infrastructure but until then this will help so much. Kudos roads team @GlasgowCC 👏👏👏 2/2 pic.twitter.com/30g5O7PiZs
— Shawlands Bike Bus (@BikeBusShaw) August 26, 2022
Sm@rt Technology has described the new system as a “huge success”, allowing “all children and adults to safely cross junctions without the signals changing halfway through.”
The tweet by Shawlands Bike Bus has prompted a number of similar school schemes and cycling advocates across Scotland and the rest of the UK, including the Scottish Greens’ Edinburgh councillor Claire Miller, to call on their own local authorities to invest in the “game-changing” technology, suggesting that Glasgow soon won’t be the only city where cyclists can control the traffic…
Ryan joined road.cc as a news writer in December 2021. He has written about cycling and some ball-centric sports for various websites, newspapers, magazines and radio. Before returning to writing about cycling full-time, he completed a PhD in History and published a book and numerous academic articles on religion and politics in Victorian Britain and Ireland (though he remained committed to boring his university colleagues and students with endless cycling trivia). He can be found riding his bike very slowly through the Dromara Hills of Co. Down.
Latest Comments
- mattw 2 hours 22 min ago
That's an interesting one....
- mattw 2 hours 46 min ago
I take the greatest increase being in Inner not Central or Outer London as being because much infra was previously built in Central London and...
- mark1a 3 hours 17 min ago
Controversial I know but the problems would mostly go away if the whole lot was decriminalised or legalised, dependence and addiction were treated...
- BikeyDavey92 6 hours 54 min ago
As someone who works in Insurance completely agree with this. This is why you have the product and even if everyone is well intentioned, you can...
- ktache 7 hours 34 min ago
Don't know what it was about today, maybe the banks of mist, but I received several weeks of close passes in one day.
- Sriracha 8 hours 1 min ago
I've a feeling that yellow colour attracts flying insects - either that or they're just out to get me. So the bug mesh is a valuable addition
- Hirsute 8 hours 36 min ago
At a pinch point, where the road narrows, in a blind bend, to avoid a pothole, to avoid being doored, to deter a senseless or careless overtake,...
- Backladder 9 hours 8 min ago
No more ludicrous than the UCI sock height limits!
- grumpyoldcyclist 9 hours 12 min ago
They may be limited to 50 or 60 mph, but they don't observe it and speed cameras haven't been told about the different limits....
- CyclingGardener 9 hours 15 min ago
I agree. As I said, just trying to add some context.
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10 comments
When I was a child, my great uncle Albert used to tell me he had a button in his car that changed the traffic lights. And now, 45 years later, he actually could have. If he was still alive.
All i ever got from Uncle Albert was absurd war stories to the repetitive opening of "during the war".
My dad was in the Royal Navy in WWII. He never told any stories about his time. Only shortly before he died did he mention his ship had been moored off the coast of Sri Lanka with the rest of the British and American ships when they were attacked by Japanese kamikaze aircraft. He described them being shot out of the sky like it was a pigeon shoot.
I've met a few WWII veterans. Not one of them has been eager to mention their experiences.
My dad was in Burmah. He spent about 2 years directing traffic and painting rocks in India before Japanese supply lines were deemed sufficiently disrupted to allow a counter-attack. He was in the artillery. He got flown back out on the day they went in due to Malaria.
His most telling comment was about invading Malaya. They were due go in when the USA dropped their bombs causing Japan to surrender. He arrived as an occupying force rather than invaders. When they saw the beaches they were supposed to land on, he was convinced they would have been slaughtered with Japanese sheltering in the jungle by the shore. He believed the Bomb saved his life.
The oil company?
The exception being when Del Boy threatened to pour tea over him if he mentioned "during the war", he started with "during the 1939-1945 conflict with Germany"
Flippin' genius!
Sounds great, basically simply a technological version of a lollipop person really. Absolutely guarantee that this will generate spewing vitriol claiming that it is a further part of the war on motorists, reducing the poor darlings to second-class citizens.
A war on driving without due care and attention, as required by law and contract (insurance), surely?
Great idea. For our bike bus in Edinburgh (http://blackfordsaferoutes.co.uk/), the City of Edinburgh Council have one of their staff at a key traffic light to manually set it for us. Which is very much appreciated but is a bit inefficient. This would be a good alternative.