Another app launched to warn drivers of presence of cyclists gets another backlash from bike riders

Probably not worth getting too worked up about this, as daft and victim-blaming as it is, because it won't go anywhere anyway.

It's an odd feature of capitalism that it seems to involve so many delusional non-starter start-ups and inventions that everyone but the inventor can see are hopelessly flawed.  It seems quite an unfortunate waste of human effort.  Though I suppose it's part of why people find Dragon's Den entertaining.

Just spotted that the Advertising Standards Authority recently upheld a complaint about CST's tweet quoted above, finding that it was misleading. "We told Cycle Safety Technologies Ltd not to imply that the app would absolve users of responsibility in the case of a traffic incident." https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/cycle-safety-technologies-ltd-a19-558103....

I posted something similar on Twitter to go along with the massive hammering they're taking there...

The only way anything like this would ever work is if it was mandatory. As it is, you'll never get close to more than about 2% uptake (drivers & cyclists) which makes it totally pointless. And can you imagine driving through a city like London or Cambridge where there are lots of cyclists - the app would be going off literally all the time so drivers would turn the whole annoying thing off immediately!

And I can see the newspaper headlines now changing from the current victim-blaming soundbite of:
"The cyclist, who was not wearing a helmet, was in collision....."
to a new type of victim-blaming soundbite:
"The cyclist, who had not downloaded the Cycle Safety app, was in collision...."

"why did this accident happen?"

Lorry driver paying too much attention to his mobile phone instead of his surroundings?

If this Edet guy really cared about the person who died he'd get off his arse and try to make a difference in a positive way.

I hope this shitty app sinks without trace. Like so many other shitty apps, it's part of the problem, NOT the solution.

I asked a few questions on Twitter

   How does that work if I don't have a compatible phone?

   How does it work if my phone battery goes flat mid ride or phone crashes?

   Or I just don't have a stupid app installed?

   Who's responsibility is it then?

I ws blocked. without a reply. Given that the website advertises it as safety for 2p a day, this seems nothing more than a poor scam to me. 

I'd recommend everyone downloads the app and then leaves an honest  review 

When the app's inventor was asked the following on Twitter:

Quote:

From a legal precedent standpoint, how do you think a fatality or injury would be viewed if the rider wasn’t running the app? What provisions would be made for children or low-income riders who don’t have smartphones running the app?

This was his response:

Quote:

Hello Martyn

Thanks for your comment

We confirm that cycle safety technology app Is for all road users.

If a cyclist Is not using the app but a driver Is using the app the responsibility rest with the cyclist.

All accidents that happen are look at on the evidence available.

This is essentially a protection racket, whereby those who choose not to use the app or simply can't are placed in gretaer danger by drivers who are both distracted by and reliant on the app to warn them of VRUs.

Also, from the article:

Quote:

I was haunted by the question, why did this accident happen? It took weeks to conclude that for every road user there was no communication and no awareness – CST will change that!

It took you weeks and you still got the wrong answer.

Why are there so many people who want to prevent cyclists being killed, but have no appreciation of the cause of deaths?  In any other situation, as H&S tells us, you control the cause of the problem, with technology and armour being the last resort.

This is the latest in a series of "solutions" that ignore the cause; bad driving.  None of them, including helmets, will ever succeed because their inventors haven't defined the problem and ignore the cause.

If only there were a gadget that would enable drivers to see down the inside of their vehicles... something cheap and widely available, visible from the drivers seat, which would reflect a clear view of what it behind, or at the side.

And regarding the blind bend, a cyclist has nothing to fear because a reponsible driver will be going at a speed at which they could stop, if needed.  Won't they?

"It took weeks to conclude that for every road user there was no communication and no awareness – CST will change that!”

I somehow doubt that the uploads and downloads would have been completed before the crash, let alone factoring in registering the communication and the driver acting upon it.

And do we want drivers staring at phones or infotainment screens instead of looking at their surroundings ?

What on earth do you have to do to be sacked by Uber?

grrr.