Biden’s $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill Hastens Beacons For Bicyclists And Pedestrians To Enable Detection By Connected Cars
www.forbes.com
Beaconization—or equipping bicycles and pedestrians with transponder beacons that can be spotted automatically by sensor-equipped cars—has been given the official seal of approval in the U.S. after the House of Representatives passed a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill on November 5.

However, warns Norton, “if the tech turns out to actually make cyclist cycling safer for those who have it, but more dangerous for those who don’t, does that become grounds in policy for requiring all cyclists to have the necessary equipment for cars to detect them? If that does, then we now have problems about access to cycling among those with budgets, or deterring cycling in a society where we need more, not less for lots of reasons, including sustainability and public health.”

Norton added: “We are not protecting these unequipped cyclists when we have equipped cyclists, and we are to some degree making their situation more serious as drivers come to expect cyclists to be equipped. And eventually, even road designers and road authorities will start to assume that cyclists should be equipped. Perhaps even the law may begin to expect this.”

This looks like it's going to be jaywalking 2.0. Oh, you got squashed by a car whose driver was busy on their phone? Your fault for not wearing your bEaCoN sweaty

  • BoxedFenders [any, comrade/them]
    ·
    3 years ago

    It's kinda mindblowing that there is even a conversation about cyclist protection in this nation that worships at the altar of the petroleum industry. So in that sense we are inching towards progress. But it's glacially slow and sympathies only exist in certain pockets- usually in wealthier gentrified urban areas.