In recent years, there has been a growing concern about the safety of bicycle and e-scooter riders on the roads. One of the biggest challenges for bicycle riders is the danger of being hit by a left-turning or right-turning vehicle, or vehicles entering the roadway from laneways and driveways.

Analysis of bicycle collision data from 2002-2012 by the Amy Gillett Foundation found that:

• 12% of fatal crashes involved left (5.8%) and right turning vehicles (5.8%)
• 19% of serious injury crashes involved right turning vehicles (12.5%) and vehicles emerging from driveways and laneways (6.3%)
• 26% of crashes resulting in other injuries were right turns across riders (10.7%), emerging from driveways and laneways (9.1%) and left turning vehicles across riders (6.6%).

To address this issue, on behalf of the City of Melbourne, CityWide commissioned OmniGrip Direct to install Vivacity in-pavement smart stud lights to warn drivers when they are crossing the path of an approaching bicycle rider or scooter rider.

The first installation in Melbourne was in 2022 at the intersection of Latrobe Street and Park Street. Vivacity smart stud lights, which are a series of connected in-pavement LED lights, are embedded in the road pavement. The smart stud lights and roadside LED “Watch for Bicycles” signs are activated by a bike, e-scooter or scooter crossing an induction loop. The loop is located within the separated Latrobe Street bicycle lane, uphill from the Park Street intersection.

The yellow in-pavement stud lights, LED ‘Watch for Bicycles’ signs and green recycled-glass OmniGrip CST surface on the bike lane, each provide a visual cue to remind drivers to look for riders.

Overall, the installation of in-pavement smart stud lights is a promising development in the ongoing effort to improve the safety of bicycle riders and e-scooter riders on roads. Riders in physically separated lanes remain exposed at intersections and driveways. However, Vivacity smart stud lights can be activated by induction loops, smart cameras, traffic signal controllers or other technologies, providing drivers with a clear visual cue to the presence of riders. The lights can help reduce the number of bicycle-vehicle and scooter-vehicle collisions and make bicycle riding and scooting safer for all.

For more information visit the product page, or telephone 1300 244 569 or email [email protected].

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Reference:

Amy Gillet Foundation (2015), Road crashes involving bike riders in Victoria, 2002-2012: An Amy Gillett Foundation report, by Megan Garratt, Marilyn Johnson and Jacinta Cubis, July 2015, accessed 24 January 2023.