There's not much that sets the internet ablaze like the debate about the relative merits of cars and bikes. And especially discussion of who was in the right during one of the increasingly common comings-together on video. Last week's story about the road rage incident between the thuggish white van driver and the camera wearing cyclist who may (or may not) have admonished him for using a mobile phone got more prominence on the big news websites than many otherwise significant world events.
Knock, knock - who's there?
It's war out there, clearly.
Except, of course, it's not. Very few drivers and cyclists ever deliberately attempt to put themselves or each other in danger. The vast majority of collisions and scrapes happen accidentally and without any malicious intent. That's why Dan was less than impressed with Volvo's plans to create a Cyclist Detection system that comes close to removing a driver's responsibility to keep a good look-out through full safety overrides up to and including stopping the car dead.
But JLR's new idea sounds far more sensible. The 'Bike Sense' research programme is looking to create some less intrusive detection systems that are designed to warn drivers about potential hazards from bikes and motorbikes. It's nothing more than a project at the moment, but the very fact the company is telling us about it suggests it's seriously considering introducing something very similar alongside the battery of other active systems we can expect to see on the new XE and XF.
So what does it do? Well rather than using generic warning noises or alarms - which take a while to process - the idea is to use lights and sounds that a driver will instinctively recognise: bike bells and motorbike horns will be played by the speaker closest to where the hazard is detected. Oh, and seats are also able to 'tap' the driver on a shoulder to warn of an unseen risk on that side, creating the instinctive reaction to look in that direction.
JLR promising more subtle approach to active safety
Then, as a cyclist gets closer to the car, a "matrix of LED lights on the window sills, dashboard and windscreen pillars will glow amber and then red" with the direction of the threat reflected by the pattern the lights take.
More importantly - especially to anyone driving in a bike-rich environment - we're also promised that in a group of cyclists the system will be clever enough to just prioritise the nearest hazards so the driver doesn't get overwhelmed with light or sound. And if the driver ignores the warning the system won't automatically drop the anchors, rather vibrate the accelerator pedal, or make it feel stiff.
Not enough for you? Well we're told that Bike Sense stays alert once the car has stopped, and will warn anybody who is about to open their door into the path of a car or cyclist by flashing lights or vibrating the door handle.
Obviously as with many of the growing plethora of "active" safety systems the risk for any production version is going to be false positives and information overload. What do you think - technology as enabler, or Big Brother?