Here's a nice piece of motorcycle safety news, but this time it comes from the automotive industry, namely from Volkswagen. Probably worried by the number of crashes caused by drivers who do not do a thorough mirror check of their surrounding when changing lanes, VW now introduces the Side Assist technology, aiming to alert drivers of vehicles in the blind spot.
Since motorcycle riders are the most prone road users to become victims of such crashes, it was only natural VW used them in these ads, if a very clicheistic depiction of the bikers was used.
Due to the small profile of a motorcycle, bikers are easily missed when they are completely into, or much into a car's blind spot. Add in the driver not checking thoroughly prior to changing lanes, and there you go, the crash is imminent.
The VW Side Assist technology detects whether there is an object in the blind spot and triggers a visual and audio alarm for the driver. This technology is supposed to reduce the number of such crashes and we're glad VW are thinking about riders, too.
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