The cockpit of the new 2018 BMW 6-Series GT must be handled properly, according to one reviewer, or encounters with cyclists will be much close than the driver planned for.
Semi autonomous driving & close passing cyclists
As technology improves in vehicles, the roads are a changing environment for cyclists.
The race is one to develop safe self-driving vehicles. But before we get to that point we already have semi autonomous driving.
Motorists can switch their vehicles to a mode under which it follows the road markings.
But a remark tucked away in review for the new 2018 BMW 6-Series GT on a motoring site is causing concern for cyclists.
“You can drive it or you can set it to semi-autonomously follow the road markings,” it says on the HonestJohn motoring site, one of the UK's largest,
"But a word of warning about that. If the road ahead is clear apart from a solitary cyclist, you do need to signal to overtake him.
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“Otherwise the steering wheel will fight you and you could pass him uncomfortably close.”
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Given the high number of cyclist, and indeed pedestrian, deaths on Irish roads of late, this will come as a concern.
Many will be worried that vehicles on semi-autonomous mode might close-pass them simply because the driver didn’t know, or realise they had to, direct the vehicle to move out a little by putting on the indicator.
The danger that this reviewer believes the technology might pose to cyclists is at odds with what the EU Parliament hopes the technology can do to improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians in time.
Irish MEP Deirdre Clune is a member of the European Parliament’s Transport Committee.
Last week it called for mandatory driver assistance systems in all vehicles.
It wants the new technologies to result in automatic emergency braking systems with pedestrian and cyclist detection.
“Even if these systems pave the way for autonomous driving, they can never replace well-qualified drivers on high quality roads,” Clune said.
“Therefore these systems should be capable of being over ridden. Driver training and enough funding for maintenance and renewal of the infrastructure are also important preconditions to improve road safety in member States.”
She also noted that half of road traffic fatalities in urban areas are pedestrians and cyclists.
Let’s hope some sleepy drivers using the new technology don’t wipe out cyclists or pedestrians as a result of the new technology before the measures the EU Parliament are now calling for become operational.
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