Applying Computational Physics to Car/Bicycle Accidents

[jedishrfu]

This article does an analysis of a angled street intersection where a lot of fatal bicycle/car collisions happen in England using knowledge of basic Physics and some programming:

https://www.wired.com/story/the-physics-of-the-69-degree-intersection-that-kills-cyclists/

 

[canalligators]

One tactic that is useful to the cyclist comes from water navigation. Boaters know that if the other vessel is on a constant bearing, you are on a collision course. When you watch the simulation, note that the angle between the cyclist's road and the pillar shadow is approximately constant.

As a cyclist, I use this when approaching an intersection. Not only do I note whether I'm in the driver's blind spot from the A pillar, but I note the angle at which I'm viewing the intersecting vehicle. You can easily train yourself to notice when the angle doesn't change; to me, this makes alarm bells go off in my mind. It's a great survival tactic.

 

[anorlunda]

As a cyclist, I use this when approaching an intersection. Not only do I note whether I'm in the driver's blind spot from the A pillar, but I note the angle at which I'm viewing the intersecting vehicle. You can easily train yourself to notice when the angle doesn't change; to me, this makes alarm bells go off in my mind. It's a great survival tactic.

That should work quite well as long as the corner is not "blind". It takes a bit of practice to become proficient at it. All that's needed is a way to educate the cycling public.