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The Bike Lane Newsletter


in the lane

Featured image for “E-bike popularity, the infrastructure bill and ‘a lot of great wins so far’”

E-bike popularity, the infrastructure bill and ‘a lot of great wins so far’

June 08, 2023
Podcast with Noa Banayan Director of Federal Affairs PeopleForBikes People for Bikes’ Noa Banayan stops by to chat with Jake about policy successes and how her team’s focus largely shifted towards incentives and ways to get e-bikes in the hands…
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Ultra-wideband: A feasible addition to D2V safety?

June 08, 2023
By Rich Rarey Senior Software Engineer, Bluetooth SME Valtech Mobility Detroit We have long been interested in furthering Vulnerable Road User (VRU) safety at the Valtech Mobility Detroit (formerly Tome Software) Safety Team. Our transmission and reception of SAE Standard…
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Let’s talk about safe autonomy

April 30, 2023
Podcast with Phil Koopman Professor Carnegie Mellon University Philip Koopman, author, researcher, and Carnegie Mellon University professor, stops by The Bike Lane for a frank chat with host Jake Sigal about why autonomous vehicles’ driving is worse than a 16…
Featured image for “OSU using photorealistic driving simulations with AI to advance VRU-safety research”

OSU using photorealistic driving simulations with AI to advance VRU-safety research

April 30, 2023
A new frontier for virtual edge-case testing to ensure VRU safety in era of autonomous driving  By Ekim Yurtsever, Ph.D. Research Associate 2-Engineer The Ohio State University, Center for Automotive Research Our mission at The Ohio State University Center for…
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A lively chat about transportation

April 13, 2023
Podcast with John Quain Founder, Editor-in-Chief OntheRoadtoAutonomy.com John Quain returns to The Bike Lane for a lively, wide-ranging chat with host Jake Sigal about banning e-scooters in urban areas for safety reasons; dangerous e-batteries; the trend to ‘return to bicycles’;…
Featured image for “Good and bad news from Paris, San Francisco”

Good and bad news from Paris, San Francisco

April 13, 2023
By Roger C. Lanctot Director, Automotive Connected Mobility TechInsights Just a week ago, a tiny fraction (less than 10%) of eligible voters in Paris voted to ban rental electric scooters. Once welcomed with open arms by the city’s leaders, these…
Featured image for “The USDOT is forging a new path in VRU safety”

The USDOT is forging a new path in VRU safety

April 13, 2023
By Brock Aun Vice President of Communications HAAS Alert Although there’s little media coverage or discussion on the topic, the United States is currently experiencing one of the worst periods of roadway pedestrian deaths on record. Last month, the Governor’s…
Featured image for “Saving lives on the road today, tomorrow and for decades to come”

Saving lives on the road today, tomorrow and for decades to come

March 02, 2023
Podcast with Ben Gascoigne Vice President and General Manager PSS Ben Gascoigne stops by The Bike Lane to talk about the PSS engineering and design philosophy employed to make modern traffic control devices that promote roadway work zone safety, temporary…
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We were wrong about sharrows

March 02, 2023
The former executive director of the California Bicycle Coalition was a key player in the proliferation of shared lane markings. Twenty years later, he’s disillusioned with them. By Dave Snyder Senior Director for Infrastructure PeopleForBikes Editor’s note: This text was…
Featured image for “Making tech for first responders is rewarding, challenging”

Making tech for first responders is rewarding, challenging

January 26, 2023
Podcast with Cory J. Hohs CEO HAAS Alert Cory Hohs stops by The Bike Lane to talk about his work developing (and building funding for) technology to assist first responders. Safety Cloud by HAAS Alert makes roadways safer by alerting…
Featured image for “Cycling, industry and the future of connected mobility”

Cycling, industry and the future of connected mobility

January 26, 2023
By Jana Hrčková  Policy Officer  CONEBI Working in Europe, probably the most cycling-friendly continent of the world, I have been intrigued to oversee the meteoric rise of the e-bikes in the past years. Only in 2021, more than 5 million…
Featured image for “PSS at ITS with Tome for Project Halo”

PSS at ITS with Tome for Project Halo

January 26, 2023
By Ben Gascoigne Vice President and General Manager PSS ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) World Congress 2022 broke records with more than 6,000 registered attendees from different countries. Patrons descended on Los Angeles to experience educational programs and cutting-edge technology presented…
Featured image for “More bikes, less parking = safer streets”

More bikes, less parking = safer streets

December 01, 2022
By Roger C. Lanctot Director, Connected Mobility Strategy Analytics Conflict and controversy have broken out in the nation’s capital over a proposed 2.7-mile bike lane on Connecticut Avenue.  On-street parking spaces in Washington, D.C. are expected to be eliminated by…
Featured image for “The case for Guaranteed Basic Mobility”

The case for Guaranteed Basic Mobility

December 01, 2022
It’s time to reframe how we think about transportation and mobility — the ability to move freely and participate in society is a basic right. By Tangier Barnes Wright Senior Partnership and Program Manager PeopleForBikes Editor’s note: This text was…
Featured image for “The real value of V2X: Open national data standards”

The real value of V2X: Open national data standards

October 27, 2022
Podcast with Kellen Pucher Head of Business Development Panasonic’s Smart Mobility Office – Cirrus by Panasonic Kellen Pucher stops by The Bike Lane to describe Panasonic’s early development of C-V2X in Colorado and the real value of the system. Kellen…
Featured image for “The push for pre-competitive standards”

The push for pre-competitive standards

October 27, 2022
By Jake Sigal Founder and CEO Tome Software Working with a team to make on-road cycling safer has been important to me for years. As it is for many of you, this is personal. In 2016, we were on the…
Featured image for “The importance to transportation systems industry standards”

The importance to transportation systems industry standards

October 01, 2022
Podcast with Ed Straub VP Land Systems SAE ITC Ed Straub joins The Bike Lane to discuss the reasoning behind, and importance of, industry standards in Transportation Systems. From the pre-competitive meetings, to the cooperative standards creation committees, to the…
Featured image for “Mobile Device Capabilities for Broadcasting and Receiving VRU Safety Messages Over Bluetooth Wireless Technology”

Mobile Device Capabilities for Broadcasting and Receiving VRU Safety Messages Over Bluetooth Wireless Technology

October 01, 2022
As cars, infrastructure, mobile devices and accessories all become smarter, the opportunity for improving driver awareness of vulnerable road users (VRUs) such as bicyclists, scooterists, road workers and pedestrians has never been greater. Tome Inc., in conjunction with Ford Motor…
Featured image for “Charging ahead on micromobility policy”

Charging ahead on micromobility policy

October 01, 2022
By Noa Banayan, Sam Herr and Leanne Kaplan Editor’s note: This text was first published online by PeopleForBikes on Sept. 21 and is shared in The Bike Lane with permission. Policymakers across the local, state and federal levels are increasingly…
Featured image for “Education, and technology, key in keeping riders safe”

Education, and technology, key in keeping riders safe

August 23, 2022
Podcast with Bob Najduk Director of Electronics Trek Bicycle Co. Bob Najduk, Director of Electronics at Trek Bicycle Co., joins The Bike Lane to discuss safety technology for bicycles/scooters/electric bicycles, both current and future. Links mentioned in this Episode of…
Featured image for “UMTRI shaping the future of transportation and mobility infrastructure”

UMTRI shaping the future of transportation and mobility infrastructure

August 23, 2022
By Francine Romine Director, Marketing and Communications University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute Earlier this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released their report on early estimates of traffic fatalities and fatality rates in 2021. It was sobering. Fatalities…
Featured image for “AVs and VRUs”

AVs and VRUs

August 23, 2022
By Umit Ozguner Professor Emeritus Ohio State University At Ohio State University’s Center for Automotive Research, the preeminent research center in sustainable and safe mobility in the United States and an interdisciplinary research center in The Ohio State University’s College…
Featured image for “How safety enables the future of connected vehicles”

How safety enables the future of connected vehicles

July 28, 2022
Podcast with Roger C. Lanctot Director, Connected Mobility Strategy Analytics Tome CEO Jake Sigal talks with Roger Lanctot about post-pandemic transportation, future of connected cars, and Roger offers frank assessments of regulatory and future car/bike/scooter technologies. As a Director in…
Featured image for “ABCs for VRUs”

ABCs for VRUs

July 28, 2022
By Bob Najduk Director of Electronics Trek Bicycle My entire life, I have been trying to get people to stay active. From a young age, I would organize basketball games in the middle of the street near Detroit.  And I…
Featured image for “Protecting roadway workers — the most vulnerable road users”

Protecting roadway workers — the most vulnerable road users

July 28, 2022
By David McKee Vice President of Marketing and Government Relations PSS According to the Federal Highway Administration, “vulnerable road users” (or VRUs) are people “who use streets, roads and highways without the benefit of the protection offered by an automobile…
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About The Bike Lane

Welcome to The Bike Lane!

Protecting vulnerable road users (VRUs) is more critical than ever. Fortunately, some of the best in business are building bikes, scooters, and vehicles with connected technology in mind dedicated to this very purpose.

As proud founding members of the Society of Automotive Engineers Industry Technologies Consortia® (SAE ITC) VRU Safety Consortium™ (VRUSC), we created The Bike Lane newsletter as a sales-free zone dedicated to the common mission of making roads safer. The Bike Lane is a place for cross-industry voices to be shared and heard. It’s a forum to explore the tough questions around VRU safety, and how the bike, automotive, and tech industries are responding to those concerns. Our guest bloggers and podcasters are the professionals working actively on projects and programs related to VRU safety. They live and work where the rubber meets the road, literally and figuratively. 
 
As for the Tome Safety Team, we believe that precompetitive software and standards are necessary for safer roads. We ride (and drive), and it’s personal. Our team brings collective experience to ongoing standardization efforts and technology development aimed at protecting VRUs. 

With so many great companies working together to achieve this common goal of safer roads, our mission will be accomplished that much sooner.  So much progress has already been made, and there’s still much work to do. As this happens, we’ll be reporting it back to you in The Bike Lane!

Stay safe, innovative, and ride on!

Angela Fessler
Director, Safety Team
Tome

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