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Detection technology helps protect cyclists at traffic lights

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In a bid to make cyclists feel safer, one US town has installed motion sensor technology that can extend a green signal for a cyclist if he/she is approaching an intersection at speed.

The motion sensor technology, which is called The Intersector, uses microwave motion sensors on a mounted intersection pole to recognise a bicycle and then sends signals back to the traffic signal control box to prolong the green light so the cyclist can pass safely through.

Based on military technology, the town of Pleasanton in California is the only place in the world to use the system at the moment.

The motion sensors distinguish between bicycles and vehicles passing through street intersections by measuring the length and speed of an object approaching the intersection pole.

Extension for cyclists

When a traffic light is already green, a cyclist typically receives an extension pass-through time of about five seconds. For vehicles, the extension time is two additional seconds.

Bicycles stopped at a red light receive 14 seconds of green light time to pass through, whereas vehicles stopped at a red light receive only four seconds.

Pleasanton council officials has so far installed six Intersector devices on a selection of intersection poles in the town and plan to install four more in the next few months.

To see The Intersector in action, watch here.

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