Road Safety

While some vehicles now utilize computer vision systems to "see" items such as road signs, the urban environment consists not only of sights, but also sounds. With that in mind, German scientists are creating a noise-recognition system for cars.

It's no secret that motorists sometimes just don't "get" what cyclists are thinking. Ford Europe has envisioned at least part of a solution, in the form of its one-off Emoji Jacket.

According to Bosch, sun glare is the biggest weather-related cause of accidents. The company therefore wants to rethink the sun visor, with a see-through model that blocks sun only where it’s reaching the driver’s eyes.

Germany's Green party attempted to have the country's famous autobahn system limited to 130 km/h (81 mph), but a parliamentary vote last Thursday overwhelmingly defeated the motion, letting drivers continue to choose their own speed freely.

The SafeHalo system is designed to disable a phone if it's on or near the driver's seat, but leave it be if it's not.

It's getting increasingly common for cars to have both dash-mounted and rear cameras – so why shouldn't bike helmets get in on the action?

​Even though road signs already tend to be highly reflective, some night-time drivers still don't notice the things. New technology could help, as it causes signs to reflect in an attention-getting rainbow of changing colors.

After Hyundai nominated its Nexo Fuel Cell SUV for early crash testing, it's become the first production hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (HFCV) ever tested by the IIHS​ in the United States. The crash testing body awarded the vehicle a best-available Top Safety Pick+ rating​.

​​If you're driving at night, which are you more likely to notice: a single spot of light, or an entire illuminated human torso? Colorado-based cyclists Alex Mulvaney and Kathy Vega are betting on the second of the two, which is why they invented the ShineOn Dual Beam bike headlight.​

A Canadian startup is trying to push some pretty out-there new technologies into the motorcycle world. Variable riding position geometry, for one, as well as a traffic-tracking collision warning system designed to give riders an extra margin of safety on the road.

From July 1, any electric vehicle with four or more wheels that wants to be approved for road use in the European Union is going to have to have an "Acoustic Vehicle Alert System," or AVAS, fitted, making a continuous noise of at least 56 decibels if the car's going 20kmh or slower.

Jaguar Land Rover isn't afraid to get a little creative when looking to the future of automotive design. The latest concept imagines a potentially more intuitive form of turn-by-turn navigation, gently warming either side of the steering wheel to guide the driver to their destination. ​