SweetLou

But that contraption doesn't set boundaries, all it does is make the vehicle wider. There is still no buffer between a passing car and the bike. The laser tries to tell cars not to get closer than the light, creating the buffer. The poles don't do this. With the laser, if a car barely crosses the light, the bike is not hit. If a car barely crosses the ends of the pole, the cyclist is hit.

The only decent way to do this is with the safety flags mentioned in this thread or something else that will give. That way, if a car comes too close, the flag will hit the car and bend. Any stiff pole will send the bike flying. This is why the OP's idea is flawed. It doesn't create any buffer, it just makes for a bigger target.

yarb

This idea is about fifty one times more awesome than the original.

Cyclaholic

Giro

The Flash Flag linked in a previous post is a commercially available approach that is much more practical. The compression spring at its base results in the flag and pole wildly gyrating in a attention getting motion, allows it to bend at the spring joint if you hit something, and there is a hook that can slide up and down the pole that lets it bend back to stow it hooked to a seat stay or part of your rear rack. This is an important feature because you need to be able to ride between narrow bollards that limit access to bike paths to bicycles, fit the bike into bike racks, etc.

The Flash Flag is not the only such product. Similar devices in Sweden in the 1960's to 1980's and were called stingepinne (literally stinger stick or rod or varselpinne (Google translation of the Wikipedia entry).

In the bicycle (also know as pedal cycle or pedalcycle) literature these are called "lateral" or "horizontal" spacer bars:

"Safety pennants contribute to the gap left when overtaking", according to a Finnish study (Koivurova, 1987). The use of safety pennants reduced the number of extremely close overtaking even in the most critical situations.

Such spacers have positive effects according to a study by TRL (Watts, 1984). The percentage of overtaking vehicles passing less than 0.8 m was approximately halved, when using a spacer of 0.5 m. A spacer of 0.35 m was only about half as effective. Another study pointed at maintenance problems and problems when riding side-by-side." Thus if the spacer rod does not flex and/or is detachable, you could cause a stick-stuck-in-the-wheel-spokes crash of someone riding beside you.

also
"3. Lateral distance spacers on bikes (red flags etc.) have a limited positive safety effect, and a limited restrictive effect on mobility. The positive effect is very much dependent on the traffic environment, and can be expected only on roads for shared use. On such roads, the use of spacers may result in wider overtaking manoeuvres by motorised road users. On the other hand, such spacers require more clearing space for cyclists and restrict them in using narrow 'openings' in urban traffic situations."

References are:Thus while there were positive effects, there are drawbacks. Another problem might be an asinine automobile passenger grabbing it as they pass you. I think the design of any such spacer must result in it detaching easily when pulled to prevent this from causing a crash. The Flash Flag's spring mount probably would accomplish this.

See also these previous threads:
How far to the side of a bike can you fly a flag.
How I get better passing distances...
Any of you guys ever experience this?

genec

The fail is shown in the first couple of frames into the video... when the cyclist has a hard time getting through a door with this thing mounted on the bike.

I understand that the whole idea here is to show the safe zone around a bike that motorists should give us, not to use this thing all the time (at least I hope that is the goal).

CommuterRun

I watched this clip again and it strikes me as to how easy it would be for someone to be impaled on a piece of shattered PVC pipe in what would otherwise be a very minor crash. These guys should get some kind of award for coming up with something so totally lame.

BHOFM

Had a police friend of mine watch this.

He said, he would pull them over, make them walk the bike home
or remove the thing.

If they were uncooperative they would be ticketed for creating a
traffic hazard.

Some thing about an object that extends beyond the limits of
the vehicle that creates a hazard to other vehicles and pedestrians.

RaleighSport

Not trying to defend this contraption, but doesn't it actually count as being part of the bike with how they did it?

Deathly Hallows

Seriously? You've made what was once an extraordinarily effecient mode of transportation less manoeverable. If you're concerned about cage drivers not giving you space, a well-placed mirror and an alert rider would be much safer than a four foot wide bike. If you're going to carry this concept forward, why not make it 9 feet wide; then you can have a whole driving lane to yourself.

As someone else has pointed out, you're not forcing cars to give you more room; some will still come uncomfortably close to your outriggings. What you have done, in my opinion, is given yourself less room to maneuver out of a potential collision; I can envision someone swerving to avoid a car clipping the outriggings, only to catch the other side on a parking meter.

BHOFM

That would be up to a court, but aren't "flipper" hub cabs out lawed in
in some places as a hazard to pedestrians?

009jim

Looks like some sort of clothes line to me. Would you peg up your towel to dry on the way home?

CB HI

So your cop friend makes up his own laws and then stomps on people that object to his ass attitude.

He gives all cops a bad name.

I hope some judge stomps on him soon.

BHOFM

No comment other than recommend some anger management counseling.

CB HI

I agree that your cop friend could use some anger management counseling to help with his attitude towards law abiding citizens.

HBxRider

Every driver who sees someone biking with something like that, will hate cyclists a little bit more. That's an effective way to create more tension between cyclists and drivers. It's incredibly obnoxious and antagonistic.

The only way to get more drivers to be more courteous to cyclists, is to get more people to cycle.

AlmostTrick

I'm guessing when they see this most drivers will be too busy scratching their heads to be concerned about hating cyclists even more.

Personally, I'm liking 009jim's clothesline idea. Extra points if you can change out the clothes as they dry and fold 'em up neatly while you ride.

Could even be a money maker if you hung out at the laundry mat. A couple quick sprints around the block and you're ready to accept the next 50 cent load.

dynodonn 

That statement is funny, even more so when the anger comes from a lone motorist surrounded by a huge curtain of steel. Again, the design was flawed, not the idea.

hopperja

It seems this puts you in a 4 foot wide bubble. Meaning, cars can still pass just over 2 feet from you. If they're required to give you 4 feet of space, I would think your contraption (that eventually will injure you or someone else) should stick out 4 feet to the side where vehicle's pass you.

Deathly Hallows

If that thing could do dishes as well as laundry, I'd buy it!

Doane

Not only is it going to PO many drivers, especially if it blocks them from passing, it also looks incredibly dangerous for the rider.. if he snags anything he is going to be all over the road.

On a side note, I came across this Finish "Whizzz", fold back design that seems like the best I have seen so far. click here

The problem I have noticed with the side mount flags is that they are not that visible when riding at any but slow speeds because they start blowing up into a horizontal position and are not as visible as when stopped or riding slowly where they hang down more.

dynodonn 

I do that regularly on substandard width roads, but I do it by riding in the center/left side of the lane, rather than with something that looks like a plumbing nightmare.

TwoFourOne

As I was watching the video, I hoped that people wouldn't actually be saying this was a good idea. Thankfully, you guys have some common sense

Rimmer

We can arrange that.

jakub.ner

Just buy these:

https://www.flashback.ca/flashflags.html

I have used a couple in the past and they work well. In addition you can fold it in and hook it against the rack when entering a MUP shared with others.

dynodonn 

Seeing the above and given the nature of some of the motorists on my commute, a matador/cape/bullring, and a large crowd shouting Ole! comes to mind.