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Well done London


Plans for the super-cycleways will be unveiled next week as part of an initiative to stimulate a 400% increase in the number of people pedalling round the capital by 2025.

At a cost of

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Why Not? Black Box for Cars


When we started this column last year, FORBES challenged us to report back if any why-not ideas make it to the product shelf. Road Safety International offers an inspiring example of bringing a why-not idea to market. Driving a car is one of the most dangerous things people do. There are 24 million auto accidents a year, and 2.4 million people are injured in them. Annually, the number of auto fatalities would be equivalent to the deaths from a 737 plane crash every day.

Most of us don't want to think about the dangers of driving. That fatalistic attitude is wrong. It's possible to make automobiles safer and make money in the process. To see how, take a lesson from airplanes. The first thing people do after a plane crash is look for the "black box" (more formally known as the event data recorder). Why not a black box for cars? It would allow police and carmakers to understand what happened just before the crash. The traditional way of reconstructing events, looking at skid marks and steel deformation, is extremely unreliable.
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It isn't only that black boxes can make cars safer. They can also make safer drivers. The Berlin highway safety administration found that after the city's police department started using data recorders in their patrol cars, damage during rescue trips fell by 36%. Also in Germany, a taxi company installed these boxes in its fleet and collision rates fell by 66%. In the U.S., Sunstar Emergency Medical Services found that black boxes reduced its ambulance accidents by 95%. If there were a drug as effective in saving lives, people would be clamoring outside the Food & Drug Administration for its approval.

Just knowing the box is there changes drivers' behavior. Fear of getting caught may be a more powerful motivator than fear of getting killed....

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Wiki bike maps and bike routes



OpenStreetMap is a free editable map of the whole world. It is made by people like you.
OpenStreetMap allows you to view, edit and use geographical data in a collaborative way from anywhere on Earth.
OpenStreetMap's hosting is kindly supported by the UCL VR Centre and bytemark.


While there are no local bike routes yet, there is a lot of potential here. They are using this in the UK to produce the following bike map:

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TREK recalls girls bicycles due to frame failure


WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Trek MT220 Girls Bicycles

Hazard: The bicycle's frame can break during use, causing the rider to lose control and suffer injuries.

Incidents/Injuries: Trek has received 13 reports of frames breaking, including four minor injuries.

Description: This recall involves Trek girls' bicycles model MT220 and model years 2005 (light metallic blue), 2006 (metallic silver and metallic purple or pink and pearl white), and 2007 (pink and white pearl or metallic purple). The model name is printed on the frame of the bicycle. Model year 2008 bicycles re not included in this recall.

Sold at: Authorized Trek dealers nationwide from April 2004 through June 2007 for about $300.

Remedy: Consumers should take the recalled bicycle away from children immediately and return it to a Trek dealer for a free replacement MT220 girl's bicycle or a $100 discount on a different size Trek bicycle.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, consumers can contact Trek at (800) 373-4594 between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. CT Monday through Friday and between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Saturday, or visit the firm's Web site at <a href="http://www.trekbikes.com">www.trekbikes.com</a>;

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10 Ways We Get the Odds Wrong


Our brains are terrible at assessing modern risks. Here's how to think straight about dangers in your midst.
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As a result of these evolved emotional algorithms, ancient threats like spiders and snakes cause fear out of proportion to the real danger they pose, while experiences that should frighten us

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Man braves cars, bureaucrats to bike on tollways


Chuck Thomas tried to get a TxTag; he really did.

Thomas, a financial analyst at Dell Inc., went on the tollway Web site and started filling in the boxes.

&quot;I got as far as 'type of vehicle,' &quot; he says.

That was a problem, though, because you see, there's no box for &quot;bicycle.&quot;

Yes, Thomas wanted to ride his bike to work on the Texas 45 North tollway. Actually, Thomas does ride his bike to work on the Texas 45 North tollway

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