Two blind spot mirrors are being trialled by VicRoads to help improve the safety of cyclists in Victoria, Australia.
When vehicles are preparing to turn left at an intersection, cyclists can often be within driversâ blind spots. By installing convex mirrors below traffic light lanterns, VicRoads aims to increase driversâ awareness of cyclists travelling behind and alongside them in the bicycle lanes.
As some of the most vulnerable road users, cyclists are 4.5 times more likely to die in a road crash than someone in a car. Signalised intersections are high-risk areas for cyclists, given their lack of physical protection and the number of vehicles moving in different directions.
The Blind Spot Mirror pilot is funded through the $35 million Safe Travel in Local Streets program, and forms part of the Victorian Governmentâs Towards Zero Road Safety Strategy, to achieve fewer than 200 deaths and a decrease in serious injuries by 15 per cent on our roads by 2020.