Half of all traffic fatalities are pedestrians and cyclists and a BC professor thinks he’s found a way to significantly reduce those numbers.

UBC Okanagan associate professor in the School of Engineering, Dr. Gordon Lovegrove has found that adding a left pointing arrow to safety vests can change the way drivers see cyclists and how they respond when passing. “We did find statistically significant results that there is an increased passing distance and a reduced passing speed and when I say significant, I can actually tell a difference of a foot as a cyclist and a foot makes a difference to a cyclist.”

“Remember we aren’t surrounded by three thousand pounds of metal, we’re vulnerable road users.”

Lovegrove adds while recognizing something ahead is good, drivers don’t know what it is and adding an arrow lets the driver know immediately that they have to move over.

(Photo: Pixabay)