CALIFORNIA BICYCLE NEWS AND CYCLING SAFETY TIPS BLOG

New Bike Uses Brain Waves to Change Gears

When Toyota was developing its Prius hybrid vehicle, they hired a marketing firm, Deeplocal, to help with the campaign. Instead, Deeplocal developed a mind-controlled bike instead. Patrick Miller played a key part in the development of the bicycle, which debuts at the South by Southwest music, film and interactive festival in March in Austin, Texas. Miller designed a bicycle helmet that reads your brainwaves and transmits them to the bike’s gears. Parlee Cycles, a carbon-fiber racing bike manufacturer, built the frame. The rider wears a neuro-headset inside the helmet that reads his or her brain waves and detects signals. “That translates the signals into commands:  Shift up or shift down,” said Miller. “That then talks to a microcontroller insider here [pointing to a thick part of the bike’s frame] which I put a big antenna on, so hopefully there won’t be any communication issues. That then talks to the electronic…
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Newport Coast Woman Pleads Guilty for Causing Fatal Bicycle Accident

A Newport Coast woman pleaded guilty in February to vehicular manslaughter charges, according to Patch.com. Danae Marie Miller, 23, is sentenced to four years in state prison. She was drunk when she struck and killed 44-year-old cyclist Amine Britel with her car in February of 2011. Prosecutors also claim that Miller was texting at the time of the fatal bicycle accident. Britel was riding his bicycle on Joaquin Hills Road when Miller hit him in her Volkswagen Jetta. Statistics show that drinking and driving and texting while driving each increase your chances of getting in an accident significantly—so doing both at the same time undoubtedly raises them exponentially. According to reports, Miller had been drinking at her place of employment and was on her way home—her BAC measured .1 when tested two hours after the crash. She had been cited for 15 traffic violations previously, according to court reports. There…
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San Diego Teen Cyclist Killed in Intersection Collision

A 17-year-old San Diego boy died in tragic bicycle accident on February 15, according to sources. Francisco Sanchez Porras was riding north on 61st street in Encanto and failed to stop at a red light at an intersection around 3 p.m., according to reports from the county Medical Examiner’s Office. One vehicle traveling eastbound struck Porras, throwing him into the street, where he was hit by another vehicle driving east. Authorities pronounced Porras dead on the scene. “We are devastated,” said Xenia Sanchez, the victim’s sister. “It’s just not clicking yet. He was a kid who loved life. He loved riding his bike and always looked for the positive in any situation.” This is a tragedy that could have been prevented. Cyclists need to follow bicycle safety laws as well as normal traffic laws, just like motorists. Stop at all intersections to be safe. Never assume that drivers can see…
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