London Mayor Boris Johnson, in Israel as part of a trade and business delegation, praised the innovations made by the Israeli company Mobileye to help improve road safety in the UK’s biggest and most congested city. “It’s fantastic to see that cutting edge technology, such as Cycle Safety Shield developed by Mobileye in Israel, is being utilized to help make London’s roads safer,” said Johnson.

Amey, one of the UK’s largest public and regulated services providers, will be equipping 200 garbage trucks with a system called Cycle Safety Shield, which increases driver awareness by using cameras and sensors to help avoid collisions with cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists. The system uses strategically placed sensors to monitor blind spots around the vehicle and provide drivers with real-time visual and audible alerts as the risk of a collision increases.

“Amey’s commitment to fitting Cycle Safety Shield to its fleet of trucks is to be applauded and I hope that other big companies follow their lead,” said Johnson. “I’ve said that improving the direct vision of drivers is one of our key priorities going forward, but high-tech solutions being developed by Mobileye and others are sure to play a big part in helping us to deliver future improvements‎ to road safety.”

“The Cycle Safety Shield is life-saving technology which is proving to be a game-changer in the field of road safety,” said Councillor Bassem Mahfouz, the cabinet member for transport and the environment in the London borough of Ealing. “With lorries being responsible for two-thirds of cycling deaths in London, this innovative piece of kit, installed on Ealing vehicles, makes such a positive difference.”

Johnson said Monday that he “cannot think of anything more foolish” than boycotting Israel.

(via Israel21c)

[Photo: Buses in London / YouTube ]