It's a neat idea though, and if it is already on higher end models it'll probably trickle down eventually. Eliminating blind spots seems obvious - I imagine check the blind spot before moving is one of the first behaviours people lose after passing their test. I very rarely see drivers do it.
> I think it should be a legal requirement on all busses and HGVs - the single largest cause of accidents between cyclists and vehicles.
Do you have a link for this? It seems hard to believe given how relatively low the numbers of those vehicles are. Rospa [0] say it's cars or taxis which I'd have expected, although they do point out 20% of fatalities in London involve an HGV - and say one quarter of serious injuries are a bus/HGV (as you'd expect, performing a left turn). So more than I'd have guessed, but I'm not sure about the single largest?
For what it's worth they also say 75% of accidents happen at or near a junction which matches pretty well to your observation of lights/slow moving traffic.
[0] http://www.rospa.com/road-safety/advice/pedal-cyclists/facts...
In 2013, HGVs were the cause of approx. 65% of all deaths of a cyclist (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-25080427).
* 2010: 10 deaths, four involving HGVs
* 2011: 16 deaths, 12 involving HGVs
* 2012: 14 deaths, five involving HGVs
* 2013 so far: 14 deaths, nine involving HGVs
In fact, it looks like every cyclist death this year (up to 9th April) has been from a collision with a HGV (http://www.london24.com/news/cycling/london_cycle_deaths_201...).
I've not read the 2014 report from ROSPA, so I will take a look! Thanks for posting the link!
A pedestrian myself, I've observed that the largest risk to cyclists appears to be either at the lights or in slow moving traffic.
This could be incorrect, but I think almost all mid-range cars come with parking sensors which alert drivers to objects around them. However, they typically only sense objects in front of or behind the vehicle.
Therefore, I think it would be great to extend parking sensors to provide 360 degree detection. As a driver, your car would be able tell you if there is a cyclist behind you, in your blind spot, stationary or moving - all without having to take your concentration of the road ahead - including pedestrians who choose to jump out right in front of you.
I don't know if this is present in executive cars, such as the Mercedes E/S class, however, it would be an amazing kit to have, and I think it should be a legal requirement on all busses and HGVs - the single largest cause of accidents between cyclists and vehicles.