New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority has installed yellow safety barriers in a subway station to mitigate "intrusions" onto the train tracks.

The bright yellow barriers are part of a safety pilot program monitored by New York City Transit (NYCT), which the organisation will study and scale up if successful.

"It's still in an experimental phase," said MTA CEO Janno Lieber in a statement. "We will be watching carefully to determine if the barriers are effective at deterring track intrusions without interfering with passenger circulation. If they pass the test, we will be ready to deploy widely."

Dispersed periodically along the length of a station, the metal barriers sit directly adjacent to support columns and just before the yellow tactile warning strip that lines a platform edge.

They leave half of the gaps between columns open and block the remaining space to decrease the possibility commuters would fall, be pushed, or enter into the tracks below.

The first batch of barriers was installed in a Uptown Manhattan station at 191 Street, with plans to install the remaining test fleet at a Coney Island station, a station in Downtown Brooklyn, and a fourth location that has yet to be determined.

The program follows a 2022 MTA report that studied reasons behind track intrusions and possible solutions to prevent them, which cites pushing, suicide, intoxication, mental illness, and slipping to be some of the reasons commuters could enter onto tracks.

"Safety in the subway system is something that customers consistently cite as a core driver of their satisfaction and is a top priority for us at New York City Transit,” said NYCT president Richard Davey.

"This pilot program will help us determine the most effective ways to keep subway customers safe and focused on getting to their destination, while also addressing track intrusion."

Another recent citywide initiative in New York included the installation of a new public trashcan designed by Group Projects, while recent safety design includes the installation of nets underneath the Golden Gate Bridge in San Franscisco

The photography is by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority 

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Local studio MacDonald Architects has designed the safety nets recently installed on each side of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to prevent people from jumping from its sides.

Designed by MacDonald Architects on behalf of Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District (GGBHT) – the state district that manages the bridge, the deterrent nets were completed on earlier this month.

According to the GGBHT, the nets were installed on 95 per cent of the 87-year-old bridge, with some sections currently under construction having vertical fences installed.

The marine-grade stainless steel nets were installed 20 feet (six metres) below the sidewalk and stretch 20 feet out from the bridge, suspended at intervals by red-painted steel arms that match the colour of the bridge.

"The net is a proven design"

They run through the whole 1.7-mile length (2.7 kilometre) of the bridge and were installed to prevent people from taking their own lives by jumping from the bridge.

They are meant to catch people who jump from the bridge, allowing the on-site security to retrieve the individuals from the net.

According to GGBHT, there have been an average of 30 confirmed suicides every year on the bridge for the past 20 years.

"The purpose of the net is to reduce the number of deaths associated with individuals jumping off the Bridge," said GGBHT in a statement.

"The net is a proven design that deters people from jumping, serves as a symbol of care and hope to despondent individuals, and, if necessary, offers people a second chance."

Work began on the project in 2017, and the GGBHT reported the net to be "already working as intended", saying that less than half of the average number of people died on the bridge in 2023.

"There have also been several instances where people have jumped into the net, and we, along with partner agencies, have successfully rescued many of them," added GGBHT.

The nets come after years of advocacy from local groups including the Bridge Rail Foundation, which comprises people in the community with personal connections to the issue.

"The prices are astronomical"

MacDonald Architects has been the main design consultant on the bridge since the 1980s, implementing transit retrofits like bike rails and improving the structure's seismic rating over the years.

The studio's principal Donald MacDonald spent years researching various suicide prevention barriers in order to submit recommendations to the local government on possible design solutions.

According to a report by the Guardian, the net was approved more than a decade ago but has faced numerous challenges including local complaints due to the historic nature of the bridge and construction delays, some stemming from a lawsuit launched by contractors.

MacDonald told Dezeen that the biggest challenges in the design were the variety of inputs from local interests, the impact of wind on the bridge when new aspects were installed along with the high costs of the project.

For the Golden Gate Bridge, the design called for modifications to the travellers – platforms installed under the bridge for maintenance.

"The prices are astronomical," said MacDonald. According to GGBHT, $224 million (£130 million) was spent on the installation.

The changes to the bridge also underwent a historical evaluation, according to MacDonald, who has installed a variety of deterrent systems from fences to nets on bridges in the United States and Canada.

"It had to comply with the national guidelines," he told Dezeen. "When I did it, there wasn't a lot of data available on bridges. So I had to work out a whole system evaluating the bridge in a historical format."

Other newer structures have become locations for suicide, sparking controversy from local communities.

These include the Heatherwick Studio-designed Vessell in New York City, a sculptural vertical walkway that was forced to close in 2021 after multiple suicides followed its 2019 opening, even after a "buddy system" was put in place by its owners.

The photography is courtesy of Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District.

International helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org. In the USA, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 800-273-8255, while in the UK the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123.

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A cup that detects drink spiking and a scrambler to block upskirting photos are among five product concepts developed by students from Brunel University to help women defend themselves from physical and sexual harassment.

The speculative project saw students envision gadgets for American jeweller Tiffany & Co based on emerging technologies, which they think will be available within the next 10 to 15 years.

At the New Designers graduate showcase in London, these concepts were exhibited in the form of full-scale models, designed to suggest how companies could help address growing fears around violence against women in cities.

The project was a direct response to the high-profile murders of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa – two British women who were attacked and killed last year while walking home alone at night.

Although unrelated, the cases spawned widespread discussions around women's safety, alongside statistics showing that incidents of drink spiking and domestic abuse are currently on the rise in the UK.

"This is a huge problem and if nothing is done, it is only going to be exacerbated in the future," Brunel student Chloe McCourt told Dezeen.

Globally, one in every three women has experienced physical or sexual violence in her life, without accounting for the spike in gender-based violence that was caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Brunel University students argue that companies like Tiffany & Co should take the initiative by creating products to help combat this issue, as they are already trusted by women and claim to promote female empowerment.

In this spirit, their product concepts are conceived as wearables and accessories finished in the brand's signature Tiffany Blue, with each designed for a different setting from the pub to the workplace.

"All of the technology has scientific evidence behind it to show that it is possible," McCourt explained. "But some may be easier to implement sooner than others."

To help women feel safer while on a night out, student Henry Copeland conceived a cup with a smart sensor built into its base, which would flash red when detecting that a drink has been spiked with date-rape drugs.

"Afterwards, it can be put in the dishwasher," McCourt explained. "And the heat from the water will reset the sensor so it can be reused."

Wysiana Patricia tackled the issue of upskirting on public transport, which involves taking a picture up someone's skirt or dress without their consent.

In response, she envisioned a pocket-sized scrambler that women can fix to the bottom of their handbags, which would emit infrared radiation to interrupt any visual recordings taken from underneath.

"Infrared actually scrambles photos," explained fellow student Stanley Binns. "People like Roman Abramovich have it on their yachts."

"So if someone tried to take a photo, it would scramble the picture and then send a message back to the person who took the photo to let them know that they've been caught and hopefully get them to stop doing it."

Similarly, Sophie Lazenby developed a torque necklace that women can wear as a non-violent defence mechanism while walking home alone.

Unlike mace and pepper spray, which are considered firearms and thus illegal in the UK, this would make use of LED lights integrated into the front and back of the device alongside pulse and motion sensors to detect potential threats.

When activated, the LEDs would emit bright flashes and strobes of light to distract the perpetrator through a confounding, nauseating effect called flicker vertigo.

"It makes you feel really disorientated just from staring at the flickering light," Lazenby said. "And that gives the woman a chance to either run, call for help on the phone or go to the nearest shop."

McCourt's own project is another wearable piece of technology in the form of a necklace, which uses machine learning to detect when the wearer is being harassed in the workplace and changes colour to warn the perpetrator to cease their behaviour.

"If they don't, the camera will record what's going on and then send the video to HR, so there are no repercussions for the person speaking out," the student explained

"Unless you're going to sexually assault someone, then you're not going to set it off so you don't need to worry about surveillance."

Finally, Binns's project deals with the traumatic after-effects of experiencing domestic abuse in the form of a small, compact mirror, which doubles up as an on-the-go therapy tool for victims of domestic abuse.

This contains vibrating pads that provide haptic feedback, making use of an experimental type of psychotherapy called EMDR that was developed in the 80s to help patients cope with traumatic experiences.

"When you have debilitating feelings of anxiety, which can come on at any time, especially with PTSD, you could just take 15 minutes out, go sit on a park bench and hold the haptics in each hand," he explained.

"They vibrate from side to side while you think about your past and it actually helps you re-process it."

Other designers that have addressed similar issues around women's safety include Rotterdam-based Ismay Schaduw, who created a collection of bulletproof vests for women after discovering that safety equipment rarely affords them with the same level of protection as men.

The New Designers show took place at London's Business Design Centre from 29 June to 9 July 2022. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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In this week's comments update, readers are debating US senator Ted Cruz's suggestion that redesigning schools could prevent mass shootings, and discussing other top stories.

Republican senator Ted Cruz said that schools should be redesigned to have a single door guarded by armed police to prevent further shootings following the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas.

Speaking to a local news program outside the school in Uvalde, where 19 children and two adults were killed in a shooting on 24 May, Cruz called for several measures to "harden schools".

"Sounds like real healthy conditions for children to grow up in"

Readers are angry. "Slaughtering children in the US is not a design problem," said Stephen C.

GP continued: "Sounds like real healthy conditions for children to grow up in. You reap what you sow. Please find wisdom for school design in the design history of the open-air schools instead of in people who love guns more than children."

"18 police officers couldn't stop the shooter for an hour. Eighteen, Ted," added Zew Newland. "How is police guarding school entrances a solution then?"

"Let's all act as if we live in an active war zone every day of our life," concluded Mr G, sarcastically. "That doesn't sound like a dystopian hellhole at all."

Can design prevent mass shootings? Join the discussion ›

Manhattan skyscraper's interiors "don't match the quality" of Siza's other work, say readers

Álvaro Siza has revealed the 611 West 56th Street skyscraper in Manhattan, which is the Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect's first building in the United States. Commenters agree that the building's interiors let it down.

"Elegant, some grand Siza work," said Pa Varreon. "I feel the work by estranged interior designers might be unfortunately the fact of special connections. Too bad."

Rui Pedro agreed: "It seems obvious that he had nothing to do with the interiors, which is a shame because they don't match the quality of Siza's general work!"

"I would think Siza was just the concept architect for this," concluded Alfred Hitchcock. "And the concept is very 1960s SOM. The exterior detailing and interior design are lacking the required rigour to match the architectural concept."

Do you agree? Join the discussion ›

Commenter thinks factory designed by BIG "looks like a beautiful environment to work in"

Readers are torn over a mass-timber Passivhaus factory constructed by BIG in a Norwegian forest for outdoor furniture maker Vestre. It is allegedly the "world's most environmentally-friendly furniture factory."

"Looks like a beautiful environment to work in," said Ken Steffes.

Hidden Text was less keen: "I find it odd to build the factory in the middle of a forest, to call it 'green'. What about the lorries delivering raw materials and taking away finished goods every day?"

"It's not a forest," replied Jim Angrabright. "It's a tree farm, a monoculture that most likely supplies the wood for the furniture being made in the factory. Same as building a barn in a wheat field. Wherever you live was once undisturbed nature."

Does the factory have green credentials? Join the discussion ›

Reader says "Heatherwick appears very comfortable with risk"

Commenters are discussing a Heatherwick Studio-designed sculpture containing 350 trees, which is being erected at Buckingham Palace in London to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee.

"Heatherwick appears very comfortable with risk," said JZ. "Credit for the willingness to try new things. However, I find many of the final solutions to have 50 per cent of the resonant impact that was conveyed by the conceptual drawings."

"What a nightmarish post-apocalyptic vision," continued Jean-Yves Rehby. "It looks as if in an effort to remember what trees once looked like, mankind had to gather the last surviving feeble and futureless saplings and prop them up in a grotesque mimicry."

Miles Teg agreed: "The most depressing tree ever."

What do you think of the Tree of Trees? Join the discussion ›

Comments update

Dezeen is the world's most commented architecture and design magazine, receiving thousands of comments each month from readers. Keep up to date on the latest discussions on our comments page.

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US senator Ted Cruz has said that schools should be redesigned to have a single door guarded by armed police to prevent further shootings following the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas.

Speaking to a local news program outside the school in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two adults were killed in a shooting on 24 May, the Republican senator called for several measures to "harden schools".

"The killer entered here the same way the killer entered Santa Fe – through a backdoor, an unlocked back door," said Cruz.

"I sat down at roundtables with the families from Santa Fe, we talked about what we need to do to harden schools, including not having unlocked back doors, including not having unlocked doors to classrooms, having one door that goes in and out of the school, having armed police officers at that one door."

Cruz, who was elected to the US Senate in 2012, reiterated his statements on Fox News later that evening. 

"One of the things that everyone agreed is don't have all of these unlocked back doors, have one door into and out of the school and have that one door [with] armed police officers at that door," he said.

"Too many entrances and too many exits"

He added that the deaths would have been prevented if legislation he introduced into the senate in 2013 for $300 million of federal grants to be spent to "harden schools" had passed.

"If that had happened, if those federal grants had gone to this school, when that psychopath arrived, the armed police officers could have taken him out," he said.

This was not the first time that Texas lawmakers have proposed such a solution in the aftermath of a school shooting.

In 2018, after another shooting at a Texas high school, Lt Governor Dan Patrick made similar comments.

"We may have to look at the design of our schools moving forward and retrofitting schools that are already built. And what I mean by that is there are too many entrances and too many exits to our more than 8,000 campuses in Texas," he said, according to the Texas Tribune.

Significant research has gone into the design as an element of prevention in the case of school shootings.

Everytown, a gun-safety think tank in partnership with the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Society, found in a report last year that the "most effective physical security measures — the ones that are agreed on by most experts — are access control measures that keep shooters out of schools in the first place".

School district had an extensive safety plan

After the Uvadle shooting, NBC News reported that the school district did have an extensive safety plan with $435,000 allotted annually for security.

The report quotes a grandmother of one of the surviving students who said that while the back doors are usually locked, there was an awards ceremony at the school, which could explain why the door the shooter used to enter the building was unlocked.

However, details of how and when the shooter entered and the nature of the immediate police response remain unclear.

On Thursday, Allison McKenzie, an architect and principal for SHP who works in school design, was interviewed by local news station WLWT 5 Cincinnati.

"This is obviously a very complex problem that architecture alone is definitely not going to fix," McKenzie said. "But us being part of the conversation is really helpful, I think."

"A false sense of safety"

Not everyone agrees that design practices or security protocols are to blame. The New York Times reported "that such [security] efforts might actually provide a false sense of safety in the absence of gun control regulations and more robust investments in mental health".

In recent years, architects have explored ways to use design to reduce the impact of mass shootings. In 2019, Tower Pinkster proposed a range of measures including curved hallways and "wing walls" behind which students could take cover in their design for Fruitport High School in Michigan.

In 2018, the American Institute of Architecture sat down with the Department of Homeland Security to put together guidelines for design practices to make schools more resistant to violent shootings.

In 2017, architects Svigals + Partners redesigned Sandy Hook Elementary School, five years after a shooter murdered 26 people there.

"Good buildings should prevent unwanted intrusions of any kind," Jay Brotman, managing partner of Svigals + Partners, told Dezeen at the time.

Other anti-violence school designs include a curved, bullet-resistant school in Los Angeles designed by Brooks + Scarpa.

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In our latest competition, we're offering three readers the chance to win a vintage-style helmet with vegan leather straps designed by Thousand and Poketo.

This competition has now closed. Congratulations to the winners, who are Sheri Darby from London, UK, Dale Arnold from Birmingham, UK and Timothy Reeve from Atlanta, USA.

Urban-cycling brand Thousand have paired helmets in a vintage-style shape with graphic contemporary patterns from lifestyle brand Poketo.

The limited-edition collection is available in three colourways: Colour Blocks, Coral Reef, and Memphis Movement, from which three winners will be able to pick their favourite style.

Both based in Los Angeles, the two brands combined their mutual interest in connecting the local cycling community to create the helmets.

Thousand utilised Poketo's characteristic, abstract prints to decorate its headgear that they claim will also help "elevate your personal style".

"It all comes down to simplicity and quality," explained Gloria Hwang, founder of Thousand.

The first colourway, named Colour Blocks, features two-dimensional cut-out geometric shapes in blue, green, yellow and pink, arranged as a collage on a black background.

Softer, curved shapes overlap in the Coral Reef colourway, where teal-blue and pink freeform shapes sit upon a peach-coloured helmet.

Lastly, Memphis Movement takes graphic cues and its name from Ettore Sottsass' postmodern design group, Memphis. White linear arcs, rods and dots are translated into a pattern that is scattered across the helmet's black base.

Each helmet features vegan leather straps and a magnetic buckle fastening which can be operated with one hand.

Thousand's retro remodel of the convention bicycle helmet is rounded with an upturned lip above the forehead.

A dial fitting-system at the back can be turned to ensure a snug fit for any wearer. Three slots at the top and two at the back of the helmet help with ventilation and cooling.

Thousand integrated its signature PopLock system into the design, which allows the helmet to be secured along with the bike.

Users are able to push out the round emblem found on the right-hand side of the accessory to reveal an opening to pass the bike lock through.

Under the brand's anti-theft guarantee any Thousand helmet stolen while locked to a bike will be replaced for free.

Although vintage in style, the collection is certified under current European and North American safety standards.

The materials and design have been tested against impact, chemical wear, and strap retention in various weather conditions.

Thousand has designed its helmet packaging to be used for transportation as well as for display in store. The brand told Dezeen that creating the dual-purpose boxes has decreased its cardboard usage by over 50 per cent.

Every purchase contributes to the brand's partner 1% For The Planet – an organisation whose members pledge one per cent of their annual sales to environmental restoration.

The Thousand x Poketo collection debuted at LA Design Festival earlier this year – where Dezeen rounded up six studios shaping the city's design scene – and is available to buy online and in Poketo stores.

Thousand was established with a focus on designing safety gear that does not sacrifice fashion, making a helmet "you'd want to wear".

Husband-and-wife team Ted Vadakan and Angie Myung founded Poketo to inject art into every-day lifestyle products. Each of its stores in Los Angeles also holds exhibitions and workshops, free to attend for the local community.

Competition closes 10 September. Three winners will be selected at random and notified by email, and his or her name will be published at the top of this page.

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Children going to school or public places should be given bulletproof backpacks, the CEO of self-defence brand Guard Dog has told Dezeen.

Yasir Sheikh said parents should consider buying the products in the wake of the shootings in El Paso and Dayton last week, in which a total of 31 people died.

"We don't necessarily like when parents and children are thinking about carrying a bulletproof backpack after some tragedy, but safety now is part of the process of going to school or going to a public place," said Sheikh, who heads the Florida-based company that makes a range of protective backpacks called Proshield.

The products are advertised as being designed for a "student's everyday carry". They look like a regular backpack with a laptop sleeve and organisational pockets, yet provide protection from high-calibre weapons.

Guard Dog intends parents to purchase the bullet-resistant backpack for their children as a proactive preventative measure in light of the relaxed gun laws in the US.

"We encourage people to think proactively today," Sheikh told Dezeen. "We want them to think about safety and protection on a proactive level, not on a reactive level."

"Just like people would have home security systems for their house if there was a series of robberies, we also think people should start thinking about a bulletproof backpack if there is a series of shootings," Sheikh added.

According to Sheikh, the backpacks protect against 9mm and .44 Magnum handguns – a similar level of protection than that worn by law enforcement officers in America.

They are made from polyethylene, a durable yet flexible plastic material with tightly woven fibres that can stop handgun bullets.

However they are unable to stop a high-velocity rifle, such as the AR-15 used by the Parkland High School shooter in February 2018.

Costing between $119.99 and $299.99, the bags are available in a bright pink or blue colour aimed at children, or come in darker, more neutral tones to cater to a wider age-range.

The Guard Bag backpacks have been on sale in selected Office Depot and OfficeMax stores since 2013, but Sheikh told Dezeen that some of the brand's retail partners had now started selling them nationwide.

The spotlight has been on gun laws in the US recently, with two mass shootings reported within 24 hours last week. An attack on a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, left 20 dead, while nine died in a shooting in Dayton, Ohio.

The Proshield range is currently being advertised on the Guard Dog Security website as available to pre-order for 15 September 2019, when children return to school after the summer holidays.

The company states on its website that it is in partnership with non-profit organisation Make Our Schools Safe, and donates a percentage of every bulletproof backpack sale to achieving innovative ways to protect children.

As well as the backpacks, Guard Dog sells other personal security items such as pepper spray and stun guns.

Designer Yves Béhar also responded to a US mass-shooting in October last year with a graphic titled Lives Cost Lives, in the wake of the shooting at The Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.

The illustration was created as a warning against rising anti-semitism in the US, which the designer blamed on president Donald Trump's "current culture of lies".

Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, USA, where 26 children and adults were gunned down in a 2012 shooting, was recently rebuilt to incorporate a series of protective measures to prevent such a tragedy happening again.

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Rimal Bhatt has developed a fire evacuation mask that allows additional time to evacuate a burning building, designed in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

Bhatt's proposal for a simple and easy-to-use respirator allows for up to 15 minutes additional breathing time and represents a streamlined alternative to existing full-face masks, which form a seal around the lower half of the face.

His design is intended to be more efficient and universal as it directs airflow through the mouth only, making it suitable for anyone to use.

Nose clips covering the nostrils cause the user to inhale through a mouthpiece that ensures a tight seal to prevent smoke inhalation.

Bhatt began exploring potential solutions to help people evacuate smoke-filled buildings safely, following the fire at the north-London tower block in 2017 that resulted in the deaths of 72 people.

During the research phase, the final-year student on the University of Hertfordshire's Bachelor of Science programme met with firefighters to identify issues that affect how people evacuate a building.

He discovered that differences in the number of fire exits can lead to longer evacuation times. This led him to propose using a combination of charcoal and several gauzes to capture toxins and give users as much breathable air as possible.

The mask is made from durable and affordable ABS plastic in order to facilitate low-cost mass manufacture so every occupant in a building can be provided with a respirator.

Bhatt's design also includes a technological feature intended to help the fire brigade account for the whereabouts of a building's occupants and ensure they have evacuated safely.

When users pass through a fire exit, a built-in radio frequency tracker sends a message to a reader operated by the fire brigade so they know that person is safe. The technology would also allow the authorities to log how many people may still be inside.

The mask's elastic head straps feature high-visibility details so that users can see each other in the smoky corridors and follow each other out of the building.

Bhatt's design was awarded the top accolade at New Designers, which sees students from more than 170 creative courses exhibit their work at the Business Design Centre in London over the course of two weeks in June and July.

The judges described the proposal as "a very simple and easy to implement solution to a very current issue," adding that it was "good to see a very positive and worthwhile response at a timely moment to a pertinent cause."

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A raft of safety technologies that could help reduce accidents on the roads, including speed-limiting systems, will become mandatory in all new European cars.

Provisional political agreement was agreed this week on the proposals, which also include drowsiness and distraction monitoring, as well as lane-keeping assistance.

"Many of the new features already exist, in particular in high-end vehicles. Now we raise the safety level across the board, and pave the way for connected and automated mobility of the future," said European Commission (EC) commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska.

ISA technology will limit vehicle speed

The measure expected to have the biggest impact on reducing car fatalities and injuries is Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) technology, which limits the speed at which a vehicle can travel. Non-profit organisation the European Transport Safety Council stated that ISA is expected to reduce collisions by 30 per cent and deaths by 20 per cent.

Speed-limiting technology automatically limits the engine power to prevent the vehicle from accelerating past a particular speed. However, the driver can override the limit, for example if they need to overtake another vehicle at speed.

A video camera that recognises speed-limit signs works together with GPS-linked speed limit data to tell drivers how fast they are travelling, and enacts a system that actively limits the vehicle's speed.

Measures require further approval

The 15 road safety measures will require formal agreement by the European Parliament and Council before they are implemented.

Should they be passed, an electronic data recorder similar to the black box found on aircraft will become mandatory for cars, vans, trucks and buses. Advanced emergency braking, and improved safety belts will become a feature of new European cars and vans.

Trucks and buses will be required to implement systems to remove blind spots when making turns, and install systems at the front and side of the vehicle to detect and warn of vulnerable road users.

25,000 lives expected to be saved

The Commission expects that the proposed measures will save more than 25,000 lives and avoid at least 140,000 serious injuries by 2038. This will contribute to the goal of achieving zero fatalities or serious injuries on Europe's roads by 2050.

"Every year 25,000 people lose their lives on our roads. The vast majority of these accidents are caused by human error. We can and must act to change this," said Bieńkowska.

"With the new advanced safety features that will become mandatory, we can have the same kind of impact as when the safety belts were first introduced."

Proposals will apply to UK despite Brexit

The UK Department for Transport has confirmed that the measures will apply in the UK, despite its impending departure from the EU.

"These interventions are expected to deliver a step-change in road safety across Europe, including the UK," said the Department for Transport.

"ISA systems are expected to give drivers feedback when the speed limit is exceeded rather than limiting the speed, much like satellite navigation does now."

Smooths the way to autonomous vehicles

As well as reducing road accidents, it is hoped that the measure will help road users become accustomed to self-driving cars.

"Increasing degrees of automation offer significant potential to compensate for human errors and offer new mobility solutions for the elderly and physically impaired," said the European Commission.

"All this should enhance public trust and acceptance of automated cars, supporting the transition towards autonomous driving."

Autonomous cars and other vehicles are expected to become prevalent on roads in the next few years.

Muji's driverless bus took to the streets of Helsinki earlier this month, whilst last year Jaguar Land Rover looked at how to make the public accustomed to seeing driverless cars on the roads with an anthropomorphic concept car with eyes that communicate with pedestrians to let them know it's safe to cross.

The safety of autonomous cars was called into question last year, following the death of an Apple employee who was killed when struck by a Tesla operating in self-driving mode.

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Prompted by accidents involving players of Pokémon GO, Australian firm Büro North has devised a concept for in-ground traffic lights to prevent pedestrians using smartphones from walking out onto the road (+ movie).

The Melbourne-based design agency's Smart Tactile Paving system would light up in red and green to tell face-down smartphone users when they can cross the road safely.

While pedestrians have for years been known to walk and text, safety concerns have increased since the augmented reality phenomenon Pokémon GO caused a spate of road accidents.

"When the Pokémon craze hit Melbourne, the number of people wandering across the road looking at their phones was pretty startling," said Büro North director Soren Luckins. "That's when we realised we had redundant infrastructure that had not adapted or evolved to keep up with human behavioural changes."

"The pedestrian crossing lights that are so prevalent throughout the world are designed for a community looking ahead of them, not down at a phone."

Büro North isn't the first to try to address smartphone-related accidents through ground-level traffic lights. City officials in Augsburg, a German municipality outside Munich, installed similar lights at tram crossings.

Büro North's proposal differs in that it is designed to apply to any crossing where there is an existing traffic light system, and would take the form of LED lighting integrated into tactile paving slabs.

When pedestrians shouldn't cross the street, the LEDs glow red, and when it's safe to go, they turn green.

"Given that the crossing power and cabling already exists, we looked for a way to leverage off this existing infrastructure to create a new solution to this newish problem," said Luckins.

Tactile paving is a textured ground surface used in many cities around the world to aid pedestrians who are blind or visually impaired to identify the edges of footpaths and platforms.

In the US, cities like Portland, Seattle and Cleveland have tried to increase pedestrian safety with talking buses, and in Lisbon, an interactive installation aimed to encourage people to wait until it's safe to cross the road by making the traffic lights "dance" using motion-capture technology.

While designers are coming up with alternatives to pedestrian lights, MIT researchers are proposing the "death of the traffic light" with a conceptual system that would enable driverless vehicles to whizz through intersections without colliding, eliminating the need for signals.

Büro North was founded by Luckins in 2005. Previous projects by the studio include a canopy that educates primary school children about collecting energy from the sun, and a plywood Christmas tree that is "80 per cent more environmentally friendly" than a traditional fir or spruce.

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A group of Royal College of Art graduates has used the pulp from mulched newspapers to form helmets for London's cycle hire scheme (+ movie).

Tom Gottelier, Bobby Petersen and Ed Thomas took discarded free newspapers strewn around the city's public transport system and used them to make papier-mache.

The pulp was mixed with adhesive and pigment then vacuum-formed into shape, before being heated to dry it out.

Straps slot into grooves that criss-cross the top of the helmet, clipping together under the chin like the standard design.

The surface inside the helmet is also bevelled so air can flow through and keep the head cool.

Each helmet would cost around £1 and could be sold in a vending machine or nearby shops, offering low-cost safety equipment for London's Barclays "Boris Bike" cycle sharing scheme.

Other Royal College of Art graduates presented a kit allowing musicians to control sound and lighting at their gigs and wooden shoes based on furniture and engineering at the school's show, which continues until 30 June.

New York City recently launched its own bicycle sharing scheme, with 6000 bikes available across Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn.

We've also featured an inflatable helmet that fold away into a collar or scarf and a bollard with a foot rest and handle to help cyclists keep their balance at traffic lights.

See more design for cycling »
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This inflatable bicycle helmet by Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin folds away into a collar or scarf and inflates instantly when it detects abnormal movements. Here it is being crash-tested.

Called Hövding, the product is worn as a scarf and an airbag folded into the collar inflates to cover the whole head before impact.

The scarf is a removable shell that covers the airbag inside and can be changed for different designs.

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Here's some information about the product:

HÖVDING – AN INVISIBLE HELMET FOR BICYCLISTS

After several years of research and development, a new Swedish invention has been launched. Hövding – a bicycle helmet unlike any other currently on the market. A bicycle helmet that is not even placed on your head. The founders and inventors Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin showed the world novelty at the Technical Fair in Stockholm on the 19th of October.

- We wanted to make a head protection for bicyclists based on the demands that was presented through our surveys. Among other things the protection should keep the sense of freedom that goes with bicycling and not ruin your hair. It feels amazing that our research and development has led up to this day when we can finally show Hövding to everyone, says Terese Alstin who is one of the inventors.

Hövding is a collar for bicyclists, worn around the neck. The collar contains a folded up airbag that you’ll only see if you happen to have an accident. The airbag is shaped like a hood, surrounding and protecting the bicyclist’s head. The trigger mechanism is controlled by sensors which pick up the abnormal movements of a bicyclist in an accident.

- The actual collar is the visible part of the invention. It’s covered by a removable shell that you can change to match your outfit, and we’ll be launching new designs all the time. Hövding is a practical accessory that’s easy to carry around, it’s got a great looking yet subtle design, and will save your life, says Anna Hupt.

For six years Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin have developed Hövding which is based on advanced technology and research. Both are educated Industrial designers and it was during their master thesis that they came up with the idea that laid the foundations for developing Hövding. Today they are twelve people working full time with Hövding.

Despite alarming accident statistics, most cyclists on the road aren’t wearing helmets. Every year about 40 people die and about 30,000 are injured in bicycling accidents, and that’s just in Sweden. One in three bicyclists who are injured suffer head injuries.

Despiten these alarming accident statistics, the vast majority of cyclists on the road aren’t wearing helmets. This is partly because helmets are bulky and impractical to carry around when you’re not on your bicycle, but it’s also because people think bicycle helmets look hideous and make them look silly. For most people, bicycling isn’t a sport. They’re just using their bicycles to get from A to B, bicycling to work, into town or to go out in the evening. Despite this, almost all the traditional bicycle helmets on the global market have a sporty design.

- In our opinion the range of bicycle helmets available is extremely narrow, they all look the same and the lack of variety results in very few people wearing them. Hövding is the solution to the problem, it’s subtle and blends in with what else you are wearing. And it doesn’t ruin your hair, says Terese Alstin.

You can pre-order Hövding now on the company website, www.hovding.com, at a special advance price. Hövding will be available in stores in spring 2011.

See also:

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Smoker Bell by Florian Brillet Architecture	Safe Cuddling by Helge Fischer	Urban Camouflage by Aya Tsukioka

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