New car tech could stop cyclists from being doored

Systems will alert for passing cyclists and can even lock doors

Published: March 2, 2018 at 1:00 pm

Riding in town is fraught with obstacles without having to worry about someone opening a car door on you. So Hyundai and Audi will be revealing new technology that could prevent that from ever happening again.

The new Audi A8 will build on the existing Exit Warning System, which flashes warning lights if anything is approaching from behind, by extending it to physically lock a door to prevent a collision.

The new Hyundai Santa Fe SUV will feature a similar system, called Safety Exit Assist. This system also uses a radar to detect potential danger and will either warn passengers or lock the doors if a cyclist is passing.

Obviously, we’ll only be seeing this technology on a limited number of cars for the moment, but there’s no reason to doubt that the technology will become more prevalent leaving us safer on the roads.

Hyundai Santa Fe SUV Safety Exit Assist in action

What do you think of this tech?