
In a perfect world, motorcycles and cars wouldn’t always be at odds. Cars would keep to their lanes and their drivers would check in their mirrors and indicate before making any lane changes. Motorcycles would also do their part and lanesplit or filter safely and only when there’s enough space. Alas, we are far from that world. Even in Europe, and California in the United States, where lanespliting and filtering are common occurrences and are completely legal, there will always be mishaps and accidents because of driver and rider error.

Here’s something interesting; Ford has recently filed a patent for a system to detect lanespliting motorcycles. Using various sensors mounted on a car, plus a combination of cameras, RADAR, LIDAR, and SONAR, the idea is that if a filtering motorcycle is detected, the car would include that information in its collision and driver alert systems. The idea is being developed primarily for autonomous vehicles, but the logic behind the design could easily be implemented in non-autonomous cars.
The system constantly scans the spaces between lanes and recognizes when something approaches that specific region. A controller converts the image data to grayscale and broken down into gradient levels, then compares the frames for differences. A motorcycle would theoretically appear as a smaller cluster of pixels that will get bigger and darker as it comes close.
An autonomous vehicle, in theory, would detect the motorcyclist and prevent a lane change, slow down the vehicle to let the motorcycle pass, or even activate turn signals much earlier and anticipate the motorcycle. There’s even additional applications by Michigan-based Delphi Technologies to use a similar system that allows autonomous vehicles to give more room for filtering motorcycles.
While this is all good and aims to protect both road users, the fact that something like this exists means that the amount of conflict on the road has led us to almost remove the human element and leave “looking over your shoulder” and “looking twice for motorcycles” solely on technology. Regardless, this is a step in the right direction and we hope that it makes our roads every bit safer.
Latest News
-
Mazda Philippines gives special promos on CX crossovers till September / News
Customers can get zero interest or low downpayment options on Mazda’s premium crossover line.
-
A greener commute: BYD and Grab Philippines partner for sustainability / News
BYD Cars Philippines and Grab Philippines partner to bring sustainable mobility into everyday transport.
-
Isuzu supports Alaminos with mangrove funds and student aid / News
A P300,000 donation will help with mangrove rehabilitation in Alaminos, while public school students receive school supplies and printers.
Popular Articles
-
Cheapest cars under P700,000 in the Philippines
Jerome Tresvalles · Sep 02, 2024
-
First car or next car, the Ford EcoSport is a tough package to beat
Jun 18, 2021
-
Car Maintenance checklist and guide – here’s everything you need to know
Earl Lee · Jan 12, 2021
-
Most fuel efficient family cars in the Philippines
Bryan Aaron Rivera · Nov 27, 2020
-
2021 Geely Okavango — Everything you need to know
Joey Deriquito · Nov 19, 2020
-
Family cars in the Philippines with the biggest trunks
Sep 20, 2023
-
Head to head: Toyota Rush vs. Suzuki XL7
Joey Deriquito · Oct 28, 2020
-
Why oil changes are important for your car
Earl Lee · Nov 10, 2020
-
2021 Kia Stonic — What you need to know about it
Joey Deriquito · Oct 16, 2020
-
Top 7 tips for buying a used car in the Philippines
Joey Deriquito · Nov 26, 2020