Cycling in London. (cyclingweekly.co.uk)

The Mayor of London, an outspoken critic of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, bought 200 Israeli road safety devices for garbage trucks in his city.

London Mayor Boris Johnson has welcomed the roll-out by a UK company of cutting-edge technology developed in Israel to help improve road safety.

Amey, one of the UK’s largest public and regulated services providers, will be equipping 200 garbage trucks (known locally as refuse collection lorries) with a system called “Cycle Safety Shield,” which helps drivers be more aware of dangers on the road.

Cycle Safety Shield was developed by the Israeli firm Mobileye, and it uses cameras and sensors to help drivers avoid collisions by detecting the presence of cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists as well as warning against drifting outside of traffic lanes or getting too close to other vehicles. Mobileye technology incorporates strategically placed multi-vision smart sensors, acting as the driver’s third eye and monitoring blind spots around the vehicle. The system provides drivers with real-time visual and audible alerts to the risk of collision. The alerts can be annoying, but most users report getting used to it and confess to at least one or two occasions when their lives were saved by the device.

‘Cutting Edge’ Israeli Technology Used in London

“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,” Johnson said. “As we work towards strengthening our Safer Lorry Scheme, we’re giving real consideration to making sensor technology like this a requirement for HGVs (heavy goods vehicle) operating in London. 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.”

London Mayor Boris Johnson at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. (AP)

Ziv Aviram Levy, Mobileye’s CEO and co-founder, said, “Mobileye technology complements the Mayor of London’s mission to make roads in the nation’s capital safer for vulnerable road users.… Mobileye Shield+ is currently being piloted across the globe in the US, Germany, China, Japan and Australia. However, this fleet-wide rollout positions London as global pioneers in the adoption of lifesaving advanced driver assistance technology.”

Visiting Israel earlier this week, the London mayor cancelled a number of events in the Palestinian Authority-administered territories. Reports indicate that he was fearful of violent protests following his statements against Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel.

Anti-Israel anarchists constitute a tiny minority among Britons, Johnson said.

“I cannot think of anything more foolish” than to boycott “a country that, when all is said and done, is the only democracy in the region, the only place that has in my view a pluralist open society,” Johnson stated in Tel Aviv, where he was advocating to bring Israeli tech-businesses to London, AP reported.

By: JNi.Media and AP