Interesting article and study on common crash situations, and the idea of adding bicycle detection to cars:
*http://www.iihs.org/iihs/sr/statusreport/article/50/3/3 http://www.iihs.org/iihs/sr/statusreport/article/50/3/3*
...So far most efforts to improve bicyclist safety have focused on infrastructure. Cities have added bike lanes and cycle tracks and have delineated bike boxes at intersections to give bicyclists their own space to wait for a light to change. In many cases, safety was found to improve after such changes (see "Sharing the road: Communities try new ways to improve bicyclist safety http://www.iihs.org/iihs/sr/statusreport/article/48/1/1," Jan. 24, 2013).
But even with improved infrastructure, it would be impossible to eliminate all conflicts between vehicles and bicycles. That's why it's important to incorporate bicyclist detection into front crash prevention systems. ...
A handful of automakers are already adding bicyclist detection to their crash avoidance systems. Volvo and Subaru say their optional forward collision warning and automatic braking systems recognize bicyclists as well as pedestrians. BMW's Night Vision is designed to detect bicyclists, pedestrians and large animals in the dark and highlight them on a display, issuing an audible warning if necessary. All these systems have certain limitations, and it's not clear what percentage of bike crashes they actually prevent or mitigate.
cheers, Beth