With nearly 19,000 cyclists killed or injured on UK roads every year, the “Bike Sense” concept technology is being developed at the carmaker’s Advanced Research Centre in the UK and is exploring the use of colours, sounds and touch inside the car to alert drivers to potential hazards.

Bike Sense uses lights and sounds intended to be instinctively associated with the potential danger, such as a bicycle bell or motorbike horn.

To help the driver understand where the bike is in relation to their car, the audio system will make it sound as if the noise is coming through the speaker nearest the bike, so the driver immediately understands the direction the cyclist is coming from.

The system will also alert the driver if a bicycle or motorbike is overtaking or coming past the vehicle on the inside, by using the top of the car seat to extend to “tap” the driver on the left or right shoulder.

A series of LED lights on the window sills, dashboard and windscreen pillars will also glow amber and then red as the bike approaches and will highlight the direction the bike is taking.

If a group of cyclists, motorbikes or pedestrians were moving around the car on a busy urban street, the system would intelligently prioritise the nearest hazards so the driver would not be overwhelmed or distracted with light or sound.

Bike Sense would also be able to identify hazards that the driver cannot see. If a pedestrian or cyclist is crossing the road, and they are obscured by a stationary vehicle for example, the car’s sensors will detect this and draw the driver’s attention to the hazard using directional light and sound.

If the driver ignores the warnings and presses the accelerator, Bike Sense will make the accelerator pedal vibrate or feel stiff, so the driver instinctively knows not to move the car forwards until the hazard has been avoided.

Other systems under development include door handles that will “buzz’ the driver’s hand to prevent doors being opened into the path of bikes.

Dr Wolfgang Epple, director of research and technology, Jaguar Land Rover, said: ‘By engaging the instincts, Bike Sense has the potential to bridge the gap between the safety and hazard detection systems in the car and the driver and their passengers. This could reduce the risk of accidents with all road users by increasing the speed of response and ensuring the correct action is taken to prevent an accident happening.’