This one’s a no-brainer for cyclists that ride at night or are just in need of some increased visibility during their daily commute. Which may be just about every bike commuter in America, really, since the reports of “I didn’t see you!” vehicle-on-bike accidents doesn’t show any sort of stopping trend. (I’ve said it before, I’ll say it a million times more — put down the phone, do your makeup at home, read on the subway, and just CONCENTRATE ON DRIVING when you’re in a motor vehicle; there are no brownie points for multi-tasking during your commute).
Mr. Chen of London (do you suppose that’s how his friends address him?) is sympathetic to the plight of a cycling commuter and, unlike so many of us that just share war stories and scars at the bar, he’s gone and done something about it. He’s invented a high-visibility cycling jacket with built-in brake lights and indicators to help keep you from fading into the night. Full of all sorts of clever tricks, an accelerometer controls the color of flashing LED lights along your back (green when you’re moving forward, red for when you apply brakes) while amber indicator lights along the sleeves are turned on by a tilt-switch as soon as you raise your hand to give a turning signal. End result? You’re a glowing, flashing madly-safe cyclist winding through the streets at night a lot more safely than you did the night before.
The jacket is still in the development phase (Mr. Chen was awarded the first prize from the British judges at the James Dyson design awards), but he’s hopeful that it’ll be on sale by Christmas for around £100. We’ll keep you posted as this one’s certain to be a hit.
[via Spluch]
