in darkness - let there be light
Posted by Ronan | Filed under innovation, random, technology
wow - the hour goes back and BAM it’s dark at 5.30! I cycle a lot and past experience tells me - darkness and cyclists doesn’t go hand in hand. In fact cyclists and traffic, regardless of light conditions, are locked in a never ending war. Often the cyclists win the battle by scooting past traffic and jumping lights, other times traffic wins, like the occasion last Friday when a white van trying to pass a car turning right squeezes me into the curb and knocking me off.
So what can we cyclist do to be more visible? Well wearing bright luminous jackets with reflectors is a start, having lights is also a must, but there is something missing that will make drivers notice you and give you the space you have the right to occupy. I started searching around the various sites for the answer (secretly hoping not to find it). I’ve found it here at the James Dyson Award. Reactiv by an innovator Michael Chen.
The jacket uses an accelerometer that senses movement to change the colour of the LEDs in the back from green (accelerating) to red (braking). It has amber LEDs in the arms which are activated by a tilt switch behind the elbow. These light up when the arm is lifted, indicating the cyclist is about to turn.
It should be for sale by Christmas .. if you come across it - please let me know!
Tags: cool, cycling, darkness, dyson, innovation, reactiv
