Category: safety

Cyclist jacket with brake light and turn signals

Raise your arm before a turn, and a tilt switch activates big amber LEDs to signal your turn at night. An accelerometer detects when you slow down to illuminate a big patch of red LEDs on your back. This clever cyclist jacket is the invention of Michael Chen in London, who won a design competition with this jacket. He hopes a manufacturer will pick up his idea in time to make the jacket available in time for Christmas for UK£100 (about US$200). This cyclist jacket is demonstrated in the video below.

Hat tip to Cycle Dog, who wonders how the wiring and electronics will hold up under constant use and wet weather riding.

City Traffic Commission: Cyclists are insane idiots

Update: See Ms Ballingall’s comment below for her apology and explanation.

The town of Saratoga, California is nestled in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Jose, CA. It’s a popular area for Silicon Valley road cyclists to ride to and through. While the city of Saratoga considers cyclist safety an important issue, Saratoga Transportation Safety Commission chair Brigitte Ballingall has a different view of cycling. “I think it’s an idiotic sport to do on the road – it’s just insane,” she was quoted as saying in this news about cycling safety in Saratoga.

Cyclists are asked to “be nice” in their emailed comments to her as they explain that cycling is a relatively safe activity that can be enjoyed by almost anybody. For more information about the Saratoga Transportation Safety Commission, see the city website.

Hat tip to Paul on the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition mailing list for this news.