I saw this guy with his Bicycle Safety Wing on the Guadalupe River Trail in San Jose, CA the other day.
This is a pop-out plastic shaft with a reflective panel that extends about 12 inches, or about handlebar width. Our good friends at Cantitoe Road distribute these to your local bike shop, where they retail for about $15. The Bicycle Safety Wing is also available for purchase online.
Looks like it could double as a fly swatter and is way classier than the styrofoam noodle pool toy I saw someone using the other day.
Needs to be 3 ft long.
I’ve generally felt that, my own left shoulder clad in high-vis would do the same/better job for less weight/clutter than this device. Plus my own high-vis clad torso (combined with lights) are higher and easier for drivers to see. I consider this device a waste of cash.
No matter what aids you wear to assist drivers to see you, there are a significant minority of drivers who just pass dangerously close. We need to stop identifying ways for the victim to (supposedly) avoid this and deal with the actual problem (bad driving and lack of safe cycling infrastructure). In no other crime do we hold the victim responsible for avoiding that crime.
Rangjan, I’ve fought this battle since 1992 so I’m not talking out of my butt. Yes your point about the bad driving is true and must always be combated. But I promise you that the first thing out of the driver’s mouth when they hit a cyclist 90% of the time is “I didn’t see him/her.” Having high-vis clothing is financially feasible and using it removes the “didn’t see” excuse from the driver’s options. The driver who hit me claimed that she did not see me in-spite of her looking right at me. I was wearing a gray jersey at the time. Yes the victim blaming in these cases is outrageous and happens every day.