VeloCityLight: New idea for bike light

[andy]

Some orienteering friends of mine have come up with a nice idea for a bike light to help keep you safe on the road. Take a look at their kickstarter project...

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/eua ... r-bike-lig

[Wayward-O]

Would make a very interesting light set if combined with this.

[EddieH]

2 digits the size of an i-phone. I suspect that a lot of people who can see well enough to drive legally will not be able to read the numbers, or even realis that they are numbers.

[RJ]

EddieH, if you read the article it says that the lights can be easily read from 40-45 feet, giving a driver 4.5 seconds to react if travelling at 30mph. The perception is that a set of figures that get brighter as the bike slows down are registered by the car driver in a different way from just seeing a flashing red light. They have to process the information because it involves numbers.

I reckon it is a good idea. Deserves support. Read the whole thing!

[charles2]

Its an interesting concept and even if the driver or other road user isn't focussing on the actual numbers the fact that they are changing will draw attention to the light.

[maprun]

RJ reread the FAQ in the article, it says it can be read from 40 - 45 metres (not feet), giving a driver 4.5 seconds to react at a speed differential of 21 mph.

I commute on an unlit busy A road with a variable width, passing the usual 2 or 3 cyclists is very tricky. Anything that allows me to assess their speed as early as possible will mean there's more time to slow down or overtake. Just to spice things up there's often an idiot tailgating behind.

Frankly I'm too scared to commute down the same road on my bike before 7.30pm in the dark! I'm not sure having this light would convince me it's worth leaving before 7.30pm, but I'd certainly feel more relaxed if I did.

[EddieH]

Just whose eyes can easily read the number at 40-45 metre? I know that I could not read an i phone sized number at that distance, and I can legally drive without glasses according to my optician.