Hasta La Ideas

Cyclists can be hard for motorists to see, particularly motorists in larger vehicles. British trucker Jay Singh observed this firsthand, having spent decades driving a hauling truck around the UK. Singh himself eventually took up cycling, and “after one too many close shaves while cycling in London [decided] to invent and design the safest light that can be made, making cyclists visible from all angles.”

The problem, Singh reckoned, is that conventional bike lights are limited in their directionality:

His solution is to spread the light to the sides:

His SeeMe bike light design took five years to prototype, and includes HD cameras both front and rear. Footage is captured on the included SD cards.

I’m not sure this design adequately solves the problem, but I do like the thinking behind it. And particularly that Singh has experience on both sides of the visibility problem. Having spent that much time in a truck, he understands what makes cyclists difficult to see.

The project is up on Kickstarter, with units going for $203 and expected to ship in December. At press time there were 27 days left to pledge in the nearly-funded campaign.