Turn signal bicycle jacket substitutes visibility for blinking style
When it comes to bicycle safety, visibility is key. If you want to be safe, you should be lit up like a Christmas tree, with a fluorescent, mile high afro like Sushi K. So I'm a tad skeptical of this DIY Turn Signal Biking Jacket. It's a nice idea in theory, but surely you can accomplish the same thing by just sticking your arm out in the direction you're turning. Worse, while you could theoretically substitute a lighter jacket, those blinking signals are only really going to show up against a dark background, so this jacket would sacrifice substantial visibility just to less obviously do something that all good city bikers should already be doing in the first place. A bad idea made more palatable by being totally awesome anyway. I do love the little arc reactor in the middle, though.
Turn Signal Jacket [Leah Buechly]
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What if you need to signal at the same time you need to be braking? If it's a left turn, you'd need to take your hand off the front brake in order to signal, which is dangerous. That's why this is a good idea, though not necessarily the most practical thing. Maybe this would be better off integrated into a (removable) safety triangle?
I can see a jacket like that being useful at night with the addition of reflective material.
And I'll delete the rant about night cyclists in my community. (Hint: Dark clothing and no lights or reflectors.)
It'd be trivial to make the jacket out of reflective material, then put the blinky LEDS over flat black areas and keep them constantly lit.
Then blink off and on for signaling.
Nice neuromancer reference - but Sagamon's thoughts on cycling visibility might be more realistic. To paraphrase - pretend you've got a flashing light on your head and a $1000 bounty for any drunken idiot that can manage to run you down and avoid putting yourself in a situation where they can succeed.
I can imagine loads of people in my city buying this, as it has the right combination of looking good and being expensive. Actual safety is a secondary concern to the financial workers who see their bikes as a fashion accessory.
In fairness I think this idea does have potential. But the jacket itself should be high-vis, and the signals much easier to distinguish betweeen; on a rainy night, all a driver will see is an orange flash somewhere in the middle of the cyclist's back.
In the meantime though, I'm happy just sticking my arm out. If I'm somewhere lights would be useful, drivers will see my high-vis jacket sleeve and a reflective arrow patch on the back of my glove.
My grandfather drove, motorbiked and cycled for sixty-odd years without ever having an accident. His advice? "Be polite and courteous to your fellow drivers and, more importantly, assume that they're all dangerous idiots". Wisdom of the ancients indeed.
@jonathanpeterson
For shame. Can't you keep your cyberpunk straight? Sushi K is from Snow Crash, not Neuromancer. Jeez.
People!
This is a good start and it looks cool too. Other designers have already addressed alternatives to the micro-switches.
Though - adding an accelerometer will complicate the jacked a bit...
"Be polite and courteous to your fellow drivers and, more importantly, assume that they're all dangerous idiots" - Bugs, your grandfather had the right idea.
My version has been "Assume all drivers are out to get you. Try not to encourage this, but assume it all the same..."
Oh, and the jacket: LEDs cool. Black, for a biking jacket? Not cool. Visibility is Good.
I think it's worth pointing you to this recent contender on ABC Australia's "New Inventors":
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/txt/s2245783.htm
The device is a wrist-strap or bike glove with blinking LEDs that blink when you hold your hand out to signal a turn. A much neater solution, IMHO.
Unitasker! I have hands, and thus hand signals. And my hand signals are compatible with a backpack or a jacket, which this is not. Human body for the win!
Cute idea, though. Some kind of accelerometer brake light system on a bike would be interesting though...
I like the idea, though the visibility is obviously a big concern. You might be able to do this with a bright colored jacket with a black rectangle around the signals to make them visible. Just a thought...