Cool New Gadget Might Make Biking Safer

When you’re biking, signaling your turns can help protect you and help the motorists behind you understand what you’re doing. But at night, even the best signaling can get lost in the dark. That’s why an Azerbaijani designer (oh that former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan — such a hotbed of great ideas!) came up with a device that projects displays on your back while you’re riding, replacing hand signals with bright, light images. It’s basically like adding brake lights and turn signal lights to your bike — only they’re on your back and controlled by your phone.

So. Freakin. Cool.

I haven’t tested the device for myself, so I can vouch for it’s reliability. But I am intrigued by the idea and am hoping to try one out soon.

I love smart technologies like this. I love anything composed of the kinds of high tech parts that have to be made in modular cleanrooms. But I also believe that when choosing gadgets, you have to be thoughtful.

I have to say this device seems a lot more useful than those bike computers that measure mileage. If you know where you’re going and can count, you can figure out how many miles you’ve ridden. Plus, it’s way too easy to get distracted by one of those things. If you’re on mile 98 and looking down every three seconds because you want to watch it flip to 100, odds of an accident go up.

This projector, on the other hand, mounts to the back of your bike so it can’t distract you while you’re riding. Instead, it helps drivers behind you and makes you safer. It’s been featured in lots of blogs, but so far I can’t figure out where to buy one. Commenters don’t seem to know either. If I figure it out, I’ll be sure to post the info, toute suite!