As reported on TechCrunch.
by Ryan Lawler
More and more urban commuters are embracing cycling as a way to get to and from work and around the city, and more and more cities are embracing cyclists by adding bike lanes and making commutes safer and more fun. But bicycle safety is still a huge issue in even the most bike-friendly cities. A new startup called Blaze hopes to improve rider safety by reimagining the classic bike light.
Blaze’s bike light not only makes it easier for cyclists to see where they’re going when it gets dark, but more importantly, it’s designed to help motorists see them, even when they’re riding in a car’s blind spot. It does that with a laser light projection that projects the image of the bicycle five or six meters in front of where they’re biking.
The Blaze bike light seeks to overcome one of the biggest issues that cyclists face — that is, the propensity of motorists to turn without seeing them. Nearly 80 percent of all bike accidents happen when a cyclist is biking straight ahead, and a motorist turns into them.
(As a cyclist myself, I can say that the biggest wipeout I ever had was when a car tried to turn into me without signalling or seeing me.)
Not only does the Blaze bike light make you more safe, but it’s also got a lot of other things going for it. It’s rechargeable, USB compatible, and 100 percent waterproof. It has magnetic charging pins, so it has a completely sealed case.
The image it displays is green, which is the most easily seen shade, and also takes very little power to generate. The light has three different modes (high, low, and flashing) provides about 13 hours of usage per charge, and alerts users when the charge starts to run low.
The Blaze bike light comes with a mounting bracket and USB charging cord, and is available for pre-order for $200. It might be a little pricy compared to other bike lights, but you can’t really put a price on safety.