Skip to main content

New York Citi Bike pilots laser safety light

As part of an ongoing commitment to safer cycling in New York, the Citi Bike program is installing a new safety feature, the Blaze Laserlight, on 250 bikes this winter, with the aim of making Citi Bike riders more visible to drivers and pedestrians. The light uses laser technology to project a bike symbol six metres in front of the rider and, unlike the standard beam of bike lights, is visible from various perspectives. According to Citi Bike, research on use of the Laserlight on London’s bike share f
January 16, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
As part of an ongoing commitment to safer cycling in New York, the Citi Bike program is installing a new safety feature, the 8234 Blaze Laserlight, on 250 bikes this winter, with the aim of making Citi Bike riders more visible to drivers and pedestrians.

The light uses laser technology to project a bike symbol six metres in front of the rider and, unlike the standard beam of bike lights, is visible from various perspectives.

According to Citi Bike, research on use of the Laserlight on London’s bike share fleet indicates that a cyclist with a Laserlight at night is more visible than a cyclist in daytime. Tests by 491 TRL, the UK’s transport research body, comparing the Laserlight to a standard LED-only light found that, to a bus driver, visibility increased from 72 per cent to 96% per cent, with similar results for other vehicles.

The initiative also aims to grow ridership among women, whom studies have shown are more likely to ride in safer traffic environments with features like protected bike lanes and one-way streets.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Jenoptik supplies sophisticated multi-section control project
    November 17, 2014
    Efficient speed enforcement in the most highly frequented tunnel in Austria on the A7 near Linz. The Bindermichl-Niedernhart tunnel complex on Austrian highway A7 connects the major east/west A1 route from Vienna/ Bratislava to Munich/Salzburg with the A7/ E55 running south from Prague in the Czech Republic. This happens right in the middle of the city of Linz, Austria.
  • How technology is propelling the development of urban shared transport
    April 11, 2024
    Over 18 million people use ride-hailing apps in the UK alone, says Mariusz Zabrocki of Freenow
  • Introducing the camera that can see round corners
    June 26, 2015
    Ford is introducing a new camera technology that can see around corners, even when drivers cannot, in a bid to alleviate the problems involved with exiting blind junctions and help avert accidents. The innovative Front Split View Camera, now available as an option in the all-new Ford S-MAX and Galaxy, displays to the driver a 180-degree view from the front of the car, using a video camera in the grille. At a blind junction or exiting a driveway, the camera enables drivers to easily spot approaching vehic
  • New technology revolution in urban traffic control?
    January 26, 2012
    Urban traffic control is a well-defined and practised art. Nevertheless, there are technologies here and on the horizon with the potential to revolutionise how we do things. By Gavin Jackman and Andrew Kirkham, TRL, and Jason Barnes. Distributed monitoring and control of urban traffic networks and flows is nothing new. PC-based Urban Traffic Control (UTC) is now well established and operating in many locations around the world. However, it is worth considering the effects of the huge growth in the use of sm