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.

Related Content

  • October 26, 2022
    Digital twins help city space race
    As the world becomes more urbanised, there is a need to monitor the likely effects this will have on the way we live, says Jeroen Borst of TNO, the Dutch organisation for applied scientific research
  • October 28, 2016
    Alcohol interlocks aid drink drive adherence
    The use of alcohol interlocks to prevent drink driving and change driver behaviour is gaining ground around the world but needs greater buy-in from authorities as Colin Sowman discovers. The often repeated mantra says that prevention is better than cure - and none more so than in the case of drink-driving. The introduction of the breathalyser provided an objective indication of alcohol consumption instead of having drivers touch their nose or walk in a straight line. Initially breathalysers were used as a r
  • December 24, 2012
    Evolucia introduces next generation LED roadway lighting
    Manufacturer of LED (light emitting diode) lighting products, Evolucia, has launched its next generation of LED replacement roadway luminaires. They claim the new Evolucia G2 aimed optics LED Cobra Head roadway luminaires offer substantially increased light efficacy when compared to traditional lighting technologies such as high intensity discharge (HID). "The G2 Evolucia Aimed Optics Cobra Head roadway luminaire packages high quality illumination, long life and extraordinary energy efficiency, a breakthro
  • May 24, 2022
    AVs need extreme training, says research
    AVs will be safer if they are given 'one-in-a-million' collision risk scenarios to learn from