Latest in Bicycle Safety Technology

When Volvo recently launched a new product aimed at making bikers more visible to vehicles, some in the bike world barked, saying that Volvo was blaming the victims instead of the drivers of their cars.

But many others embraced the invisible bike spray paint that makes bikes appear to glow in the presence of headlights as one of many new products designed with a common mission of keeping bikers safe.

 “It’s a cool idea; it shows people are thinking outside the box, and I like that people are trying to keep people safe even if it comes from a car company,” said Samuel Slaton, director of communications for Bike New York, a non-profit bike advocacy group.

New technologies aimed at protecting cyclists include a lighting system that projects the image of a bike onto the street, a helmet that pops up from around the neck in air-bag fashion, another helmet that communicates with Volvo drivers to alert each other of their presence, and bells loud enough to get the attention of drivers.

So, which should you adopt? Bike advocates say anything that draws attention to your presence is your best bet.

“Being aware is the first step, and then increasing your own chances of being noticed by being seen and being heard,” said Slaton, who used to whistle as loudly as he could before finding a bell loud enough to alert other riders and pedestrians to his presence.

Many cities, meanwhile, have integrated technology into biking infrastructure to create a safer system of sharing roads.

One of the newest methods is creating a buffer between bikes and cars with white traffic delineator posts. The posts, made of an impact-resistant, flexible polyethylene material, serve as a visual reminder for both cars and cyclists.

One reason may be that drivers tend to slow down when lanes are narrowed, Blenski points out.