Mark T wrote:
>> http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/technology/newsid_7340000/7340963.stm
>
> Great idea, but it needs to go from red when trundling along/accelerating
> to a brighter red when slowing down. IMO green means Go or Pass, which is
> not the message you want to give when going through a pinch point.
I've recently been experimenting with a home-brew brake light on my
bike, built into the shell of a mudguard-mounted dynamo light. Like
those of motor vehicles, it's bright red when braking, and off when not.
I have a separate, rack-mounted rear light for visibility.
It's actually a significant-deceleration-of-rear-wheel light (using a
magnetic pick-up from a cheap Chinese bike computer and some
microcontroller logic[1]), so functionally similar to the jacket.
Measuring deceleration is a great way to do this on a bike, as it works
when you're slowed by gradients (including speed bumps) or gusts of
wind, which can be just as significant as deliberate braking.
I have noticed some anecdotal reduction in tailgating through pinch
points and especially at speed bumps, where presumably its novelty value
(and message in a language they understand) serves to get drivers'
attention.
Kim.
--
[1] My electronics is better than my mechanical engineering, and I
couldn't think of a robust way of interfacing microswitches with both
brake levers.
