Brighton cyclist's lifesaving idea

8:00am Saturday 4th June 2011 in News By Emily-Ann Elliott

LIFESAVER: Emily Brooke LIFESAVER: Emily Brooke

A student's bright idea has been hailed as a potential life safer.

Emily Brooke, a final-year product design student at the University of Brighton, has developed a laser to protect cyclists on the roads.

The invention, called BLAZE, projects a bright green image of a bike onto the road ahead to alert motorists.

The design has already received a lot of interest from experts and has won Miss Brooke a place at Babson College in Massachusetts, America, on an entrepreneurship programme where she will work on developing the product.

Miss Brooke came up with the idea after taking up cycling.

The 25-year-old said: “Until a year ago I had never been on a road bike before but I decided to cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats for charity.

“I trained for four months and completed the ride in September and have since become a cycling nut.

“However I noticed that cycling in the countryside was beautiful, peaceful and relaxing, but in a city it felt stressful and dangerous.

“I wanted to tackle the issue of safety of cyclists on city streets by increasing the visibility, footprint and ultimately the awareness of the bicycle.”

Miss Brooke has now taken out a patent for BLAZE, which is a small, battery-powered device that is attached to the handlebars of bicycles, motorcycles or scooters.

BLAZE will be on show along with other final-year student inventions at an exhibition in the creativity suite at the university’s Moulsecoomb campus during office hours today and Monday.

For more information visit http://budabrighton.com/2011/05/buda-final-year-exhibition/

Comments(14)

NickBrt says...
10:56am Sat 4 Jun 11

Sounds a brilliant idea but in the meantime could cyclists go to Halfords and buy a front and back light please? None of them seem to have them any more while they sail through red traffic and pedestrian lights causing danger to other people.

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feline1 says...
10:57am Sat 4 Jun 11

wtf!? If I saw I bright green image of a bike sweeping along the road whilst I was driving, I'd probably think I'd been drugged.

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downfader says...
11:39am Sat 4 Jun 11

This is not a new idea.
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There have been various laser projector products tested and made over the last 10 years, the most famous is the one that projects a "cyclelane" on the road.
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I dont think this product will lead to increased safety. Hiviz and helmets havent yet been proven to have done so. I would also much rather a light is poorly angled than a laser, so I hope the fittings on this product incorporates a restriction on height. I also think it would be good to build in some kind of sensor that recognises if the laser is pointed too high

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NickBrt says...
2:08pm Sat 4 Jun 11

How would we know about high vis success rate? None of the Brighton cyclists wear them, they wear black clothes, cycle wrong way down dark streets, have no lights, listen to IPOD or talk on mobile phones then wonder why they get knocked off! Must go watch out for the Greens who will be stalking me now for denigrating their beloved cyclists.

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Granny says...
2:10pm Sat 4 Jun 11

This sounds like a good idea but the only thing which will increase the safety of cyclists is for them to obey the Highway Code!!!

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feline1 says...
2:12pm Sat 4 Jun 11

You know what my worst bug bear is? Cos cyclists do a lot of stoopid stuff, but the one that makes me face-palm the most is this: when there's a one-way street with a contra-flow cycle lane, and they cycle up the contra-flow THE WRONG WAY. Jesus wept that is egregious.

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downfader says...
2:18pm Sat 4 Jun 11

NickBrt wrote:
How would we know about high vis success rate? None of the Brighton cyclists wear them, they wear black clothes, cycle wrong way down dark streets, have no lights, listen to IPOD or talk on mobile phones then wonder why they get knocked off! Must go watch out for the Greens who will be stalking me now for denigrating their beloved cyclists.
This is one of the factors often not recorded by the authorities in the event of a collision. When the collision is a wing-mirror bump or something that doesnt result in injury that too is often not recorded.
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I'm sceptical of hiviz, lasers and any other gimmick. Just as I'm sceptical of anyone who posts "None of the Brighton cyclists wear them." It presents a defeatist argument.
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It is the skills we use and the way we use the roads that count. From personal use to decent road planning. Learning where and how to look and observe.
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Oh and cycling is not the preserve of the Greens. It has a long history with the Tory Party and the Liberals, too.

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CaliforniaGirl says...
4:55pm Sat 4 Jun 11

Yay Emily Brooke! Anyone who works on something that may improve the world we live in deserves support and approval. Well done.

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John Steed says...
6:44pm Sat 4 Jun 11

seem to remember a laser projector being set up by the west pier 25 years or so ago, a bit basic but it did manage to project some dolphins jumping out of the sea, on the downside it was controlled from a dome in the roof of an artic lorry which had the generator and equipment in the trailer.
so top marks for miniturising this gizmo has it been offered to the dragons yet?

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John Steed says...
6:46pm Sat 4 Jun 11

seem to remember a laser projector being set up by the west pier 25 years or so ago, a bit basic but it did manage to project some dolphins jumping out of the sea, on the downside it was controlled from a dome in the roof of an artic lorry which had the generator and equipment in the trailer.
so top marks for miniturising this gizmo has it been offered to the dragons yet?

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John Steed says...
6:49pm Sat 4 Jun 11

NickBrt wrote:
Sounds a brilliant idea but in the meantime could cyclists go to Halfords and buy a front and back light please? None of them seem to have them any more while they sail through red traffic and pedestrian lights causing danger to other people.
and riding along oneway streets the wrong way and how many are on bikes with none or just one working brakes

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CaliforniaGirl says...
7:03pm Sat 4 Jun 11

Jeez people! This isn't an article about the cyclists that break the rules - this article is about innovation and looking to improve things! About time for some positive thinking!!!

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downfader says...
7:31pm Sat 4 Jun 11

CaliforniaGirl wrote:
Jeez people! This isn't an article about the cyclists that break the rules - this article is about innovation and looking to improve things! About time for some positive thinking!!!
Well said!

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Acheron says...
10:35pm Sat 4 Jun 11

Granny wrote:
This sounds like a good idea but the only thing which will increase the safety of cyclists is for them to obey the Highway Code!!!
Couldn't agree more. I lose count of the number of bikes that sail past me at red lights while I'm waiting for them to change to green. And as a cyclist I want to yell after them that I'm not stopped because I'm tired!

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