Here's a vest that displays your speed on your back, letting everyone know how fast you're traveling on your bicycle.
There's more to it than merely showing off, though.
Inventors Brady Clark and Mykle Hansen say there are three goals behind the Speed-Vest: To increase awareness that bicycling is efficient; educate motorists about overtaking bicyclists safely; and demonstrate that a person can easily bike 10-15 mph.
The garment is not yet available commercially, but there's been a lot of interest and they've been talking to potential partners.
At an interview posted at the Speed-Vest website, Brady explains how he got the idea:
“Riding my bike down a steep hill one day and “taking the lane” (riding in the middle of the traffic lane) so that no cars could pass me too closely, I thought- 'Some people must really be pissed at me- I wonder if they knew I was going 25+ mph they’d think the same.'
“The idea grew beyond that incident into thinking about having my speed being visible at all times to motorists and wondering if it might encourage them to try biking if they can see that most any person on a bike can average 10+ mph – faster than a lot of the average speeds through cities (taking into account congestion and that cars can’t make use of the road shoulders to get ahead).”
Other uses
I think Speed-Vest is a fine idea for making bicyclists more visible after dark and letting motorists know how fast they'll have to go to overtake the cyclist. But I'm thinking of some other vest displays.
As long as it measures speed, how about displaying distance to let people know how many miles you've ridden on your bicycle. Better yet, let's convert that to carbon offset. My 3,100 miles so far this year have saved about a ton of carbon from entering the atmosphere.
Maybe that's a little arcane for motorists who don't really care about melting polar bears' homes on ice bergs.
Dollars
Most people understand pocketbook issues. How about a vest with a computer that translates distance into dollars saved by bicycling.
With the average car getting 19.8 MPG in the US, and regular unleaded costing an average $3.83 this week, a bicyclist saves about 19.3 cents per mile over the typical car. My vest would read that I've saved $598 this year by riding my bike. Nearly double that when compared to an SUV.
If you don't want to wait for Speed-Vest to show up at your local retailer, you can learn how to make one on your own at mykle systems lab website. Let me know if you fashion it to one of my suggestions.
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