Road Safety

It was just last week that we heard about the Otto, a simple-to-use bike tail light with some "smart" features. Well, the unrelated Luislight L300 could be considered the Otto's headlight equivalent.

Like a lot of other "smart" products, smart bike lights can sometimes be annoyingly complicated to operate. The Otto tail light is designed to be different, in that it does have some clever functions, but you just set it and forget it.

At least two companies are working on the task of stuffing self-deploying airbags into the trousers of motorcycle riders, giving bikers' legs the same level of safety afforded to their upper bodies by airbag-equipped jackets and vests.

Israeli company Vayyar says it can replace a bunch of car interior sensors with a single, hidden "4D radar" unit the size of a credit card, saving significant development costs while unlocking a range of upcoming safety features.

A study into the effects of cannabis on driving in a real-world context has found CBD alone does not impair driving ability. The landmark finding promises to be invaluable in guiding road safety regulations as cannabis laws shift across the globe.

While there are now a multitude of bicycle LED turn indicators on the market, most of them require riders to press buttons on a handlebar unit. Intended to make things simpler and safer, the ticc device is instead activated via head-tilts.

Some people refuse to wear bike helmets because they find the things to be big, heavy and gawky-looking. The Danish-made Newton-Rider helmet is a bit different, in that it's sleek, thin, and made of semi-soft materials.

We've seen a few different head- and tail-light-equipped bike helmets over the past several years, and some of the things have looked pretty … flashy. The Faro is a bit different, though, in that it has a classier, more refined appearance.

Bike headlights are now so bright that they can dazzle motorists, potentially causing those drivers to run into the cyclists using them. The Farina, however, is made to be bright without being blinding – plus it has some other nifty features.

A large percentage of automobile-bicycle collisions occur when a car hits a bike from behind. The UK-designed SureLight bicycle tail light was made with this in mind, as it actually warns motorists when they're getting too close.

There are now a number of "smart" bike lights available, that do things such as automatically switching on when it gets dark outside. The turn-indicating ioLight is different, though, in that it's triggered by the user's GPS coordinates.

Five years ago Garmin first introduced its Varia Radar system, which warns cyclists of cars approaching from behind. The company has now announced an updated version, that offers a couple of key improvements over the original.