Volvo continues to make headlines for its technology geared toward preventing accidents on the road. I recently wrote about Volvo’s amazing new braking system that can stop fully-loaded commercial semi trucks safely on a dime.
Today we’re talking bicycle safety.
Volvo is helping nighttime cyclists defend themselves against whizzing cars with its new “Life Paint,” a spray-on reflective paint developed by Grey London with reflective paint makers Albedo100. The paint uses special adhesives that are invisible in daylight but light up after dark ā in the glare of automobile headlights.
Life Paint can also be sprayed on fabric, including clothing, shoes, strollers, backpacks and dog collars. It’s glow-in-the-dark capacity lasts a week and is said to wash off without damaging the material.
Currently, 2,000 trial cans are being given away at six bicycle shops in the U.K. If the product is well-received, it will be rolled out internationally, according to a spokesman from Grey London, Ollie Dearn in published reports.
The automaker says, “The best way to survive a crash is not to crash.” As an injury attorney who has helped many bicyclists hit by cars, I couldn’t agree more. I applaud Volvo for its safety measure that will surely save bicyclists’ lives if instituted and brought to the U.S. Better visibility and awareness of bicyclists sharing the roads with cars is imperative to the preservation of their lives.
In many of the bicycle cases I handle, innocent cyclists are hit by cars who do not see them. For instance, in my 2012 case Shekoski v. Allied Truck Company, an 83-year-old man was hit and killed by a semi truck as he was legally crossing the street on his bicycle. The driver of the semi truck claims to have never seen Mr. Shekoski, who was dragged underneath the truck.
There were 677 bicyclists throughout the country killed in 2011, accounting for 2% of all of the traffic fatalities for the year, according to the latest statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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