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When I was commuting daily in the SF fog, I discovered that putting on of these [1] on my helmet did wonders to keep cars further off my tail. It moves the brak
by braunshedd 1y ago
When I was commuting daily in the SF fog, I discovered that putting on of these [1] on my helmet did wonders to keep cars further off my tail. It moves the brake light up to eye level for people in SUVs and also triggers on engine braking.
Wish it were cheaper, but was a worthwhile investment for me.
Also, consider looking into airbag vests if you ride regularly. Also expensive but (supposedly) make a huge difference in crash outcomes.
[1] https://www.brakefreetech.com/products/brake-free https://www.brakefreetech.com/products/brake-free
- wildzzz 1y agoI saw one of these last week and just assumed it was tied into the brake lights but it was always on.
- wildzzz 1y agoOh, now I see that it's just based on an accelerometer. Marketing it as "wireless" seems to suggest that it is monitoring the brake lights rather than "automatically" flashing based on motion.
- gambiting 1y agoTbf, even cars put the brake lights on based purely on deceleration nowadays in addition to triggering when the brake pedal is pressed. It's covered by legislation in both EU and US, since BEVS and PHEVs can have very aggressive regen braking, and the legislation basically says if your rate of deceleration is above X, then lights need to be on even if the brake pedal hasn't been pressed.
- jamiek88 1y agoYes and my Kia ev6 needed a software update to do that. I had a couple incidents where people were surprised by my deceleration before the update. Now in regen the brake lights come on above a certain harvest level.
- Cthulhu_ 1y agoIn addition, some cars - I don't know if this is legislated or a feature - will blink the brake lights or even the alarm lights if it detects a sudden hard brake (emergency brake). But people would do that themselves anyway if they for example had to slow down suddenly due to a traffic jam or whatever.
- amelius 1y agoIf you read the article then you will see that the accelerometer is a feature that makes it safer. Apparently, motorcycles can brake even if you don't use the brake, and then you really want the lights to turn on.
- avar 1y ago> Apparently, motorcycles can > brake even if you don't use > the brake They've even made cars with that "motorcycle" feature, it's most commonly activated by moving a sort of "stick" situated between the driver and passenger seat.
- mc3301 1y ago'avar' is talking about "engine braking" with a manual transmission car. Most motorbikes have a manual transmission. If you gear down (you are cruising in fourth gear and 'gear down' to third gear), your vehicle's speed will reduce. Brake lights are triggered by the brake pedal or lever/pedal on a motorcycle. In the case of engine braking, the brake lights are not triggered. Drivers behind them can't anticipate stopping without such a signal. Try it yourself! Some automatic cars, you can gear down, or just pull your parking brake a little. Cars behind you will come dangerously close to hitting you. Also, don't try this. Wait, do new cars' parking brakes trigger the brake lights? I also wonder about regenerative braking in electric cars where they slow down simply by lifting your foot off the accelerator.
- aeronaut80 1y agoLifting your foot off the accelerator in a Nissan Leaf triggers brake lights when in e-Pedal mode (one foot driving, no need to use the brake pedal except in an emergency). It reminds me of a feature that car manufacturers declined to install (due to cost) many years ago, in which brake lights would be triggered by rapidly taking your foot off the accelerator. The idea was that this scenario would usually be followed by emergency braking and that anyone following would see the brake lights come on a fraction of a second earlier.
- wolrah 1y ago
- bartread 1y agoThat is a great tip. Thank you! I wonder if they’ll ship to the UK?
- topsecret 1y agoYes, they will: > Where do you ship to? > Basically to every European country (-including Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom), but in fact we accept and ship orders worldwide. However some markets might not be setup for automated checkout. If you are experiencing difficulty for shipping to a certain country, contact us so that we can manually create a draft order for you to review and complete. https://www.brakefreetech.eu/pages/support https://www.brakefreetech.eu/pages/support
- subscribed 1y agoI've seen several of these on the few riders down here, so I guess yes, one way or another. Also a helmet cam does wonders for wannabe-tailgaters
- SequoiaHope 1y agoI helped Alex invent that product! I built the first prototype that helped him get funding and hand assembled some of the first PCB designs. My (old) name is on the patent. I’m glad to see this was already posted. I wear mine when I ride my 1500w ebike around and I feel so much safer with it. It’s really bright too!
- amelius 1y agoThat's cool. What principles is it based on and was it difficult to clean up the signals to get a reliable input?
- SequoiaHope 1y agoI did not write the production code but I imagine they are tracking the velocity and acceleration vectors using a kalman filter and lighting up the lights when acceleration is negative in the direction of travel. By tracking the velocity vector in addition to acceleration one can eliminate the effects or the driver turning their head. I.e you are not just looking for a specific accelerometer axis to go negative, you have to use a more complex filter to determine the actual physical direction of travel of the device even as it rotates, and check for negative acceleration in that direction. To learn more: https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_AHRS https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_AHRS https://learn.adafruit.com/how-to-fuse-motion-sensor-data-into-ahrs-orientation-euler-quaternions/overview https://learn.adafruit.com/how-to-fuse-motion-sensor-data-in...
- haiku2077 1y agoI got one for my birthday! What a great product. It does exactly what it says it does, and has no more complexity than required.
- SequoiaHope 1y agoYussss I’ve been really impressed that Alex has made such a solid product. He was starting up just as my business failed and I warned him it can be a difficult road, but he stuck with it and has delivered something really special.
- beloch 1y agoMotorcycle fatality rates have been trending upwards, not downwards[1]. Brake lights on helmets may illuminate one of the culprits: An ever increasing number of American trucks with poor visibility. Sitting on a bike, you're even shorter than a pedestrian and more likely to be completely out of sight. Perhaps its time to start regulating for better visibility, as Europe has done. [1]https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-motorcycle-crashes https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-motorcyc...
- mithametacs 1y ago[flagged]
- unaindz 1y agolol what?
- justinrubek 1y agoI assume this is indicating that it's a pipe dream in the US under the current regime.
- lelandfe 1y agoI recently had to frantically wave at a driver about to turn right over a child in the crosswalk. He literally could not see them from his vantage point in his giant SUV.
- kjkjadksj 1y agoSome “militant” urban cycling commuters do things like attach a pool noodle horizontally and vertically to create space and visibility. I’d probably hazard a guess that avoiding highway miles also lowers your risk profile substantially.
- radlad 1y agoFreeway driving tends to be the safest driving, in any vehicle. This is because speed deltas are typically low, and there are no cross-streets or stopping. https://safetrec.berkeley.edu/2023-safetrec-traffic-safety-facts-motorcycle-safety https://safetrec.berkeley.edu/2023-safetrec-traffic-safety-f... (Ctrl+F "Crash Location of Motorcycle Fatal Crashes")
- jeffbee 1y agoRetroreflective tape on your helmet is also pretty good, and much cheaper.
- kccqzy 1y agoI ride a bicycle, and I deliberately mount the rear light directly at the eye level of typical sedans and SUVs. It's not connected to the brakes, but I find that having the light pulse is enough.
- LeifCarrotson 1y agoAre you on a penny farthing? A tallbike? I've got the rear flasher on my road bike tucked as high under the seat as it can get, but even with a large frame bike and relaxed commuting (non-aero) posture I'm shorter than the hood lots of full-size SUVs and pickups, much less the seat. I agree with the other commenter that a 360 cam on top of the helmet has been the most important thing for deterring tailgating and road rage. I've added reflective tape on the frame, the blinking blinking lights under the seat, a headlight on the handlebars and a headlamp with front white and rear red light, and my backpack has a nearly fluorescent neon green cover. Those all help reduce the "Oops, didn't see you there while looking at my phone" close calls, but do nothing to reduce intentional harassment - that's the function of the camera.
- kccqzy 1y agoSorry if I was unclear. I have two rear lights. The first one is mounted on the seat post near the eye level of sedans. The second one is mounted at the bottom of the helmet near the eye level of large SUVs.
- smadge 1y agoIf you have a hub generator system, they sell rear lights with controllers which detect changes in the frequency of the wheel rotation and start pulsing when you decelerate.
- mmooss 1y agoWhy not just connect them to the hand brake levers?
- 1y ago
- ramses0 1y agoTake a look into Lumos bike helmets: https://ridelumos.com/products/remotes-and-mounts https://ridelumos.com/products/remotes-and-mounts They started via a kickstarter in 2015: https://www.google.com/search?q=lumos+helmet+history https://www.google.com/search?q=lumos+helmet+history ...they kindof "always" had reliability issues w/ detecting braking accurately, I think switching between the handlebar remote/sensor or phone sensors. It's an existing product with a direct analogue to your project goal, and minimally you could trawl for contacts within customer reviews or online reports to get some ideas about the good/bad in this problem space. Beware of patents (as relevant), but it's a noble and useful project and goal.
- stronglikedan 1y agoI wonder if that's the one the author refers to when they say, "I purchased one of the few similar products on the market. To my surprise, it relied solely on a basic tilt switch, rattling excessively during rides despite claims of “advanced technology."
- cbull 1y agoI have one of the Brake Free lights and it uses an accelerometer, it's NOT just a basic tilt switch. Nor does it rattle when riding, it's a very solid unit. I've had friends following me (both in cars and motorcycles) who comment later they can't believe how much more visible it makes me. It does attach to a helmet and require that you periodically recharge the battery but I'm very happy with the purchase (as opposed to just flashing the brake lights on the bike when slowing)
- andrewflnr 1y agoI have a smiley face rendered in retroreflective tape on the back of mine. I figure it's both bright and triggers the very sensitive human visual system for detecting faces. It's hard to say how much it helps, especially since I put it on basically the same time I started riding at all, but I don't often have people tailgating me. ed: and it was only a couple bucks, that's nice.
- aziaziazi 1y agoNice idea! Cars owner sometime use a "children inside" sticker. Won’t work for a solo bike obviously but wonder if some other messages might be effective like "Dad of toddlers", "I might be a cop", "vulnerable human"… the smiley is easier to read through.
- GuinansEyebrows 1y agoheh, or you could join an OMC (outlaw motorcycle club) and get patched up * for an implied 'i will literally kill you if you get close to me' * don't do this
- andrewflnr 1y agoHa, I have heard a couple motorcyclists sincerely recommend open-carrying a gun to scare off murderous asshole drivers (which, to be clear, absolutely exist). Neither of those options are on my to-do list though. :)
- paulryanrogers 1y agoIMO, there are very few circumstances where "more guns" is an improvement. I don't think introducing guns to motorvehicle altercations is one of them.
- psunavy03 1y agoAnyone who open carries anywhere other than the wilderness or in the field while hunting is at best an attention whore with main-character syndrome . . . at best. What's more, notwithstanding the freakouts from Europeans and blue-staters about so-called "gun culture," you have no right to employ a firearm anywhere in the US unless someone is actively threatening to kill or maim you or a person near you. Not because you got in a road-rage pissing contest. If anything, bringing a gun into a situation like that is a great way to get a felony assault/brandishing charge and lose your ability to own a gun period.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- kjkjadksj 1y agoCalifornian motorcycle commuters are on another level in terms of risk imo. People are lane splitting at like 30mph over the speed of the rest of the traffic and absolutely no one checks for bikers before merging. It is a miracle more people don’t die on the 5 or the 101 every day.
- throwup238 1y agoNo kidding. The only time I've ever seen motorcycle accidents is on the 10 and 101. Highways in California in general are ridiculous; I'm constantly amazed driving on the 110 that more people don't get killed at the on-ramps with blind curves and everyone going 20 mph over the speed limit.
- gus_massa 1y agoDoes it use an accelerometer to turn on? Is it safe in case of an accident? The helmet is quite round, and the not round shape may be a problem.
- gkanai 1y agoThank you! This is cool. I hadn't seen it before.
- sureIy 1y ago> moves the brake light up to eye level for people in SUVs Sad that this would be needed. At that price it's insane to me. OP's article is about democratizing safety and keeping it at a low price, while this over engineered brake light is $160 plus tax. Then a 3350 mAh battery and it lasts only 8-12 hours. Crazy
- exadeci 1y agoThere are some ridiculously cheap "smart" bicycle brake lights that already react to slowing down