To avoid accidents, Volvo paints cyclists
Life Paint
The facts
While 19,000 car accidents involve cyclists in the United Kingdom every year, Volvo, in collaboration with Albedo 100, has launched an innovative paint that augments the visibility and safety of cyclists in the dark.
Presented in the form of a spray, Life Paint is invisible to the naked eye but reacts to car headlamps at night like the coating on traffic signs.
This paint can be washed and applied on any surface: bikes, clothes, shoes, helmets or even backpacks.
If the test, distributed freely in limited quantities in six London bicycle shops, proves conclusive, Volvo could distribute it nationwide then worldwide.
Interpretation
Self-drive, automatic speed control, Google Car or even electric vehicle induction charger. At the instigation of both new market entrants and well-established manufacturers, the roads of 2030 are now being mapped out with technological innovations.
But why wait? There are already simple and practical everyday services out there for consumers. With its “Svenska Snöräddare” application, Audi has created a mutual aid network for motorists, jumping on the collaborative economy bandwagon. As part of its research on connected cars, Volvo has developed a service that lets a delivery man place a customer’s shopping in the boot of his car without him even being there.
With Life Paint, Volvo intends to promote its “provident” player image. Life safety both inside and outside the vehicle is central to Volvo’s philosophy. The brand has set itself a clear target: no more deaths or serious casualties in a Volvo by 2020.
Hence Life Paint… “the best way to survive a bicycle accident is not to have one”.
