London’s Santander cycles to be fitted with cyclist safety lights

After a successful trial, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson MP, 1466 Transport for London (TfL), and 6352 Santander UK have announced that all 11,500 Santander Cycles will be fitted with Blaze Laserlights over time from early 2016. The project is largely funded by Santander UK as part of the partnership with TfL.

The 8234 Blaze Laserlight projects the symbol of a bicycle shape six metres in front of the cycle, onto the ground, giving the cyclist a larger footprint on the road. This makes their presence known, alerts drivers to their approach and helps ensure they are seen when otherwise they might be invisible, for example when they are on the near side of a vehicle turning left. It also gives a pedestrian about to step off the pavement a ‘heads up’ warning of an approaching cycle.

The Laserlights will be installed directly into the bike frame to ensure the image is projected at the ideal position for both cyclists, drivers and pedestrians. The Laserlights will only come on only when it is dark to save energy.

In September, 250 Santander Cycles were fitted with the technology and the trial has received positive feedback. In an on-street survey of cyclists trialling bikes with the Laserlights fitted, around three-quarters said that it made them feel more confident. Almost half also said they would be more likely to use Santander Cycles at night with the Laserlight fitted.

The introduction of Blaze Laserlights is a result of the partnership between TfL and Santander UK to enhance the Santander Cycles scheme and deliver more benefits to users, making cycling more fun, rewarding and easier. The Santander Cycles App was launched by the partnership in May and has already been used for more than a quarter of a million hires.