Hey, Cyclists: This LED–Powered Backpack Could Save Your Life

There are more cyclists than ever in cities today, a fact that isn't lost on city planners and administrators. Streetscapes are changing accordingly, as they are amended to accommodate bike lanes. The result is a healthier urban environment with a robust transport network.

But tensions inevitably arise when such different transportation beasts as cars and bikes travel side–by–side in such intense proximity. Drivers don't always respect the line of demarcation separating the two vehicles. Bike lanes aren't treated with the deference afforded car throughways, so cyclists are frequently forced to dart into the main road (or onto sidewalks) to avoid collision. Then there's the fact that people, whether in cars or on bikes, can behave recklessly to the point of injuring, or at least antagonizing, those with whom they share the road.

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How, then, to negotiate the two different, but equally vital forms of transport? Seoul–based designer Lee Myungsu thinks he has an answer. A car owner who often commutes to his studio by bike, Myungsu devised a backpack that amplifies a cyclist's visibility on the road. The SEIL bag (pronounced Zail) lights its wearer up and indicates to surrounding traffic in which direction the cyclist is headed––no dweeby, though very important, hand signals required.

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