Volvo Invents Lifesaving Invisible Paint for Bikers

Spray-on stuff reflects in headlights
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 30, 2015 11:18 AM CDT
Updated Apr 4, 2015 7:01 AM CDT
Volvo Invents Life-Saving Invisible Paint for Bikers
Volvo has a new safety innovation.   (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, file)

The company that invented the three-point seat belt is behind another big innovation in road safety, and this one comes in a spray can. Volvo's LifePaint, developed by a London ad agency and a Swedish startup, is invisible when you spray it onto, say, your bike. But when a car comes roaring by at night, its headlights will reflect on your bicycle, making you easier to see, Medium reports. Some 2,000 cans of the paint are being given away in Britain, and the product will go international if it's successful enough.

It's not just for bikes, Medium notes: You can also spray it on your clothes or even your dog's collar. LifePaint is washable, which may mean you don't want to ride in the dark in a rainstorm, Engadget notes. Without washing, it lasts 10 days. As promotional material puts it: Road safety "should be for everyone—the ones not driving our cars, and the ones who prefer two wheels to four." Of course, the company is still looking out for those behind the wheels of its vehicles, too: Volvo's "Vision 2020" is looking to eliminate road deaths and serious injuries for those in its new cars by 2020. (In the meantime, road deaths have been dropping.)

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