The Lab: The laser bike light which could save cyclists' lives

A new bike light could save lives on Britain’s roads - by projecting a glowing green cyclist up to 24ft ahead of riders.

The Blaze front-light uses ultra-bright LEDs and lasers, and was invented by Emily Brooke, 27 - a keen cyclist who came up with the idea while studying product design at Brighton University.

Brooke says: “Eighty per cent of cycle accidents occur when bicycles travel straight ahead and a vehicle manoeuvres into them.The most common contributory factor is ‘failed to look properly’ on the part of a vehicle driver.”

The light was one of the first projects funded via crowd-funding site KickStarter when it launched in the UK - hitting double its funding goal in a month.

[Related: The Lab - the photo app that tells you what anyone's wearing]

The high-powered lights can flash for extra visibility, are powered by a built in battery, and are even visible in daylight. They will be on sale in autumn.

“I wanted to tackle the issue of safety of cyclists on city streets by increasing the visibility, footprint, and ultimately the awareness of the bicycle,” says Brooke.

“The evidence shows the bike simply is not seen on city streets.Even when lit up like a Christmas tree, a bicycle in a bus’s blind spot is still invisible.”