#HTE

Yea or Nay? A Bike Turn Signal That Activates When You Look to the Side

Successfully Kickstarted last month, Shield is a bicycle taillight/brake light with several gimmicks, the largest being: When you turn your head to look over your shoulder, it flashes a corresponding turn signal.

I love that the “thief” is wearing an NYC hoodie.

Costume selections aside: Do you think this is a good idea? It’s been a while since I rode a bike in the city, but I remember regularly checking over both shoulders just to be aware of being overtaken, not because I intended to turn in that direction. I also wonder how easy it is to attach the sensor to your helmet, and how accurate it is.

I could see the find-bike feature being useful in some situations. The brake light is nifty, but I wonder if it actually increases safety. And the alarm I could write off altogether; I suspect it would be like car alarms, i.e. something pedestrians ignore because it was set off by a passing garbage truck.

Cyclists, this thing runs $52 on pre-order. Would you find this useful enough to buy one?