Spray paint lights up bicyclists at night

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Volvo’s new Life Paint illuminates bicycles at night. (Photo courtesy Volvo)
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The reflective paint can be sprayed on backpacks, helmets, and shoes, to help car drivers see bicyclists at night. (Photo courtesy Volvo)
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Volvo Life Paint is being distributed for free at 6 British bike shops, but the company says if testing goes well it would be released worldwide (Photo courtesy Volvo)
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The reflective paint product is invisible until illuminated by headlights. (Photo courtesy Volvo)
Life Paint lasts 10 days after spray application (Photo courtesy Volvo)
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WASHINGTON — A new super-reflective spray paint is being tested to see how well it illuminates nighttime bicycle riders

Swedish car maker Volvo is making the reflective spray available for free in six British bicycle stores, but says if testing goes well Life Paint will be available worldwide.

The reflective paint product is made by British startup Albedo 100.

Technically not paint, the washable material lasts about 10 days after application. It’s invisible until lit up by a car’s headlights.

Volvo says while the product is designed to be sprayed on bicycles, it can also be applied to helmets, clothes, shoes, children’s backpacks, and dog leashes and collars.

In the U.S., bicyclists accounted for 2 percent of all traffic fatalities and 2 percent of all crash-related injuries in 2012, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In a statement, Volvo’s Nick Connor said “Every year more than 19,000 cyclists are injured on the U.K.’s roads. At Volvo, we believe that the best way to survive a crash is not to crash.”

See how Life Paint works, in this promotional video from Volvo:

 

Neal Augenstein

Neal Augenstein has been a general assignment reporter with WTOP since 1997. He says he looks forward to coming to work every day, even though that means waking up at 3:30 a.m.

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