MAybe the cyclist will get out of MY WAY if I use my Fisker Karma's real loud vroooom vrooom sound.

If I know where they'll be turning then they're worth less points when I run them over.... give em a sportin' chance for chrissakes!

I think it might make more sense on the helmet.

Hell, most people don't use their turn signals in the car, what makes you think they'll do it on their bikes?

Well, ok, it's creative, but putting the turn signals on a bar attached to the back of the bicycle seat (an invention that's existed for decades) is better in several ways. First, you'll never forget to wear it and it'll be there for you on hot or cold days when this particular garment isn't appropriate to be worn. Second, it's likely more durable than LEDs sewn into clothing. Third, it's probably a lot cheaper.

Riders arch thier backs to hold onto the bars, so signals placed there wouldn't be very visible from behind, signal on the back of the seat would be better and avoids the whole washing and water and electronics not getting along thing.

@laffmakr: Exactly.

@bandit: Agreed. As a cyclist, I've become used to being ignored on the roads and have narrowly escaped become road kill on several occasions. I don't have a turn signal, I still rely on the age-old hand signal method. Where I can see this being a good thing (lights on the cyclist's back are at a higher level than if they were on the seat post, possibly easier to see to drivers?), being sewn into the clothes makes this a costly option. I have quite a few cycling jerseys, do then have to toss out all my existing jerseys (or replace over time as they wear down) and replace them all with new ones with these sewn in? That could be pretty costly, new jerseys can be pretty expensive.

@pagercam: During turns, you tend to slow down, thus sitting up in your seat. You sometimes also stop, in which case you're completely up. The big problem I see here is I wear a CamelBak, and that would cover this up.

I also agree with the seat post signal, but truth be told, I've had people near hit me with a KITT style back light and a headlight, so the bigger and more eye level, the better.

I wouldn't give up my Timbuk2 backpack/bag for this.
LED epaulets on outerwear shoulders could be seen from the back and the front.

As a road rider, I find this useful but more for the backs of the arm/shoulder. I ride often with a camelpack so this design won't work.

I would think something ON the bike rather than the rider (we don't drive with signals on us rather than our car).

Also, I've found more drivers don't know what a hand out, up or down means.

Give me a rearview LCD that records the driver seconds before that fatal crash. My estate will sue you and your dog from the grave!

Much as AZTRIGuy advocates hand signals for pedal-powered cyclists (I assume pedal power because of the reference to jerseys, I think because the scale is the same, hand signals would be more effective for motor-bikers. Unfortunately, here in L.A., I believe there must be a great number of unlicensed drivers, because the level of awareness of the laws has gone to Hell (people drive down the meridians and make right turns form left lanes), so I don;t thik the people would understand the traditional bent arm signal for a right turn.

Hand signals do not work, most drivers are ignorant to the meaning (ie, right turn looks like STOP to most drivers, this was a DOT test gone over in the MSF classes for motorcycle riding. Point where you are going. No it is not "legal", but it conveys to message better.

Actually, I think this could be a great idea for motorcyclists. Most responsible bikers wear safety gear at all times in all weather and having a large signal would be very beneficial as many times the turn signals on a motorbike aren't very large... and people on the highway don't pay lots of attention.

@Lizard_King:
yeah same with driving a car with faulty tail lights. people have no clue about any signal except "left". but i dont blame em, a lot of people drive with their arm hanging out the window who aren't signaling.

and on a side note, TO ANYONE WHO DOESNT SIGNAL THEIR LANE CHANGES - EVERYBODY HATES YOU AND WANTS YOU TO DIE A SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATH INVOLVING DENTAL INSTRUMENTS, WOODEN DILDOS AND DRANO.

I can think of a few more signals I would like to have when up against some f*ckwad motorists.

@SigmundTheSeaMonster: I aggree, to me it would be more useful to have a simple wireless LED consisting of 2 lights activated by a controller (or 1 contorller on each side of the bars).

And yeah, people don't know what hand signals are. I just point, and depending on how the people are driving use alternate fingers. Yield, motherfucker.

The only thing I hate more than people who don't signal is fatass lazy cops who don't ticket them.

@nutbastard: Agreed on the punishment.

I've felt that what is needed on cars now if a no-turn signal. So you have left, no-turn and right. So many people do not use signals, it's become a guessing game whether the driver is turning without a signal or going straight. the no-turn signal would signify a driver is going straight, but yet is a courteous driver and uses his or her signals.

On the topic of this thread, I would rather see a helmet with in-built signals. If I wore this jacket EVERY time I rode on the road, it would smell like roadkill in a month.

@Lizard_King:
i've thought the same thing, and often improvise such a signal using hazard flashers. but then again, where i drive theres a whole inter-vehicle communication system based on hazard flashers that most mountain folk know. pull over for me when i want you to, thats two flashes - "thank you". pull over when i was not trying to pass you gets one flash - "thanks". also two flashes if you win a race - "Ha Ha!" alternating left right left right blinkers or swerving left right left right is "WTF!?"

the best is at night if someone wont pull over, you can really freak em out by killing your lights altogether (highly illegal BTW)

oh yeah and the last car in a line of cars passing someone who's pulled over only gives one flash, to let the pulled over guy know he's the last one and it's ok to pull back in.

Wake me when a forcefield that flings cars as they bounce off of it is developed for bicycles/dune buggies.

@Mayor McRib: Not a LED, but something for helmets here.

I have some clip-on flashers that I attach to my motorcycle jacket at night. Unfortunately, day or night, there are plenty of idiots out there who wouldn't notice a coal truck in their path.

@Kaiser-Machead: I'd settle for a horn that sounds like an oncoming train, for my Vespa.

that jacket is the best way to fake people out on the street

signal a right and then pull a left to block them...

living in new york city, people who tend to be slow and take up the whole friggin sidewalk with their families should have a "SLOW + WIDE LOAD" sign on their asses

@nutbastard:
Yep, trucker/hillbilly/street racer blinker code.

I had a close friend who worked at the local power company entrance as a security guard;
I would pick him up from work to take him home (he lived in the backwoods-ish), he would always have his Cyclops 5 Mill Candle Power spot-light with him; we got stuck behind some douche going 35 in a 55 - all it took was a one quick 5 second burst in his rear view and he must have thought a cop was behind him - he pulled over to the shoulder and came to a full stop... HA!

I always wondered why car manufacturers didn't link the stearing wheel with the turn signals. So if your wheel is on an angle off center, your turn signals would automatically turn on. Then when your wheel is at center they'd turn off.

On second thought, this wouldn't help for those people in the city waiting in the right or left lane that want to turn but forgot to turn their signals on. Or for the idiot on the highway that drives 50 mph with their signal on the whole time.

@Out2gtcha:
awesome! yeah my car is white, as are about half the cop cars around here (Rest are black with white doors / roof) so im pretty sure people would fall for it. now if only i had a PA system.. is it illegal to tell someone to pull over with a PA? im not impersonating a cop, although they do often tell you to pull over on the PA. chalk it up to coincidence, your honor.

@anti-hello-kitty:
i'd rather see a solution to the lane changing problem.

yours would be very annoying for those of us who drive windy, hairpin infested roads daily that require more than a 90 degree rotation of the steering wheel.

"YES I FUCKING KNOW IM GOING LEFT!!!"

I usually just point in the direction I want to turn. Seems to work pretty well.

Perhaps blinky turn signals on the backs of cycling gloves would work better...

Fair Idea: Blinky lights on back

Better Idea: Don't use black - find something that stands out with hi-vis jerseys

Best Idea: A solution that works for fatties like me on recumbent bikes

@anti-hello-kitty: Because by the time you are turning the wheel, it's too late to signal. You need to signal your intent to make lateral movement (a lane change or a turn) prior to beginning the turn. That's the law.

To clarify my position on hand signals - yes, most motorists have NO idea what the hand signals mean. But the best thing about the hand signals is that the motorist sees you. Most accidents happen when a motorist simply isn't paying attention and doesn't see you, whether you're turning or not. Throwing your hand up in the air, out, or down, as you're approaching your turn, at the very least makes you more visible. They might not know what you're doing, but at least they see you there and know to give you some room.

Experience tells me I could have police lights on my shoulders and I'd still be ignored. More works needs to be done on turn signals for motorists instead.

GPS devices are in millions of cars now, and people seem to follow them without question. Would it be infeasible to wire the turn signals directly into the GPS?

@Git Em SteveDave:

LOL "Sometimes also stop"

Wouldn't it be something if bicyclists actually stopped at all stop signs and red lights, the way they're supposed to -- the way that all other vehicles do?

Until then, wah wah wah wah -- is all I can make out from the diatribes of bicyclists.

@darex:

Wouldn't it be something for drivers to realize how easy it is for them to push on the accelerator pedal compared to the self-powered cyclist cranking up to speed from a dead stop?

Stop signs going down hill are the worst! San Francisco's full of 'em.

This Rambaldi jacket, all it does is signal a turn? nothing else? hmm. It just seems like it could be put to more evil uses.

Motorists are so detached from their environments even communications with symbols would not be noticed by them. The only signal they heed is the finger.