Volvo LifePaint is a transparent reflective spray that makes cyclists visible at night, when exposed to car headlights. It’s invisible during the day, lasts for about 10 days on whatever material it’s sprayed on, and can be washed off.
“Though designed for safer cycling, LifePaint can be applied to any fabric — clothes, shoes, pushchairs, children’s backpacks — even dog leads and collars,” according to a Medium post written by Grey London, a U.K.-based creative agency that worked with Volvo and Swedish startup Albedo100 to introduce LifePaint.
LifePaint will be put through trials at six London and Kent-based bicycle shops. If this first phase of the project is successful, it will be expanded to more of the U.K. and the world.
As part of testing, Grey London has created “invisible” black posters sprayed with LifePaint, which reveal messages when exposed to a smartphone’s flashlight.
“Every year more than 19,000 cyclists are injured on the U.K.’s roads,” said Nick Connor, managing director at Volvo Car U.K. “At Volvo, we believe that the best way to survive a crash is not to crash, and are committed to making the roads a safer place by reducing the number of accidents.”
