Help me with my LED Light Motorcycle Jacket Project (in California)
August 16, 2013 1:18 PM   Subscribe

I'm planning a project to put strips of LED lights on my jacket to increase my day-time visibility in heavy LA traffic, which I commute through every day. So far, I have a general plan, but I'm a little unsure of California laws regarding lights, and I have never actually worked with LEDs before so I'm looking for tips/tricks/suggestions to make it work.

Here's what I'm thinking so far. I'll buy six LED strips that are around 10 inches each (or a long one I can cut to size). I'm still trying to figure out what is legal in CA, but at this point I think all amber colored should work. I read somewhere that rear facing must be red and forward facing must be white, but that may have been for another state.

My jacket is mesh, so it will be easy to run all wires inside the jacket where it won't be in the way, and I may even put the strip underneath the fabric if I can get the LEDs to line up with the mesh holes.

I'll sew two of them into the vertical seams on the back of my jacket --they'll look like a V with the bottom cut off. I'll sew one each onto the outer forearm of my jacket (from my wrist to my elbow) and I'll sew one each to the front of the jacket, just below my shoulder facing forward. I think that will give me the most visibility all around.

They'll be as bright as I can get them (it's for daylight use) and will not blink. I've seen controllers that allow you to modify brightness and set blinking patterns, so I may use that. I'm either going to wire it directly into the motorcycle, with a plug I'll have to connect every time I sit, or if I can get a small enough battery, I'll connect it to a battery encased directly in the jacket somewhere.

I'm also thinking about hooking it up to the turn indicator system: in that case I'd like to have them always on unless a turn indicator is in effect, in which case that side will blink and the other side will remain on without blinking.

Has anyone done anything like this before? What are some obstacles I'm likely to run into? Will I need to buy anything besides the LED strips, the brightness controller, and the needed wire to hook it up to battery/motorcycle electrical system?

Right now I'm just looking on Amazon for the items, is there a better place to pick these things up?

Also, does my lighting configuration seem good for increasing daytime visibility? I often have people try to merge into my lane from the side, which is why I'm particularly focusing on rear and side visibility.
posted by brenton to Travel & Transportation around Los Angeles, CA (7 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
This is a complicated project and probably best not attempted by a novice at lighthacking or 12v wiring. I think you would be better served buying a hi-viz vest, which would also improve your conspicuity at night.

If you are determined to continue, I strongly recommend you find a motor cop (ideally State Patrol), buy him a coffee and ask about the legalities involved. In the states I've lived in recently you can't have constantly-illuminated amber facing rearward. The rule of thumb is white or amber facing forward, red (and red ONLY - no blue!) facing rearward. It is likely that California has similar restrictions and you should find out what they are before proceeding.

LEDs have long service lives and low power draws; is there a particular reason you aren't using a battery-powered LED like a bicycle tail light that could be attached to a loop on your jacket?

As for connecting to the bike, don't use cigarette-lighter style connectors. They are not waterproof and will get killed quickly by vibration. Your best, most durable connection will be made using a Powerlet socket and plug, which are designed for powersport use. If you're willing to get really MacGyver, you can kludge something up by using a Battery Tender Harness as your power supply and grafting part of an SAE-standard extension cable into your wiring, but SAE plugs are not super great at being repeatedly disconnected and reconnected. Because they are machine-molded to the wire, SAE cable ends are not available for home tinkering.

This isn't a terrible idea and a few mom & pop companies are coming to market with illuminated jackets. I also know for a fact that the ones I've seen are not legal to wear in my state, so I'm reserving judgment until a big apparel player (you know, one with lawyers) gets into the game.
posted by workerant at 2:47 PM on August 16, 2013


EL wire doesn't really show up in the day time at all, but I'm not entirely sure about LED strips. I will say though: if one of your main problems is that vehicles are merging into your lane, chances are they will be *entirely* ignorant of you being there in the first place, not because you didn't have enough lights on you.

Vehicles that merge into you or get close to hitting you are most likely distracted or didn't bother to look in their mirror or turn their head all the way. There are other easier ways to get visibility in the day time - white helmet, orange or yellow jacket, etc.

For the night time, reflective stuff might be a cheaper option. I have a jacket with two long reflective strips on the front/back as well as a sleeve and people have noted that I was very visible during the night time.
posted by xtine at 3:21 PM on August 16, 2013 [1 favorite]


xtine brings up a good point: LEDs are highly directional. That means that if it's not pointed right at you, it's not very bright. This is why LED tail lights were added relatively recently to cars and bikes; it took some clever engineering to make reflector housings that were visible across a wide angle. This is also why there hasn't been huge acceptance of LED replacements for 1157 (standard taillight/brakelight) bulbs; you can't see it unless you're directly behind it.

LEDs might be too directional to make much difference in daytime conspicuity.
posted by workerant at 3:36 PM on August 16, 2013


LEDs are much brighter (and much more robust) than EL wire, but you need really freaking bright LEDs to be seen in daylight. I don't know if the LEDs that come on LED tape are bright enough to justify the plan.

I have seen a wearable LED-light…vest thing for cyclists. It's basically a couple strips of LEDs that run down your back. So something like this has been done. It's really no good in daylight.

In Texas, you can have steady or blinking lights on your person, but only steady lights on your vehicle (hazards and turn signals excepted, of course). Despite this, you often see blinking lights on bikes. I have no idea if California is the same on this. I am dubious as to whether most cops know the fine points of this law.
posted by adamrice at 3:46 PM on August 16, 2013


The Bay Area Riders Forum's LEO Section fields this question pretty regularly.
posted by TheNewWazoo at 8:43 PM on August 16, 2013


I know this is not what you're asking, but you may need to improve your road position. Maybe you're riding too much to the right, if people are trying to merge into your lane from the left?

If you're in a position where people can't see you very well, all the leds in the world won't help.

Neither will they help if people aren't looking. But that's another problem...
posted by Too-Ticky at 2:20 AM on August 17, 2013


Response by poster: > EL wire doesn't really show up in the day time at all

> LEDs might be too directional to make much difference in daytime conspicuity.

> LEDs are much brighter (and much more robust) than EL wire, but you need really freaking bright LEDs to be seen in daylight. I don't know if the LEDs that come on LED tape are bright enough to justify the plan.

Ah, this seems like it's the kicker, since I'm driving during the day, and the issue is, as pointed out, people just entirely fail to see me. So in order for this to make a difference, it has to be bright enough to really catch the eye from far away. Sort of like when you see cars with off-white headlights--slightly yellow or blue--you really notice them!

I'll try to look into finding LEDs that will be eye-catching even in direct sunlight, but I'm thinking for this reason alone, it's not going to work.
posted by brenton at 3:06 PM on August 20, 2013


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