A BICKLEY cyclist who was the victim of a road rage incident in 2012 has used his dangerous encounter to develop an award-winning dash cam engineered to protect cyclists.
Cycliq co-founder Kingsley Fiegert said crowdfunding was used to develop the world’s first rear-facing bicycle camera and light combination, the Fly6.
“I was out riding late one afternoon in the Perth Hills when without warning and from behind I was hit with an object fired from a slingshot out of a passing car,” he said.
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READ NOW“It nearly knocked me off my bike because I didn’t see it coming.
“I thought about what had happened for the next week, and the idea of developing a rear-facing bike camera seemed an obvious solution.”
Mr Fiegert got to work with friend Andrew Hagen on developing the Fly6.
“The powerful lights provide safety and visibility for cyclists and the dash cam is essentially an incident capture device, similar to an aircraft’s black box,” he said.
“It doubles up as an action cam so cyclists can film the pleasurable side of things but also gives them peace of mind.
“In the event of an incident, the cameras act as a dash cam, recording all that happens for later review.”
Mr Fiegert said the company had sold 60,000 units in 50 countries and was now an Australian Stock Exchange listed entity.
“Six years ago I saw an opportunity,” he said.
“Cycling was rising in popularity and it was evident that the angsty interactions between cyclists and motorists would increase.
“Everybody is in a hurry on the roads.
“The benefit of this device is that it encourages tolerance and cooperation because if motorists know there is a camera in the equation they are more likely to take responsibility for their actions.”
At the Sydney Opera House on May 17, the Cycliq Group won gold at the 60th Annual Good Design Awards in the categories of Consumer Electronics and Product Design.
Their device will be showcased to the public during Vivid Sydney, the world’s biggest festival of light, music and ideas from May 25 to 27.
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