Research data showed that in the Netherlands almost one in five accidents of cyclists aged 12-35 involved the use of a smartphone in traffic. Vodafone believes that mobile technology can be a powerful force for good.

The insight: mobile technology must be able to improve road safety instead of threaten it if we a) discourage the use of a mobile phone while cycling, and b) make sure the cyclist is visible and signals to other road users where he/she is going. This thinking culminated in The Smart Jacket: a jacket that uses a smartphone to navigate cyclists through traffic safely. The jacket uploads navigation data from the phone and signals to the cyclist and surrounding traffic when a turn in his/her route is coming up. By partnering with the Dutch Cyclists Association we made our project even more credible.

The story around the Smart Jacket reached over 90 million media impressions. It was featured in almost every major Dutch media title and also in many international media/blogs. In total we reached about 40% of the Dutch population through PR and social.

The campaign started the conversation around smartphones in traffic among the cycling-minded Dutch and the Smart Jacket got endorsed and promoted by the Dutch Cyclists Association. Vodafone did a stage talk at TEDx Delft 2016 and did a brainstorm session on technology and safer traffic afterwards.

The jacket is now being developed further by the Technical University Delft. Global fashion brands have shown interest in producing a consumer product line from the idea.