Created by UK-based entrepreneur Crispin Sinclair, the Babel Bike features a combination of a safety cell (not unlike the roll cage you see in race cars) and a seat that you strap yourselves into – designed so you will be pushed away by a turning truck or bus, and not crushed by it.

Goodies include front and rear built-in lights which come on automatically as soon as you start pedalling, a Shimano 250 watt electric assist motor with a 50-80 mile range and an optional ‘Security Pack’ that comes free if you order the bike now through lndiegogo. The pack replaces one of the bike’s steel foot protectors with a high-security Kryptonite D-lock – it will still act as a foot protector when on the bike and once off it you can remove it and use it to lock your bike (to a lamp post or other immovable object). Claimed to be the world’s safest bike, it also comes with indicators, hazard flashers, brake lights, a loud car horn and rear view mirrors.

The motor has fingertip controls and you can ask it to give you from 0 to SO% assistance. To recharge the motor, you can either unlock and remove the battery from the bike (it is stored inside the frame) and recharge it at home, using the standard battery charger, or you can use an optional electric car-charging lead.

All the components – motor, brakes, wheels, chain etc are sealed and locked inside the frame using PinHead security bolts. Bikes only need a once a year (or every 3000 miles, whichever is sooner) service – even the chain only needs oiling annually as it too is sealed away from grit and grime, and the electric motor (where fitted) is designed to be completely maintenance free. The only maintenance you need to do is to keep the tyres pumped up; and there’s a pump and repair kit inside the frame. The firm says the bike has even been squared off against a 38 tonne truck, where it was pushed away rather than being run over.