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I'm a taillight enthusiast, but, I must say, it never even occurred to me that these look like an arrow, even after watching the gif. It's much less awful than

by rconti 5y ago

I'm a taillight enthusiast, but, I must say, it never even occurred to me that these look like an arrow, even after watching the gif. It's much less awful than the Mini Clubman, which, like so many new vehicles, have decided to install brake lights and signals IN THE BUMPER. My understanding is there's an EU (?) regulation that taillights must be visible when the trunk/hatch is open; eg, for roadside emergencies where you are broken down but are getting things out of the back, your lights must still be visible. Manufacturers have designed around this by having taillights that go up with the hatch, but still have brake/signal/various lights way down in the bumper. So you'll be driving behind a vehicle, seeing its normal taillights lit up with the headlights, but when they go to brake or signal, segments 2 feet lower come on. The visibility of this 'solution' is far worse than using lights up high. Yes, we have the center-mounted high stop light, but this is a step in the wrong direction, and makes turn signals less visible than ever. Also, my standard rant, ban red turn signals. They should always and forever be amber, which gets rid of a ton of confusion due to pulsing brake lights.

ycombinete 5y ago
What goes into being a tail light enthusiast? I can’t wrap my head around this concept. He used the term Blinkie in the article but I thought it was a joke. Are you a blinkie?
- rconti 5y ago
  I have strong opinions on their function, and have spent not-insignificant money to buy/install/modify various 'correct' functionality, eg, buying lamps and switches from Europe and modifying wiring to make the 'correct' functions work (amber turn signals, rear fog lights). I'm pretty sure Blinkie is facetious.
  - interestica 5y ago
    Turn signals that are also brake lights are just insane. Turn signals that are also hazard lights are silly too. My personal pet peeve is the use of hazard lights to show a public transit bus is stopped for passengers. They'll then switch to a turn signal to re-enter traffic. There is no discernible difference to the lights when the right/curbside indicator light is obscured by a trailing car. And failure to yield to the turn signal on buses is against the law. /I guess I'm a blinkie.
- masklinn 5y ago
  > What goes into being a tail light enthusiast? Watching the Technology Connections video on the subject is probably a good start.
  - JoBrad 5y ago
    It might even be the start of your journey into tail light enthusiasm.
asveikau 5y ago
> Also, my standard rant, ban red turn signals. They should always and forever be amber, I seem to recall reading amber turn signals are required the EU but not US.
- masklinn 5y ago
  > I seem to recall reading amber turn signals are required the EU but not US. Yes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1lZ9n2bxWA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1lZ9n2bxWA). The US allows not only red turn signals, but implementing turn signals by flashing brake lights.
masklinn 5y ago
> It's much less awful than the Mini Clubman, which, like so many new vehicles, have decided to install brake lights and signals IN THE BUMPER. My understanding is there's an EU (?) regulation that taillights must be visible when the trunk/hatch is open; eg, for roadside emergencies where you are broken down but are getting things out of the back, your lights must still be visible. There's a US reg on the subject: lamps on non-fixed parts of vehicles are considered auxiliary, so any of them must be duplicated on a fixed part of the vehicle. I don't know about EU regs on the subject, I can't remember seeing lights on the bumper aside from rear fogs. edit: I think it's allowed in the EU as long as the lights are visible as expected, and interestingly brake lights are not covered, however the bumper workaround is also permitted, per Regulation No 48 § 5.18 (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:42011X1206(03)&from=EN#d1e3463-46-1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CEL...) 5.18. Rear position lamps, rear direction-indicators and rear retro-reflectors, triangular as well as non-triangular, may be installed on movable components only: 5.18.1. If at all fixed positions of the movable components the lamps on the movable components meet all the position, geometric visibility and photometric requirements for those lamps. 5.18.2. In the case where the functions referred to in paragraph 5.18 are obtained by an assembly of two lamps marked ‘D’ (see paragraph 2.16.1), only one of the lamps needs to meet the position, geometric visibility and photometric requirements for those lamps at all fixed positions of the movable components; or 5.18.3. Where additional lamps for the above functions are fitted and are activated, when the movable component is in any fixed open position, provided that these additional lamps satisfy all the position, geometric visibility and photometric requirements applicable to the lamps installed on the movable component. 5.18.4. In the case where the functions referred to in paragraph 5.18 are obtained by an interdependent lamp system either of the following conditions shall apply: (a) should the complete interdependent lamp system be mounted on the moving component(s), the requirements of paragraph 5.18.1 shall be satisfied. However, additional lamps for the above functions may be activated, when the movable component is in any fixed open position, provided that these additional lamps satisfy all the position, geometric visibility and photometric requirements applicable to the lamps installed on the movable component; or (b) should the interdependent lamp system be partly mounted on the fixed component and partly mounted on a movable component, the interdependent lamp(s) specified by the Applicant during the device approval procedure shall meet all the position, outwards geometric visibility and photometric requirements for those lamps, at all fixed positions of the movable component(s). The inwards geometric visibility requirement(s) is(are) deemed to be satisfied if this(these) interdependent lamp(s) still conform(s) to the photometric values prescribed in the field of light distribution for the approval of the device, at all fixed positions of the movable component(s).

by rconti 5y ago

ycombinete 5y ago

What goes into being a tail light enthusiast? I can’t wrap my head around this concept. He used the term Blinkie in the article but I thought it was a joke. Are you a blinkie?

rconti 5y ago
I have strong opinions on their function, and have spent not-insignificant money to buy/install/modify various 'correct' functionality, eg, buying lamps and switches from Europe and modifying wiring to make the 'correct' functions work (amber turn signals, rear fog lights). I'm pretty sure Blinkie is facetious.
- interestica 5y ago
  Turn signals that are also brake lights are just insane. Turn signals that are also hazard lights are silly too. My personal pet peeve is the use of hazard lights to show a public transit bus is stopped for passengers. They'll then switch to a turn signal to re-enter traffic. There is no discernible difference to the lights when the right/curbside indicator light is obscured by a trailing car. And failure to yield to the turn signal on buses is against the law. /I guess I'm a blinkie.
masklinn 5y ago
> What goes into being a tail light enthusiast? Watching the Technology Connections video on the subject is probably a good start.
- JoBrad 5y ago
  It might even be the start of your journey into tail light enthusiasm.

asveikau 5y ago

> Also, my standard rant, ban red turn signals. They should always and forever be amber, I seem to recall reading amber turn signals are required the EU but not US.

masklinn 5y ago
> I seem to recall reading amber turn signals are required the EU but not US. Yes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1lZ9n2bxWA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1lZ9n2bxWA). The US allows not only red turn signals, but implementing turn signals by flashing brake lights.

masklinn 5y ago

> It's much less awful than the Mini Clubman, which, like so many new vehicles, have decided to install brake lights and signals IN THE BUMPER. My understanding is there's an EU (?) regulation that taillights must be visible when the trunk/hatch is open; eg, for roadside emergencies where you are broken down but are getting things out of the back, your lights must still be visible. There's a US reg on the subject: lamps on non-fixed parts of vehicles are considered auxiliary, so any of them must be duplicated on a fixed part of the vehicle. I don't know about EU regs on the subject, I can't remember seeing lights on the bumper aside from rear fogs. edit: I think it's allowed in the EU as long as the lights are visible as expected, and interestingly brake lights are not covered, however the bumper workaround is also permitted, per Regulation No 48 § 5.18 (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:42011X1206(03)&from=EN#d1e3463-46-1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CEL...) 5.18. Rear position lamps, rear direction-indicators and rear retro-reflectors, triangular as well as non-triangular, may be installed on movable components only: 5.18.1. If at all fixed positions of the movable components the lamps on the movable components meet all the position, geometric visibility and photometric requirements for those lamps. 5.18.2. In the case where the functions referred to in paragraph 5.18 are obtained by an assembly of two lamps marked ‘D’ (see paragraph 2.16.1), only one of the lamps needs to meet the position, geometric visibility and photometric requirements for those lamps at all fixed positions of the movable components; or 5.18.3. Where additional lamps for the above functions are fitted and are activated, when the movable component is in any fixed open position, provided that these additional lamps satisfy all the position, geometric visibility and photometric requirements applicable to the lamps installed on the movable component. 5.18.4. In the case where the functions referred to in paragraph 5.18 are obtained by an interdependent lamp system either of the following conditions shall apply: (a) should the complete interdependent lamp system be mounted on the moving component(s), the requirements of paragraph 5.18.1 shall be satisfied. However, additional lamps for the above functions may be activated, when the movable component is in any fixed open position, provided that these additional lamps satisfy all the position, geometric visibility and photometric requirements applicable to the lamps installed on the movable component; or (b) should the interdependent lamp system be partly mounted on the fixed component and partly mounted on a movable component, the interdependent lamp(s) specified by the Applicant during the device approval procedure shall meet all the position, outwards geometric visibility and photometric requirements for those lamps, at all fixed positions of the movable component(s). The inwards geometric visibility requirement(s) is(are) deemed to be satisfied if this(these) interdependent lamp(s) still conform(s) to the photometric values prescribed in the field of light distribution for the approval of the device, at all fixed positions of the movable component(s).