4 ms·

> So what about when you can only see half of the car? Like when it’s changing lanes or pulling out of a parking spot? You know, like those times when a signal

by thiht 5y ago

> So what about when you can only see half of the car? Like when it’s changing lanes or pulling out of a parking spot? You know, like those times when a signal is MOST useful? You either see which side of the car you're seeing, or you don't and the shape of the light doesn't matter. When you drive, you don't interpret the light of the turn signal, you interpret where it is. For me that's one thing that looks stupid on paper but that doesn't matter in real life with all the context we have when driving.

afavour 5y ago
What about when it’s dark?
- forgetfulness 5y ago
  And say, you're a cyclist, going somewhat fast but not having headlights that would illuminate the rear of the car as to make out the relation of these arrows and the vehicle.
SkeuomorphicBee 5y ago
> When you drive, you don't interpret the light of the turn signal, you interpret where it is. That is not true, you only interpret "where it is" because there is no other information encoded in the light itself, when seeing a regular car with a plain signal you do interpret where it is. But in service cars (police car, ambulances, road maintenance trucks), large truck, or static light signaling, we frequently have special purpose lights with a meaning encoded in the light itself, and in those cases the position is irrelevant, the meaning is 100% in the icon used, so all drivers are already primed to interpret an arrow shaped light as an arrow. Now, those service vehicles don't have those special purpose lights in places were they could be ambiguously interpreted as a turn signal, so there is no problem there, but that Mini turn signal is quite unsettling, it sends two conflicting messages (position vs iconography), and that is BAD in traffic.
OneLeggedCat 5y ago
Have you ever driven in rural areas at night before?
p1necone 5y ago
These lights are in the shape of an arrow pointing the wrong way, if it's nighttime it's going to confuse the hell out of you. Even if it's daytime it's probably going to be confusing for a few hundred milliseconds too, and that's enough to cause accidents.
CRConrad 5y ago
> You either see which side of the car you're seeing, or you don't and the shape of the light doesn't matter. Huh? I don't understand your reasoning. To everyone else, that seems to be precisely the situation where the shape of the light does matter, because it's the only context you have to go on. Care to explain your thinking?

by thiht 5y ago

afavour 5y ago

What about when it’s dark?

forgetfulness 5y ago
And say, you're a cyclist, going somewhat fast but not having headlights that would illuminate the rear of the car as to make out the relation of these arrows and the vehicle.

SkeuomorphicBee 5y ago

> When you drive, you don't interpret the light of the turn signal, you interpret where it is. That is not true, you only interpret "where it is" because there is no other information encoded in the light itself, when seeing a regular car with a plain signal you do interpret where it is. But in service cars (police car, ambulances, road maintenance trucks), large truck, or static light signaling, we frequently have special purpose lights with a meaning encoded in the light itself, and in those cases the position is irrelevant, the meaning is 100% in the icon used, so all drivers are already primed to interpret an arrow shaped light as an arrow. Now, those service vehicles don't have those special purpose lights in places were they could be ambiguously interpreted as a turn signal, so there is no problem there, but that Mini turn signal is quite unsettling, it sends two conflicting messages (position vs iconography), and that is BAD in traffic.

OneLeggedCat 5y ago

Have you ever driven in rural areas at night before?

p1necone 5y ago

These lights are in the shape of an arrow pointing the wrong way, if it's nighttime it's going to confuse the hell out of you. Even if it's daytime it's probably going to be confusing for a few hundred milliseconds too, and that's enough to cause accidents.

CRConrad 5y ago

> You either see which side of the car you're seeing, or you don't and the shape of the light doesn't matter. Huh? I don't understand your reasoning. To everyone else, that seems to be precisely the situation where the shape of the light does matter, because it's the only context you have to go on. Care to explain your thinking?