3 ms·

Speaking of bad turn signals (though in this case for other drivers, and not the driver of the vehicle), can we make it illegal for cars to only indicate from t

by hbn 3y ago

Speaking of bad turn signals (though in this case for other drivers, and not the driver of the vehicle), can we make it illegal for cars to only indicate from their rear by blinking the entire brake light? I think I've heard it's a requirement in some countries for the rear indicators to use the amber light alongside the brake lights, which makes a lot of sense because making the brake light serve double duty is frequently confusing and dangerous. You have to stare at the light for a couple of seconds to confirm the light is blinking because the person is signalling, and not because they tapped their brakes and you only saw a change.

gambiting 3y ago
>>can we make it illegal for cars to only indicate from their rear by blinking the entire brake light? That's one of(many different) things that bother me about American cars - like who thought this was a good idea??? Was it to save money? Literally everyone else in the world uses a separate amber bulb in the rear to indicate.
- zerocrates 3y ago
  I suppose there's a very minor cost factor but I think it's actually more about the aesthetics: less "clutter."
kuon 3y ago
I think here (europe) the turn signal must be orange and separate from the brakes. But you still see some imported american cars from time to time.
- gambiting 3y ago
  Those cars should be modified to have separate brake/turn lights before being registered in Europe, if that didn't happen then it wasn't done fully legally(I know, I actually have a US-imported car, it had to have the rear lights cluster modified before registration book could be issued).
  - kuon 3y ago
    They are rare, but I see some from times to times. I am in switzerland, where legislation might be slightly different from EU. But they could also be illegal or just not yet modified.
barbazoo 3y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1lZ9n2bxWA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1lZ9n2bxWA
jerlam 3y ago
The new Cybertruck is an exceptionally bad example of this, where the taillights are replaced, not augmented, by both the brake and turning signals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDgPuKW9KlM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDgPuKW9KlM
pintxo 3y ago
When it comes to Europe. That’s basically illegal here. We have turns signals and break lights, neither should take the other’s job.
- rootusrootus 3y ago
  OTOH, y'all have fog lights on the back, which is overloading the brake light function.
  - pintxo 3y ago
    Usually, that’s a separate light. Although still a red one. But it’s quite clearly different, also thanks to us copying the third break light that existed in the US first.
    - kibibu 3y ago
      Just FYI it's a "brake" light, not a break light
rootusrootus 3y ago
> You have to stare at the light for a couple of seconds to confirm the light is blinking because the person is signalling, and not because they tapped their brakes and you only saw a change. I've been driving a long time, and this hasn't ever been a problem in my experience. If someone taps the brakes, both lights come on. So the only time there is ambiguity is when a brake light is burned out. Not especially common now that everyone has been switching to LEDs. And if it takes a couple seconds to blink, something is very wrong with the car.

by hbn 3y ago

gambiting 3y ago

>>can we make it illegal for cars to only indicate from their rear by blinking the entire brake light? That's one of(many different) things that bother me about American cars - like who thought this was a good idea??? Was it to save money? Literally everyone else in the world uses a separate amber bulb in the rear to indicate.

zerocrates 3y ago
I suppose there's a very minor cost factor but I think it's actually more about the aesthetics: less "clutter."

kuon 3y ago

I think here (europe) the turn signal must be orange and separate from the brakes. But you still see some imported american cars from time to time.

gambiting 3y ago
Those cars should be modified to have separate brake/turn lights before being registered in Europe, if that didn't happen then it wasn't done fully legally(I know, I actually have a US-imported car, it had to have the rear lights cluster modified before registration book could be issued).
- kuon 3y ago
  They are rare, but I see some from times to times. I am in switzerland, where legislation might be slightly different from EU. But they could also be illegal or just not yet modified.

barbazoo 3y ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1lZ9n2bxWA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1lZ9n2bxWA

jerlam 3y ago

The new Cybertruck is an exceptionally bad example of this, where the taillights are replaced, not augmented, by both the brake and turning signals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDgPuKW9KlM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDgPuKW9KlM

pintxo 3y ago

When it comes to Europe. That’s basically illegal here. We have turns signals and break lights, neither should take the other’s job.

rootusrootus 3y ago
OTOH, y'all have fog lights on the back, which is overloading the brake light function.
- pintxo 3y ago
  Usually, that’s a separate light. Although still a red one. But it’s quite clearly different, also thanks to us copying the third break light that existed in the US first.
  - kibibu 3y ago
    Just FYI it's a "brake" light, not a break light

rootusrootus 3y ago

> You have to stare at the light for a couple of seconds to confirm the light is blinking because the person is signalling, and not because they tapped their brakes and you only saw a change. I've been driving a long time, and this hasn't ever been a problem in my experience. If someone taps the brakes, both lights come on. So the only time there is ambiguity is when a brake light is burned out. Not especially common now that everyone has been switching to LEDs. And if it takes a couple seconds to blink, something is very wrong with the car.