Headlights

[Jelly_Sheffield]

Flashing brake lights suggest repeated light braking or a poorly maintained brake light switch.

ABS activation on an early system with a pressure-activated brake switch?

Or if more modern, ABS activation on a system which has a defective valve body and bumps the master cylinder when activated.

 

[Morrisman]

Flashing brake lights suggest repeated light braking or a poorly maintained brake light switch.

I’ve followed a couple of cars where the brake lights flashed a couple of times very quick before coming on steadily. I assume it’s some new gadget cars are equipped with.

I’ve also followed human centipede style lines of a dozen or more cars, all 2 metres apart, with a procession of repeatedly flashing brake lights up and down the line, as tiny speed changes pass back. Some herd instincts must make car drivers bunch together.
And usually all behind one dawdler, but nobody makes any move to overtake, they all just bumble along blindly, meaning nobody else can get by.

 

[Farside]

I love my LEDs, all my bikes have them.
All carefully selected to match with good quality reflector/lens combos so that there's no dazzle to other road users.
It's not that difficult, honestly.
However, on my bikes, which mostly make use of a standard and easily available lamp size, it was relatively easy to source good quality lamps of the right type.
Not so easy on most modern car designs, where you're stuck with the designers' whim.

 

[Erie Fred]

Shall we restart the debate about high level brake lights introduced because Americans persist in flashing their brake lights........................................*

I searched for and failed to find any research backing up my firmly held opinion that DRLs are responsible for many motorcycle accidents. When motorcycles were the only vehicles showing lights in daylight they stood out, were noticed and accidents were reduced. Now all vehicles display very large bright DRLs motorcycles disappear in their glare.
<Rant Off>

*USA isn't a member of the UNECE committee

I don't see how tapping on the brake pedal can cause much problems ?
'splain pulleeze.

 

[lazybones51]

I’ve followed a couple of cars where the brake lights flashed a couple of times very quick before coming on steadily. I assume it’s some new gadget cars are equipped with.

I’ve also followed human centipede style lines of a dozen or more cars, all 2 metres apart, with a procession of repeatedly flashing brake lights up and down the line, as tiny speed changes pass back. Some herd instincts must make car drivers bunch together.
And usually all behind one dawdler, but nobody makes any move to overtake, they all just bumble along blindly, meaning nobody else can get by.

Possible they're using adaptive cruise control, and they've all ended up bunched up at the slowest driver.

 

[northwest]

When DRLs were first introduced, the clear, steady trend of decline in road deaths before DRLs, was reversed in the years following their introduction. That decline, in the UK, did not resume as people "got used to them" (DRLS) and, in Austria, the increasing road deaths following DRL introduction was considered so significant, it led to DRLs being banned there.

I remember way back when reading an article that stated Volvo's (who were the first I believe) with DRL's were breaking the law. The snag is, some people use the DRL's as their illumination at night completely omitting "proper" lights, I have approached more than one vehicle in darkness that wasn't visible from the rear.

I love my LEDs, all my bikes have them.
All carefully selected to match with good quality reflector/lens combos so that there's no dazzle to other road users.
It's not that difficult, honestly.

It's again down to the person, properly selected, properly fitted LED or other replacement bulbs are not a problem. Incorrectly fitted rubbish is. If the light does as it is supposed to and the beam is properly adjusted I personally cannot see the problem. It is people who bung Zigawatt bulbs into a headlamp unit that is plane spotting get on my wick.

 

[Cobbler]

The earlier Volvo’s had the rear lights on as well, it was the rears on all the time & the fronts 21 watts & it dropped to 6 watts when the sidelights were switched on. When I took my 240 to France, I kept getting flashed as they thought I’d left the lights on, French Volvos didn’t have them.

 

[Red'n'Black]

I remember way back when reading an article that stated Volvo's (who were the first I believe) with DRL's were breaking the law. The snag is, some people use the DRL's as their illumination at night completely omitting "proper" lights, I have approached more than one vehicle in darkness that wasn't visible from the rear.

Yep. Saw this with a newish VW Up, 7am back in February so not quite pitch dark, car was grey and no lights so nearly invisible from the rear. Crawling along at 15mph on a fast A road because it was slightly misty.

Once I got past him I saw he had his DRLs on, so it was all good.

Another "improvement" that discourages people from thinking IMO.

 

[rtcosic]

.... in Austria, the increasing road deaths following DRL introduction was considered so significant, it led to DRLs being banned there.

Have you got a reference for that please?
No 2 says:

UN rules say once you are in, you automatically sign-up to the updates. If you don't like a new revision, vote against it.

Nobody voted against.

Of Course in best EU & UN tradition it's quite likely that a signatory state would just ignore the rules they don't like!

 

[rtcosic]

We have flashing rear brake lights here too - I remember following a colleague in a vectra I think, driven enthusiastically (well very), on hard braking his lights flashed, on normal braking they didn't.

Flashing brake lights suggest repeated light braking or a poorly maintained brake light switch.

ABS activation on an early system with a pressure-activated brake switch?

Or if more modern, ABS activation on a system which has a defective valve body and bumps the master cylinder when activated.

I’ve followed a couple of cars where the brake lights flashed a couple of times very quick before coming on steadily. I assume it’s some new gadget cars are equipped with.

I’ve also followed human centipede style lines of a dozen or more cars, all 2 metres apart, with a procession of repeatedly flashing brake lights up and down the line, as tiny speed changes pass back. Some herd instincts must make car drivers bunch together.
And usually all behind one dawdler, but nobody makes any move to overtake, they all just bumble along blindly, meaning nobody else can get by.

I don't see how tapping on the brake pedal can cause much problems ?
'splain pulleeze.

Possible they're using adaptive cruise control, and they've all ended up bunched up at the slowest driver.

I didn't make myself clear.

I am referring to the practice which UK C&U Regs banned around 1955/6 where the brake light doubled up as an indicator. So if braking and indicating at the same time the relevant brake light flashed whilst the other stayed on. An upgrade to semaphones. Lucas DB10 relay:

SNG Barratt UK | Keeping your Jaguar on the road

Classic and Modern Jaguar Parts Specialist. The world's largest independent supplier and manufacturer of parts and accessories for Jaguar Cars.

www.sngbarratt.com

It was banned because following drivers found it confusing, especially if one of the brake light bulbs was 'out'.

The USA permitted this until quite recently. Even when they have separate brake and indicators some maunfacturers still fit red rear indicators for the US market.

To overcome the high US rear end accident rate instead of insisting on separate amber rear indicators they insisted on separate red high level brake lights - which are largely surplus to requirements in other markets.

The US still uses amber for side marker lights I believe - just to confuse drivers even more!

 

[voipio]

Have you got a reference for that please?

http://dadrl.org.uk/ - about two thirds down the page.

Whatsnew | DaDRL UK - The Association of Drivers against Daytime Running Lights

dadrl.org.uk

The links to the original articles are dead, and archive.org doesn't seem to have cached any of the links.

I have kept an interesting note from Osram's LG Q971 LED datasheet, notes section re photobiological safety.
"As a matter of principle, however, it should be mentioned that intense light sources have a high secondary exposure potential due to their blinding effect. As is also true when viewing other bright light sources (e.g. headlights), temporary reduction in visual acuity and afterimages can occur, leading to irritation, annoyance, visual impairment, and even accidents, depending on the situation."

This article is relevant:

http://www.lightmare.org/docs/Austrian_Opthalmologic_Society_bans_DRL_duskofdrl.pdf

 

[minimutly]

Flashing brake lights suggest repeated light braking or a poorly maintained brake light switch.

Sorry, he was braking hard, very hard, but not on the abs. Car was new, lessthan a year old, if it was the brake switch it would happen under normal braking.
Edit googled it, Vauxhall mod to warn following motorists you've just braked hard. Anyone following this guy would have been pedalling quite hard, all I could do to keep up...

 

[dobbslc]

I've just come home from the pub, a friend is driving me up my single track lane and we see a car on full beam coming round the bend so my friend slows down at a passing place, the oncoming car then stops 50 feet away with their full beam still on completely blinding us. We pull alongside with the windows down shouting abuse and it's a police car FFS!
Total cretins!

 

[fizzy]

I've just come home from the pub, a friend is driving me up my single track lane and we see a car on full beam coming round the bend so my friend slows down at a passing place, the oncoming car then stops 50 feet away with their full beam still on completely blinding us. We pull alongside with the windows down shouting abuse and it's a police car FFS!
Total cretins!

I had something like this. Car behind driving too close and dazzling me with a dodgy headlight. Instead of giving them my usual brake test I pulled into a bus stop to let them past. The car pulled in behind me. Traffic car. Policewoman gets out of the passenger seat and comes over. "do you have a problem sir?" she asks. I replied quite sharply " Yes you are driving too close and have a defective headlight". The look on her face was priceless - "terribly sorry sir" and off she scuttled

 

[minimutly]

I've just come home from the pub, a friend is driving me up my single track lane and we see a car on full beam coming round the bend so my friend slows down at a passing place, the oncoming car then stops 50 feet away with their full beam still on completely blinding us. We pull alongside with the windows down shouting abuse and it's a police car FFS!
Total cretins!

And you were suprised? I once stopped on a roundabout in Haverfordwest, 4 in the morning, we were doing a night rally, checking directions. Not a soul around. Copper pulls up and tells us we were stopped in a dangerous place!

 

[minimutly]

I had something like this. Car behind driving too close and dazzling me with a dodgy headlight. Instead of giving them my usual brake test I pulled into a bus stop to let them past. The car pulled in behind me. Traffic car. Policewoman gets out of the passenger seat and comes over. "do you have a problem sir?" she asks. I replied quite sharply " Yes you are driving too close and have a defective headlight". The look on her face was priceless - "terribly sorry sir" and off she scuttled

When I was a young tearaway I had a 55W halogen foglight as a reversing light - the ford Cortina the tailgating copper was driving behind me was blinding me something rotten. So I gave him the reversing light - I think he was a little annoyed...
How was I to know he was a copper?

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

Edit googled it, Vauxhall mod to warn following motorists you've just braked hard.

Huh, I know some commercials and european spec cars automatically apply the hazards in that situation, never heard of that system though I guess it was short lived.

Anyone following this guy would have been pedalling quite hard, all I could do to keep up...

Braver man than I!

I have only driven a Vectra a few times, and boy could it move (VXR spec), but you couldn't put that power down unless you were on a dead straight road (I lived in rural Gwynedd at the time), just god awful understeer in "the wigglies" at any appreciable speed, especially if you tried to corner under power (as the younger me was want to do on any road I knew well).

Though I suppose that's why your colleague was on the brakes so hard.

 

[lazybones51]

Sorry, he was braking hard, very hard, but not on the abs. Car was new, lessthan a year old, if it was the brake switch it would happen under normal braking.
Edit googled it, Vauxhall mod to warn following motorists you've just braked hard. Anyone following this guy would have been pedalling quite hard, all I could do to keep up...

I believe it's a fairly common feature, it's just that most people don't drive aggressively enough to trigger them on their car.

 

[bricol]

I had something like this. Car behind driving too close and dazzling me with a dodgy headlight. Instead of giving them my usual brake test I pulled into a bus stop to let them past. The car pulled in behind me. Traffic car. Policewoman gets out of the passenger seat and comes over. "do you have a problem sir?" she asks. I replied quite sharply " Yes you are driving too close and have a defective headlight". The look on her face was priceless - "terribly sorry sir" and off she scuttled

I had that - told him I couldn't decide if he was a taxi, a pizza delivery wagon, or a Police car - with the colour, shape and one head lamp out . . .

 

[Bornfree]

I believe it's a fairly common feature, it's just that most people don't drive aggressively enough to trigger them on their car.

My citroen van puts the hazards on when the ABS is triggered.