As in
To lamp the stupid folks in front
Who sit with their foot on the brake pedal
Instead of using the handbrake, whilst sitting stationary in a queue of traffic
And lamp sods like me behind who suffer from poor night vision
The third level high intensity brake light is the absolute worst invention
Seen from my perspective
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On a slightly related subject I was impressed with the new Audi style rear lights, reminded me of Tron - just the outline lights up and then the centre lights up for brake lights.
I've just tried to find a pictur but no luck, maybe someone else can find one?
Looking on the bright side, at least when you are being dazzled you are just sitting stationary - more an annoyence than a danger.
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How about not looking directly into the lights? Do you stare directly at the sun (no, not page 3) on a bright summers day as well?
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Well bless me I never thought of that
How silly
Sitting in a double queue of traffic waiting at the lights it is difficult to avoid looking directly in front
Especially as Thur past I had the pleasure of coming down the Castlereagh road at about 17.30 behind a bus whose driver was obviousley an exponent of left foot braking even while slowly moving forward.
Which meant that I had the pleasure of multiple LED brake lights for some considerable time
I kid you not
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behind a bus whose driver was obviously an exponent of left foot braking even while slowly moving forward.
Most buses are automatics, left foot braking not required. :-)
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Yep
It may not be necessary
But he did
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i forget in the auto and leave the foot on the brake if i know im moving on
no offence but maybe sometimes you are parked too near OP?
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If I'm driving an auto and I'm waiting at a give way or roundabout or something I admit to holding it on the footbrake ready to move. If I'm in a queue at lights I'll put the handbrake on. In a manual I tend to use the handbrake and neutral much more.
Funny what bothers some folk though. I can't say I mind if the car in front has its brake lights on or not in a queue, doesn't occur to me at all. Same with the front fog thing we were chatting about the other day, I don't tend to use mine much at all but if someone else does I can't say I care much about it. We are of course all different I suppose.
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I did about 400 motorway miles last night and definitely noticed how much brighter LED tail and brake lights are than the outgoing filaments. Personally I think the general assumption that brighter is automatically better is a mistake. Different people have different sensitivity to glare which presumably is why opinion always seems to be divided on the subject...
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opinion always seems to be divided on the subject...
If they are bright enough to annoy you at least you have seen them.
Better than the grey car on a grey day with no lights.
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erm
folks
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just how large a gap would I be permitted to leave between me & the Toyota in front
sitting in a traffic light or other inner city traffic Queue?
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It is a combination of high level & LED
wot does it
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But same as everyone now wearing Hi Vis garments
"lost in the herd" starts to apply
No-one stands out
*****************
cheers
M
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A few years ago, they brought out brake lights that got dimmer when you had stopped a second or two, I have only seen them on a bus. I'm sure BMW said they were introducing them. I have also seen some new cars strobe their LED high level brake light when someone emergency braked, I think it was an Insignia, it was quite affective. It was very fast strobing like 20 times a second, maybe it was just faulty? :D
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You can't avoid it, even if you keep the correct distance with some of these modern cars the cockpit is still lit up in a horrible eye affecting red colour. How difficult is it to put into neutral and put the hand brake on? Some of these lights take 3 minutes to change in rush hour.
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No, it isn't difficult but it's also about how much you decide to care if the car in front has its brake lights on or not. Frankly, I don't but some obviously do feel inconvenienced by it. Much ado about nothing as far as I'm concerned.
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As a schoolboy, I used to run up to 8 miles before breakfast, a few of which were along unlit roads, in the dark, with no pavement, facing the oncoming traffic which didn't always dip their headlights*. So brake lights don't bother me :-)
* yes, it does sound a bit daft now
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I have also seen some new cars strobe their LED high level brake light when someone emergency braked I think it was an Insignia it was quite affective. It was very fast strobing like 20 times a second maybe it was just faulty? :D
It's actually all 3 brake lights that do it. Also, my 06 reg Vectra has this feature. It works in conjunction with the ABS system.
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I have to hold my hand up and say that I do it sometimes because the auto box won't go from neutral to drive without your foot being on the brake pedal. I only do this for 5-10 seconds, then I apply the handbrake.
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dieseldogg , how do you get on with headlights coming towards you at night? Have you tried some driving glasses (polarising are they?).
This used to bother me but now having owned an automatic for a few years I can see why people do keep the brakes on rather than handbrake. Each to their own - a bit like those people who like to have front fog lights on in perfect conditions....although that is at least against the law.
{I changed DD to dieseldogg, as I thought initially you were asking me the question ;o) }
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 22/11/2009 at 20:21
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Very simple solution: bounce the light back at its source!
Stage 1: Fit a huge sheet of mirror glass to the sun visor and angle it to throw the red light straight back at its creator.
Stage 2: sun visor extension, something on the lines of a fold down baking tray sized flap, also highly polished mirror glass.
Sorted.
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(i) I had figgered dd was dieseldogg
(ii) i find oncoming headlights even when dipped a problem at night
(iii) I am back with the optician next week
(iv) I have persistentlt/consistently asked the optician about my night vision
(iv) I drive slower at night , especially when meeting oncoming
PS
Whilst a student 30 years ago
In the OTC ( part of the TA)
A med student explained that poorer night vision was inextricably linked to being short sighted ( which i am) sommat to do with the rods & cones? in the retina
signed
Fitfy and well ffed
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I don'd find brake lights too much of a problem, but the latest traffic lights seem to be set up to blind you. The Robin Hood Roundabout in Newbury, recently re-done with more lights and different priority sequence. I hate going round the roundabout as I am well dazzled.
It's not just that one. Lots of sets of lights are really too bright. no doubt someone in the councils are trying to avoid people using the defence of "I didn't see it". But instead I am likely to have to say "I am dazzled." What are you supposed to do when dazzled by a traffic light? It's no good trying to laser it back, unless someone can find a really powerful one that will take the light out.
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I'm with dieseldogg on this one.
I don't think my night vision is other than normal.
There's a T junction near me which has a constant uphill approach for a good quarter of a mile, and it's very busy. At rush hour you will queue the full length of it, moving a car length about every 20 seconds. (It doesn't have traffic lights, and most vehicles are turning right. Hellish on clutches too.)
Fortunately I don't have to use this stretch very often, but I can tell you, when it's dark, it is absolutely no fun at all to be behind someone all that time who never uses the handbrake.
By the time I finally get out of the junction and am moving steadily again, I find have have significant green splurges all across my vision for ooh, a minute? Which is not a tiny distance at 30 mph.
Passengers complain too, so it's not just me.
IIRC, I read that the petrol engine on the Honda Insight, in the course of its stop-start thing at traffic lights etc, will only switch off and stay off if you keep your foot on the footbrake. Argghh!!
Edited by tunacat on 23/11/2009 at 17:52
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