Yea, that's part of why I don't know for sure if they make cars the way the guy at the top of this thread is describing.

Here's an idea. How about we zap the drivers after they make a turn if they didn't use a turn signal beforehand?

First of all, this would be illegal in many countries.

Second of all: we can differentiate cars by: has red lights, back.

If we lose this option we can no longer differentiate easily if there is a car coming towards us or driving away from us.

The key detail is that, like with rear brake lights, they extinguish when the foot is removed from the brake pedal. So it's not so much the presence of the brake light, but the presence of an inactive brake light that would, serve as a warning that a car is about to start moving. This would be very helpful to drivers on a road when other drivers are pulling out too early from a side road or driveway. That little bit of extra warning is, in many situations, enough for you to pump the brakes, hit the horn, or both.

They tested using a green light for the front brake light, not a red one

Say you're a pedestrian and a car is coming toward you as you're entering a crosswalk. Being able to see if they are braking or not could save your life.

Yeah, the only thing I could think of is that I'm driving down a country road, and I see the front brake light ahead of me because someone stopped for a deer in the road or something.

And the negative state of "the lack of this light means that the vehicle could be moving" is exactly what we have now.

If a car is braking it rides differently from one that isn't. A car is normally rather level and leans "forward" when braking.

Besides that, YOU SHOULDNT GET IN FRONT OF ANYTHING YOU ARENT SURE IS STOPPING. If it's moving fast enough that you need this, you shouldn't be trying to get in front anyways.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.bestiver.se/post/424410

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Study from TU Graz Reveals Front Brake Lights Could Drastically Diminish

The concept of a front brake light has been floating around the automotive industry for some time now. However, no vehicle manufacturer has yet embraced the idea and turned it into a reality on the roads. Recently, a research team led by Ernst Tomasch from the Institute of Vehicle Safety at Graz University of

BIOENGINEER.ORG (bioengineer.org)

Perhaps a short paragraph of text elaborating on the driver's intentions

I just got a Chevy Volt and when I let up off the accelerator it will start the regen and significantly decrease my speed. I assume that my brake lights are coming on because so far no one has rear-ended me or yelled at me for not having brake lights. I wish there was a good way to tell for sure though. I think it's Hyundai that does not engage the brake lights for situations like this, as I've about hit one before.

Brake light activates before the brakes engages, so they could just be resting their foot on the brake while coasting. Pretty normal defensive driving technique. People tend to do it in heavier traffic or when people are tailgating them. Gives a way faster brake response.

Couldn't we just use the point system from 5th element? The car noticed you did something illegal and dedicated from your point pool.

Risk Compension predicts that drivers would simply use this new information to drive more aggressively, negating any possible safety benefits.

For normal people, yes. This is to prevent accidents.

I still think rear signaling could be improved dramatically by using a wide third-brake light to show the intensity of braking.

For example -- I have seen some aftermarket turn signals which are bars the width of the vehicle, and show a "moving" signal starting in the center and then progressing towards the outer edge of the vehicle.

So now take that idea for brake. When you barely have your foot on the brake pedal, it would light a couple lights in the center of your brake signal. Press a little harder and now it's lighting up 1/4 of the lights from the center towards the outside edge of the vehicle. And when you're pressing the brake pedal to the floor, all of the lights are lit up from the center to the outside edges of the vehicle. The harder you press on the pedal, the more lights are illuminated.

Now you have an immediate indication of just how hard the person in front of you is braking. With the normal on/off brake signals, you don't know what's happening until moments later as you determine how fast you are approaching that car. They could be casually slowing, or they could be locking up their wheels for an accident in front of them.

I still think rear signaling could be improved dramatically by using a wide third-brake light to show the intensity of braking.

For example -- I have seen some aftermarket turn signals which are bars the width of the vehicle, and show a "moving" signal starting in the center and then progressing towards the outer edge of the vehicle.

So now take that idea for brake. When you barely have your foot on the brake pedal, it would light a couple lights in the center of your brake signal. Press a little harder and now it's lighting up 1/4 of the lights from the center towards the outside edge of the vehicle. And when you're pressing the brake pedal to the floor, all of the lights are lit up from the center to the outside edges of the vehicle. The harder you press on the pedal, the more lights are illuminated.

Now you have an immediate indication of just how hard the person in front of you is braking. With the normal on/off brake signals, you don't know what's happening until moments later as you determine how fast you are approaching that car. They could be casually slowing, or they could be locking up their wheels for an accident in front of them.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.bestiver.se/post/424410

Comments

Study from TU Graz Reveals Front Brake Lights Could Drastically Diminish

The concept of a front brake light has been floating around the automotive industry for some time now. However, no vehicle manufacturer has yet embraced the idea and turned it into a reality on the roads. Recently, a research team led by Ernst Tomasch from the Institute of Vehicle Safety at Graz University of

BIOENGINEER.ORG (bioengineer.org)

It is to colorblind people. You could use something else of course, just saying...