Flashing third tail light

[wag123]

Originally Posted By: HemiHawk
Maybe its a dealer installed option but... It is 100% being done on new vehicles. When I happen to notice its mostly on newer Toyotas. Cars that no one is "modifying" which means it came that way.

I installed a module that did this on a previous car that handled very well. It flashed the first time I hit the brake then wouldn't again if I hit the brake within a certain amount of time. basically so it didn't flash constantly if I hit the brake in traffic. I installed it when a car that tried to keep up with me found out they couldn't and had an accident.

Negative. They do not have DOT approval. Toyota is not doing this at the factory. A couple of independent Toyota distributors are doing this (and charging for it) before they are sent to the dealers.
I personally installed them on my vehicles more than 10 years ago after I was rear-ended a couple of times. I have not been rear-ended since.

 

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted By: wag123
I personally installed them on my vehicles more than 10 years ago after I was rear-ended a couple of times. I have not been rear-ended since.


Which system did you install or any recommendations on which one to go with?

 

[OilFilters]

I can't understand why you would need this in a vehicle. Let someone rear end me...it's automatically their fault. I could use a new bumper...and that's why I'm wearing my seat belt.

Can't say it would have ever prevented anything in my decades and thousands of miles of driving. They do annoy the [censored] out of me...almost makes me want to tap their bumper on purpose.

Kind of like "baby on board" signs. Nobody else cares.

 

[HemiHawk]

Originally Posted By: OilFilters
I can't understand why you would need this in a vehicle. Let someone rear end me...it's automatically their fault. I could use a new bumper...and that's why I'm wearing my seat belt.

Can't say it would have ever prevented anything in my decades and thousands of miles of driving. They do annoy the [censored] out of me...almost makes me want to tap their bumper on purpose.

Kind of like "baby on board" signs. Nobody else cares.


Not everyone cares so little about their property I guess

. Ideally they should only flash the first time the brake is pressed in X amount of time, not everytime the pedal is pressed. But they're terrific. Some cars have faint brake lights or maybe its hard to tell the difference between their parking lights and when the brakes are pressed. I can see these flashing brake lights 10 cars up on my commute. pretty sweet.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: OilFilters
I can't understand why you would need this in a vehicle. Let someone rear end me...it's automatically their fault.

Even when it's their fault, you will still have to deal with getting the car repaired, and possibly have to deal with diminished value of your vehicle.

Not to mention, if you get hit hard enough, you can sustain injuries, despite wearing a seat belt.

 

[OilFilters]

Originally Posted By: HemiHawk
Some cars have faint brake lights or maybe its hard to tell the difference between their parking lights and when the brakes are pressed.

I can't say I've ever had trouble identifying brake lights. Generally I go by the speed of the vehicle, not lights they are displaying. More and more vehicles convert to LEDs every day, which are even easier to see.

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Even when it's their fault, you will still have to deal with getting the car repaired, and possibly have to deal with diminished value of your vehicle.

Not to mention, if you get hit hard enough, you can sustain injuries, despite wearing a seat belt.


If it's somebody else's fault, any inconvenience or cost I bear to get it fixed will also be theirs to deal with. Been to court plenty of times, not afraid to sue somebody else. If I'm hit so hard as to cause major injury, I highly doubt a blinking light would have stopped that.

Really, you should be able to drive just fine without anybody having brake lights. If you can't, you're driving to fast, too close, and not paying attention.

 

[wag123]

Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Originally Posted By: wag123
I personally installed them on my vehicles more than 10 years ago after I was rear-ended a couple of times. I have not been rear-ended since.


Which system did you install or any recommendations on which one to go with?

I don't remember which one I purchased, it was a long time ago, sorry.
The one that I have is adjustable. I have it set to flash rapidly 5 times for a little over one second and then it comes on steady. It won't flash again if I release the brakes and re-apply them within 7 seconds, it just comes on steady. I think that this is a good idea so that I don't annoy the drivers behind me.

For those of you that don't mind getting rear-ended... ARE YOU NUTS?
Installing one of these is helping the driver behind you as much as yourself. For the money you spend they are a no-brainer!

 

[SatinSilver]

Ok thank you. I did see a Toyota dealer out of state, I think Maryland offering it for $300. Which seems pretty steep.

 

[wag123]

Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Ok thank you. I did see a Toyota dealer out of state, I think Maryland offering it for $300. Which seems pretty steep.

Nice profit margin for the dealers and distributors!
The adjustable modules can be purchased for under $20.
It is a simple 3 wire hookup.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: OilFilters
Really, you should be able to drive just fine without anybody having brake lights.

Yup. Just as you should be able to drive just fine without seat belts, air bags, or turn signals.

Quote:
If you can't, you're driving to fast, too close, and not paying attention.

Sure. But you and I know that there are a ton of distracted drivers out there, causing thousands of rear end crashes every day. If there is a way to improve chances of grabbing their attention, why not?

A lot of highway pileups happen because drivers behind don't expect vehicles in front to be completely stopped in the middle of a highway. If I see lights flashing ahead, that helps me understand that I may need to brake harder, sooner.

 

[bdcardinal]

My dealer did a system called Red Alert for a while. Every new and used car that came in got one installed. If the customer that bought the vehicle didn't want it, they never took it out. We had to stop doing them after a local Sheriff deputy got tired of following one down Highway 154 and wrote up every one he saw. The dealer had to pay for everyone's tickets. I told them when it started that they weren't legal, but sales liked the idea of charging $500 each for them more.

 

[OilFilters]

Originally Posted By: wag123
For those of you that don't mind getting rear-ended... ARE YOU NUTS?


No, I just don't see rear end accidents as a problem that needs addressed. It's not like it's a major plague. And like I said, if it happens, the one who caused it is always automatically at fault. No fighting. Doesn't go on my driving record or insurance.

Being rear ended is probably the least dangerous accident you can have. We seem to have done well with just two dim incandescent bulbs for a very, very, very long time.

I put LED brake lights in my Jeep - not because I care if people see them better, but simply because I think they look better.

Seems DOT and some sheriffs agree with me...

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Yup. Just as you should be able to drive just fine without seat belts, air bags, or turn signals.

Driven many vehicles without those features. Never a problem.

 

[Brigadier]

Wow, so anyone that illegally puts HIDs in their headlights is breaking the law and gets shunned here, but illegally make your 3rd brake light flash and you are cool?

 

[wag123]

Originally Posted By: OilFilters
Originally Posted By: wag123
For those of you that don't mind getting rear-ended... ARE YOU NUTS?


No, I just don't see rear end accidents as a problem that needs addressed. It's not like it's a major plague.

You obviously don't live in a majorly congested metro area. Rear-end collisions represent the MAJORITY of accidents where I live.

Originally Posted By: OilFilters
And like I said, if it happens, the one who caused it is always automatically at fault. No fighting. Doesn't go on my driving record or insurance. Being rear ended is probably the least dangerous accident you can have.

ALL accidents are dangerous, and many rear-end collisions are deadly! If a simple inexpensive device can cut down on rear-end collisions significantly (Mercedes and BMW say 70%), it is WELL worth having.

Originally Posted By: OilFilters
We seem to have done well with just two dim incandescent bulbs for a very, very, very long time.

And... for a very, very, very long time we did well without cell phones, smart phones, navigation systems, and infotainment systems that distract drivers.

Originally Posted By: OilFilters
Seems DOT and some sheriffs agree with me...

When it comes to government agencies, common sense doesn't often come into play. In this case, research and reality do.

Originally Posted By: OilFilters
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Yup. Just as you should be able to drive just fine without seat belts, air bags, or turn signals.

Driven many vehicles without those features.

Those are not "features", they are important safety devices that have saved countless lives!

 

[Smokescreen]

One or two flashing brake lights is an attention getter....I can just imagine in a more metropolis city...with a sea of flashing brake lights...talk about a visual nightmare!

 

[wag123]

Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
One or two flashing brake lights is an attention getter....I can just imagine in a more metropolis city...with a sea of flashing brake lights...talk about a visual nightmare!

It is a question of how it is implemented. My 3rd brake light only flashes for a little over a second and doesn't flash again when I re-apply the brakes within 7 seconds. Since I installed it I'm almost positive that it has prevented me from being rear-ended again.

 

[OilFilters]

Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
One or two flashing brake lights is an attention getter....I can just imagine in a more metropolis city...with a sea of flashing brake lights...talk about a visual nightmare!


Agreed. If everybody had one it would produce the opposite of the desired results. As others in this thread have noted, flashing lights tend to attract distracted/drunk/drugged drivers...thus the fact that flashing police lights often attract as many cars as they keep away.

If your brake light is flashing there is a good chance the drunk behind you is going to be too busy wondering why to put on the brakes.

If this was a useful safety feature they would have been on cars long ago, just like the seat belts and the third brake light.

This is an example of uneducated safety police trying to invent something they know nothing about.

 

[wag123]

Originally Posted By: OilFilters
If this was a useful safety feature they would have been on cars long ago, just like the seat belts and the third brake light.

Do you know how long some of these safety features were available and how long it took before they were actually mandated?

Originally Posted By: OilFilters
This is an example of uneducated safety police trying to invent something they know nothing about.

Mercedes and BMW (among others) are not "uneducated safety police trying to invent something they know nothing about".

 

[OilFilters]

Originally Posted By: wag123
Mercedes and BMW (among others) are not "uneducated safety police trying to invent something they know nothing about".

Mercedes and BMW know nothing about Americans and how they drive. What might work in Europe is totally different here. Also, they have always been at the top at including extra unneeded [censored] on all their cars.

 

[RooflessVW]

Most modern safety features are Mercedes inventions.

BMW and Mercedes make more vehicles in the USA than you'd think, and I think they understand one of their primary markets better than you give them credit for.