Blinking 3rd Brake Light - Great Product #2

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Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: wag123
Some luxury car manufacturers offer an optional adaptive brake light system that flashes the brake and tail lights under sudden extreme braking as a warning to trailing motorists. This fact dispels the myth that flashing brake lights are illegal. Maybe they were in the past, but if they were currently illegal the car manufacturers wouldn't be offering them in their new cars.


Cite an example please.

I bet they vary in intensity, without completely doing dark in between pulses as these aftermarket products do. It is, in fact, not a myth that a "flashing" lamp goes against federal law. It is spelled out very clearly in FMVSS 108 posted to this thread earlier. There are ways to work around this, and varying the intensity of the lamp without actually flashing it "on and off" can be one way.

I saw it on a new BMW X5 yesterday. It "strobes" the brake lights at 4hz for 1sec under hard braking and it strobes ALL of the rear lights at 4hz for 5sec under very hard braking.
 
Mercedes is also offering them as an option in the us. They are now standard equipment on several Mercedes and BMW models sold outside of the US.

From a news article that I found...
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration awarded the U.S. subsidiary of the German luxury car company a temporary exemption from U.S. automobile safety standards, allowing it to sell as many as 5,000 vehicles over the next two years that include brake lights that flash during emergency stops.
The NHTSA had originally refused to make a permanent change to its auto safety rule, which requires the steady illumination of vehicle lights, but relented when Mercedes said it wanted to show its flashing brake lights improve car safety by preventing rear-end crashes. Dubbed Adaptive Brake Lights, these brakes lights are only activated when the brake pedal is pushed heavily for a hard stop. The feature is already available in Europe in Mercedes S-class and CL-class cars.
“This is a classic case of lighting engineering moving faster than federal standards,” said Rae Tyson, a spokesperson for the NHTSA.
“We are seeing lot of new lighting innovations; some of them are allowed and some not,” Tyson added. “My understanding is [Mercedes] made a good case of allowing these brake lights to be used on a trial basis. Presumably they argued that flashing lights are just as visible, or perhaps more visible than regular lights. Whether they really are better remains to be seen, but we have faith in Mercedes engineering.”

I have to assume that, since BMW is also offering this option, they have also been approved for this exemption. It should be noted that they are strobing ALL of the brake lights, not just the 3rd (center) brake light like I am.
IMHO you will see a flood of these within the next few years.
 
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Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
These devices are illegal in all states and should not be used. Federal law requires that brake lamps on passenger vehicles to be steady-burning. You will note that a total of ZERO (0) vehicle manufacturers install pulsing brake lamps. There is a reason for that.


???

My moms Elantra came with one from the factory.
 
Add Cadillac, Volvo, Porsche, and Audi to the list of manufacturers that offer Adaptive Brake Light systems.
The NHTSA has been doing a lot of research on enhancing brake light systems to help reduce rear-end collisions.
http://www.nhtsa.gov/Research/Human+Factors/ci.Rear+signaling.print
Unfortunately, some of the studies have shown that flashing just the 3rd brake light is not nearly as effective as flashing ALL of the brake lights.
 
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Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
These devices are illegal in all states and should not be used. Federal law requires that brake lamps on passenger vehicles to be steady-burning. You will note that a total of ZERO (0) vehicle manufacturers install pulsing brake lamps. There is a reason for that.


???

My moms Elantra came with one from the factory.


Are you sure it wasn't dealer-installed? There are a ton of dealers who install brake lamp modules, which are not legal to use.

The difference between the OE setups and aftermarket modules is the OE lamps change their operation only under certain circumstances. Usually, it's in response to the brake force applied, or to the rate of deceleration. An aftermarket module (which was the subject of the thread) generally doesn't make that distinction.

If your mom's Hyundai truly has adaptive brake lamps that modulate only under certain conditions, then we can add that manufacturer to the growing list who have received approval to use them.
 
Hyundai and Lexus are only offering Active Brake Lights in Europe.
However, there are quite a few new car dealers in the US installing 3rd brake light flashers, but this is happening at the dealer level, not at the manufacturer or distributor level.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
These devices are illegal in all states and should not be used. Federal law requires that brake lamps on passenger vehicles to be steady-burning. You will note that a total of ZERO (0) vehicle manufacturers install pulsing brake lamps. There is a reason for that.


???

My moms Elantra came with one from the factory.


Are you sure it wasn't dealer-installed? There are a ton of dealers who install brake lamp modules, which are not legal to use.

The difference between the OE setups and aftermarket modules is the OE lamps change their operation only under certain circumstances. Usually, it's in response to the brake force applied, or to the rate of deceleration. An aftermarket module (which was the subject of the thread) generally doesn't make that distinction.

If your mom's Hyundai truly has adaptive brake lamps that modulate only under certain conditions, then we can add that manufacturer to the growing list who have received approval to use them.


I am not exactly sure how fast it pulsates. I just know it is not a steady burning bulb. It flashes then goes to steady burning. Nevertheless, I doubt the dealer is installing/ selling something illegal to use.
 
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Nevertheless, I doubt the dealer is installing/ selling something illegal to use.


They (dealerships in general) do it all the time. They typically charge between $150 and $300 for it.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Nevertheless, I doubt the dealer is installing/ selling something illegal to use.


They (dealerships in general) do it all the time. They typically charge between $150 and $300 for it.


I'm sure they do. The extra $$$ they'd charge doesn't surprise me one bit either. I am just having a hard time believing they are illegal.

A cop pulls a guy over because of his blinking tail light: "Woah man!!! My car came with this!!!" A few of these instances would lead them back to the dealer which would then have to correct all the wrong they did on the hundreds of vehicles they modified.
 
No cop that I know is going to pull you over for something like this unless they are looking for a REASON to pull you over. They have better things to do than harass people for this kind of thing. Besides, I would be willing to bet that MOST cops don't even know that flashing 3rd brake lights are illegal.
 
VW & Audi have it disabled via software coding but since the introduction of CANBUS in cars(2006 in VW at least) it will flash the hazards under extreme braking.

I enabled it on the 2007 Rabbit we owned and tested it. It does work. I am unsure if it requires ESP or just ABS. There is a brake pedal pressure sensor for ABS but I wondered if it also required he G-force sensor in ESP.

I nifty feature all cars I believe should have standard. 3-4 flashes is more than enough to get a drivers attention I hope.
 
Originally Posted By: Thermo1223
VW & Audi have it disabled via software coding but since the introduction of CANBUS in cars(2006 in VW at least) it will flash the hazards under extreme braking.

I enabled it on the 2007 Rabbit we owned and tested it. It does work. I am unsure if it requires ESP or just ABS. There is a brake pedal pressure sensor for ABS but I wondered if it also required he G-force sensor in ESP.

I nifty feature all cars I believe should have standard. 3-4 flashes is more than enough to get a drivers attention I hope.


The trick is finding an aftermarket controller that can accomplish the same thing. Otherwise, this one linked to on page 2 seems like the best available as the delay can be set to 40s: http://www.3rdbrakeflasher.com/brake-lig...odes-p-181.html
 
Not specific as to legal or not in Illinois. BUT, since not specifically called out, flashing brake lamps would not be ticketable.
(625 ILCS 5/12-208) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 12-208)
Sec. 12-208. Signal lamps and signal devices.
(a) Every vehicle other than an antique vehicle displaying an antique plate or an expanded-use antique vehicle displaying expanded-use antique vehicle plates operated in this State shall be equipped with a stop lamp or lamps on the rear of the vehicle which shall display a red or amber light visible from a distance of not less than 500 feet to the rear in normal sunlight and which shall be actuated upon application of the service (foot) brake, and which may but need not be incorporated with other rear lamps. During times when lighted lamps are not required, an antique vehicle or an expanded-use antique vehicle may be equipped with a stop lamp or lamps on the rear of such vehicle of the same type originally installed by the manufacturer as original equipment and in working order. However, at all other times, except as provided in subsection (a-1), such antique vehicle or expanded-use antique vehicle must be equipped with stop lamps meeting the requirements of Section 12-208 of this Act.

Flashing brake lamps are specifically LEGAL for motorcycles in Illinois..

(g) Motorcycles and motor-driven cycles may be equipped with a stop lamp or lamps on the rear of the vehicle that display a red or amber light, visible from a distance of not less than 500 feet to the rear in normal sunlight, that flashes and becomes steady only when the brake is actuated.
(Source: P.A. 96-487, eff. 1-1-10; 97-412, eff. 1-1-12; 97-743, eff. 1-1-13.)
 
Oh boy, been a member of BITOG board for a while. Yes, I know this thread is now a few years old, but I have been thrusted into this debate. I just bought a new vehicle over 3 months ago, the vehicle that we got was dealer traded, because my wife wanted a certain color. Well the dealer that they traded it with, installed one of those Pulse by Safety First, and left it go with the dealer trade. I wasn't aware of it until one evening, a nice gentlemen on the highway got my attention to tell what my 3rd brake light is doing. I remembered seeing a little paper that came with the vehicle that had the word Pulse on it, so I investigated what happened and sure enough, the dealer where they traded the vehicle from installed. In doing additional research, opinions were varied if they are legal or illegal. The dealer that I bought the vehicle from, past the PA safety inspection. I asked an additional garage and said they would pass it. However, messaging the local police and calling the state police didn't result in a favorable answer. The Internet forums seems pretty controversial on the matter. The 2 most used laws are the steady burning and OE. But the agent for Pulse argues against all of those legal reasonings. He claims the company would provide legal help if a ticket is issued, but I wouldn't bet high dollar on that one. Caught between a rock and a hard place.
 
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These are new to me, just installed one on the Volvo in my signature. Also happen to be a cop, wouldn’t stop or cite for this, ever. It’s along the same lines as the rear fog light. And not specifically illegal in PA.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
These devices are illegal in all states and should not be used. Federal law requires that brake lamps on passenger vehicles to be steady-burning. You will note that a total of ZERO (0) vehicle manufacturers install pulsing brake lamps. There is a reason for that.


My BMW has this ability from the factory. They only blink when hitting the brake hard. Many EU cars have this feature.
 
On the Ford Taurus I had it was a simple jumper wire from the brake light switch to the turn signal switch to add the amber turn signals to the stop lamps. Really got your attention.
 
My 16 Sonata flashes the third brake light a few times, and then is steady. It was a dealer trade.
 
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