How hard could it be to remember? rapid flashing = hard braking. solid = normal braking. A standard could be set at more than 75% braking power = rapidly flashing lights.SVTdriver said:Not that it couldn't be done. But there would have to be some kind of standards set. For that to work. Because no one is going to want to figure out what the car ahead of them is and then try to remember what it's taillights do for hard braking.
Yeah, that is a much better solution. I think I've heard of things like that coming into being in the near future.WaltA said:Instead of brake lights changing intensity, I think a better solution would be something more active.
I would think that something better would be something which measures how fast you are closing in onto the vehicle in front of you. It would calculate how much stopping distance you need given how hard you are pressing the brake pedal, and match that against how much distance you have left between you and the vehicle in front.
If there isn't enough space, it would warn you to press down on the brake harder (or do it for you?).
If you are already pressing the brake pedal as hard as possible, it would then configure your car for a collision. For example, tighten up any slack in any seat belts, arm the air bags based on projected impact force, raise head rests and seat backs, etc.
WaltA said:Instead of brake lights changing intensity, I think a better solution would be something more active.
I would think that something better would be something which measures how fast you are closing in onto the vehicle in front of you. It would calculate how much stopping distance you need given how hard you are pressing the brake pedal, and match that against how much distance you have left between you and the vehicle in front.
If there isn't enough space, it would warn you to press down on the brake harder (or do it for you?).
If you are already pressing the brake pedal as hard as possible, it would then configure your car for a collision. For example, tighten up any slack in any seat belts, arm the air bags based on projected impact force, raise head rests and seat backs, etc.
80deathtrap said:From what I remember reading in Motor Trend a couple of years ago, pressure sensitive brake lights are not street legal. However, this summer I saw a BMW motorcycle that seemed to have pressure sensitive brake lights. The idea behind them is very intuitive, the brighter they are the harder the brakes are being pressed. I am very much in favor of having pressure sensitive brake lights.
I also like the idea of LED taillights, the tend to look very good but LEDs that can handle the voltage or put out the neccesary brightness tend to be expensive, >$1 a per LED.
Having both pressure sensitive and LED brake lights is an impossiblity I believe, unless you turn on/off LEDs as the brake pressure changes, because LEDs are either on or off they can't be modulated like a conventional light bulb.
An easy way to solve the expense problem of LED tailights and HID headlights is to combine them into an options package along with things like navigation systems or special apearance packages. That way those who want a no frills basic car can have one and those that want all the coolest gadgets can have one and neither person has to settle.
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