Interesting Pacifica feature

You are a genius! Some of these could be automatically detected and
interlocked to shut the engine off as well. Any car with traction control
should have the hardware to stop itself when you make a phone call.

 

They don't even belong *there*...

Countries with slightly more civilized lighting regulations require
amber turn signals even on boat (and other) trailers. Check out this
Glastron (same year and hull as mine) from Holland:
http://www.ncplus.net/~almgren/glastron/1966_V-144-Custom.jpg

 

I find that strobe lights are too bright with durations too instantaneous to
provide any sort of useful warning for ground vehicles. When flashed rapidly in
multiples, they are very distracting (and very glaring in low-light conditions),
but they still do not provide any (rather they actually interfere with) useful cues
as to distance and direction of the illuminated vehicle. Also they are extremely
easily washed out in daylight, to the point of becoming virtually invisible
peripherally. I don't think they should even be allowed for anything other than
large-scale structures or air or ship related navigational purposes.

Incandescent flashers and rotating beacons do not have any of these problems and
provide good cues as to distance and direction when used as emergency lights.

The City of Madison, however, has just equipped its newest police cars with LED
light bars, and I have to say--subjectively of course-- that I find them to be
_excellent_ for emergency lighting purposes, better than either alternative. They
are very bright but not glaring, and are able to maintain _very_ intense color even
so. The blue, especially is exceptional, it is very deep but still quite bright,
and is very noticeable at night or, unlike most other blue lights, even in the
daytime. LEDs have an "instant-on" aspect making their flashes more
attention-grabbing than incandescent lights, but they stay on longer than strobes,
and their flash patterns can be similarly controlled or changed for different
situations. I would not be surprised if they were seen to be a genuine advance in
vehicular lighting, and will be interested to hear what the studies on the subject
have to say.

Questions? Comments?

No?

Well then, there stands my opinion on the subject.


--Aardwolf.

 

Great, I'd be curious to see the results. I ride a motorcycle and there
has been a long debate about flashing headlights and tail lights for
motorcycles as well, but I've seen virtually no real data one way or the
other.

Matt

 

On the aviation side of the TRB house, sequenced and random flashing
strobes and landing lights (for pattern and low altitude use;
helicopters especially, but Southwest uses them as well) have been used
for years in anti-collision lighting (ACL) to good effect. Same for
fixed ACL use (towers, etc.). Seems aviation adopted Voevodsky's
theories for use against skyplane and groundplane lighting clutter.

- RWM

 

| The fact that a high number of
|standing police vehicles outfitted with all sorts of blinking and strobing
|lights are rammed every year is some indication that this may not be an answer.
|They are rammed in greater frequency than a regular car with normal flashers
|changing a tire are.

Cite the source of the studies that prove that claim please.


Rex in Fort Worth

 

yes, they are thinking about it. more flexibility in design, more directed
pattern of lighting,
less power needed. also they are thinking about going to a 42 volt system,
whereas the
voltage is higher, but current is less, thus thinner and lighter wiring to
accomodate the
increase in electronics.

 

People prone to seizures should have their licenses shredded and have to
take transit.

Your arguement is stupid, to say the least.

 

How do you know that? Have we ever met?

Methinks you have dillusions of grandeur.

 

11) All lights flashing: Stupid old fart wearing hat who is oblivious to the
entire world around him and is driving weel under the posted limit.

 

There is only one self proclaimed lamp god and 1 or two sel appointed fart
catchers for said.

 

Think about it for two seconds:

Cop car STOPPED at side of road.

MOVING vehicle with blinking brake light.

Notice the difference? One vehicle is stopped, one is moving.

The stopped cop car attracts the curiosity of passing motorists who gawk and
naturally drive toward what they are looking at.

The moving vehicle, the one in front of you with the blinking CHMSL, is
doing what it can to get you off it's ass. Do any of you live in a city with
more than 80 people in it? I mean a city where rush hour is 2 million cars
jamming the highway and 8 lanes fo parking lot?

I think some of you need to understand what real traffic chaos is all about.
Any of you seen rear ended by some blue hair who "didn't see your silver
truck with all the lights on including the brake light"? Find yourself in a
situation like that with 2 cracked vertabrae and some geezer saying "I
didn't know you were stopped" and you'll be a believer in roadside
euthanasia. That was a very congested highway and a doddering old frt going
60MPH while traffic was stopped. Quite frankly I don't care if my brake
lights melt the retinas of drivers behind me as long as they stop.

Bring it on light god.

 

less power than what ?

The main problem is that unless you get huge LED arrays they are too dim for
much emergency services work.
Replacing the lamp in a rotating beacon may be possible, if somewhat
expensive, but what would be the advantage?

 

That's actually not true. A great many emergency vehicles in North America
are being equipped and retrofitted with LED modules in place of
incandescent or, more commonly, strobe-based light units. LED emitters are
readily available that provide ample intensity when grouped in a module
the same size as the previous incandescent or strobe units.

LEDs have many advantages over incandescent filament lamps: Much lower
power consumption, much greater mechanical robustness (no filament to
break), much less heat production, much longer life.

DS

 

Comment: I've seen a few LED police light bars. They appear to be at
least as visible as the red/blue strobe units. They do have the
advantage of being able to operate with increased 'on' times, unlike
strobes. I haven't looked into the energy efficiency issues, but then I
don't think that the cops care too much about that.

One aspect of these LED light bars that I have seen (but few models take
advantage of) is that they don't need colored lenses. I have seen one
unit with clear lenses that, when not running, doesn't look like a cop
light bar from a distance. It looks more like a silver-grey roof rack of
sorts. Easier to sneak up on people I'd think.

--
Paul Hovnanian mailto
note to spammers: a Washington State resident
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| | The fact that a high number of
| |standing police vehicles outfitted with all sorts of blinking and strobing
| |lights are rammed every year is some indication that this may not be an
answer.
| |They are rammed in greater frequency than a regular car with normal flashers
| |changing a tire are.
|
| Cite the source of the studies that prove that claim please.
|
|
| Rex in Fort Worth

You can find the data at the NHTSA.

 

This may all be true. But its interesting that the one place I've seen a
'strobed' CHMSL is on the back ends of our local aid units. They have a
center mounted red LED brake light that pulses two or three times (at
about 10 Hz) and then stays on.

They do appear to catch ones attention, since the first time I saw one,
it was in my peripheral vision. I probably wouldn't have seen it on a
side street except for the sudden flash. It would be particularly useful
if one was looking in some direction other than forward when the vehicle
in front begins braking.

The need to decode this flash would take more time and probably wouldn't
help response time any. The short flicker at the onset of braking serves
(I believe) only to attract the attention of someone who might be
looking elsewhere and where their response might otherwise be dictated
by how long it took them to find a track on their favorite CD.

 

No kiddin'!!! You also referenced the original post from Art Begun where he
indicated "the high mounted center rear brake light flashed instead of staying
on steady". The considerable number of follow-up posts to that statement have
been nothing more than pure conjecture on the part of those posting. Art never
really defined the way the light "flashed". Was in precise or erratic? Whatever
it was I read the original post, and again your reference to it, and
interpretted it solely as a possible "loose connection" to the light - but, of
course, nothing that simple would ever seem possible to the magnitude of those
who like to argue in this newsgroup.

 

There haven't been any really viable 360° beacon style LED warning lamps
although there are a great number of strictly directional products like
roof lights or console lights. For now, incandescents and strobes are
the major sources for beacons. However, I've seen a number of attempts
to incorporate LEDs into a beacon so I'm sure they'll be hitting the
market in the very near future.

You forgot one major advantage - lower profiles for the roof lights. It
makes a police car harder to recognize when the lights aren't running as
well as reducing wind noise when traveling at high speeds.

 

Right, I wasn't referring to beacons, but to the fixed round or
rectangular red and/or blue flashing lights found on the sides, front and
back of ambulances and fire trucks, and in certain police vehicles. But
yes, I'm also certain LED beacons won't be long in coming.

...and increasing sales of radar detectors? =8^{)}

DS