Recent SUV 5 mph crash tests (Pacifica ranked poorly)

They sure have. They took the classic "British Expedition" (no pun intended) look and turned it into a slab-sided detail-free refridgerator-on-wheels that looks like it's bodied in cheap sheet plastic.

--Aardwolf.

The REAR FOGS are a great idea, but the problem is, MOST people drive with their fogs on anytime thier headlights are on, so that BRIGHT LIGHT on the back is just a distraction, not a safty item it would be in bad weather.

Amen brother, I focus on the car! I've always done that and in most cases the vehicle in front of that too. Comes from many miles of driving 18 wheelers where I had a birds eye view and was able to see many vehicles ahead. I've trained myself to be aware of more than what's directly in front. Besides, lights these days are very confusing. Night time is a different story.

But it will if you are.

--Aardwolf.

At first I thought they were both visually obtrusive and an example of the Nanny State. However, big-city commuting convinced me to not only accept them but retrofit them to my own older cars. I think they offer four advantages:

• They help resolve ambiguity in heavy traffic with their unique if not quite standard location. No more catching a glimpse of something red and wondering if it is a brake light, a turn signal, a taillight...
• They arguably attract more attention with the sudden appearance of light in a new place than you could with the brightening of a lamp that is already on.
• They can often be seen from further away in thick traffic, allowing you to learn sooner that slowing or stopping is imminent.
• And (human nature being what it is) they give you *some* chance at a clue when a driver ahead has some of his tail lamps burned out, busted out, or miswired.

In other words, you get better knowledge sooner about things that will soon involve you. Cheers,

--Joe

Despite the name, the height of the CHMSL is not particularly standardized.

I take it you mean "it will help to have the lights in one location if you are able to see a normal light".

I fail to see how forcing all manufacturers to locate lights at the exact same spot in space in relation to a vehicle is going to help at all.

Should cars all mount their brake lights on posts to make them the same height as trucks, or should trucks have them all very low?

I vote for a auto system. When a big rig is following behind, a sonar system would automatically extends a motorized retractable center pole with a brake light on the end of it to the approximate height of the driver's windshield of the rig. :-) Maybe we should make it strobe too like some in a separate thread suggest. I'm sure we have the technology to make this happen. Heck, maybe J.C. Whitney has a aftermarket unit that would do the trick! :-)