Advantage of Multi-Color Taillights?

Well, it's still done on some vehicles, even some new designs, and even some non-American-brand designs. The duelling-red problem is worsening (new Jetta/Golf, Mazda6 wagon), and is going to get much worse in the coming years.

Yep.

Some cars do still have a single red brake / signal bulb. It need not be done at the turn signal switch either. Just look at the adapters used for trailer lights for vehicles with seperate rear brake / turn signals.

My favorite is the latest Sentra. There is a tiny red turn signal hidden in the middle of a giant red brake lamp.

Depends which bulbs you use!

Well, those converter boxes involve circuitry not sufficiently reliable for full-time use, but certainly since most all cars now have a body control module actually controlling the lights, it's a simple question of programming.

Yep, nearly invisible. Same for the base-model Mazda3.

"Daniel J. Stern" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@alumni.engin.umich.edu:

I'm considering some 55W halogens and better reflectors, but I can't figure out how to get them in there other than by bolting KC Daylighters to the roof rack. :(

You laugh, but that's practically what tow truck drivers do...

nate

Agreed. But microsecond-faster reaction times are also a questionable advantage. Now if its in the millisecond range, that's significant given how slow human reaction is ANYWAY.

Incorrect. They're wired in parallel, and "wierd" flash patterns will ONLY happen if a ground connection fails. And that is true with any multi-filament bulb, even a single combined stop/brake lamp.

But the conditioned response does not go away.

I disagree. As an engineer who designs test scenarios to validate not only the system under test but the TEST, this is exactly the sort of information that tells you whether or not the TEST is valid.

If that level complexity in events and conditions only tangentially related to the test exist and can affect the outcome, then the experiment is out of control and of questionable value in determining what the REAL cause-effect relationship is. To pick one example, you say that the driver may be conditioned by seeing the same type of vehicle before. That's pure speculation- the REAL reason for a different reaction time could be related to any number of other factors unique to that vehicle, not just the amber rear turn signals. Maybe it just looks a lot more painful to hit than some other vehicle. Maybe its design accentuates the brake lights. The experiment is uncontrolled without comparisons using the SAME vehicle (or the same simulated vehicle to avoid contamination from the driver's experiences with real vehicles in the real world) with nothing but the turn signal color changed.

FWIW, that's one reason why I *HATE* human-factors engineering and try to avoid it like the plague personally, and take it with a boulder of salt when someone gives me a bunch of human-factors test results. Its damn near impossible to come up with tests that can't be easily tainted in this way. Its more psychology than engineering.

If by "favorite" you mean "best example of laughable stupidity...."

And FWIW, I believe several models of Mazda also use that exact same "small red circle overlapping big red circle" design. Unbelievable.

OK, well, set aside your disagreement until you at least *read the study* being discussed. I have a copy of it here I can send you, if you're interested enough.

Gladly.

The really sad/amusing thing about this, is that I'm sure that Daniel just rattled this off without reference to any books or other material. ;-)

FloydR - in awe

YOU'RE ONLY SAYING THAT 'CAUSE IT'S TRUE!