Review: Deceleration-sensing brake flasher.

[catsspat]

Whenever I see a car with center high mounted stop lamp (CHMSL) that flashes, it catches my attention better than others. The most common one I see is the 3-flashes-to-constant-ON version. It made me curious because it catches my attention, literally.

Having been rear-ended once in my life, I'll do almost anything to try to avoid it and I figured one of these would help.

After some searching, I found out that auto manufacturers already started putting fancier safety lights in their cars in other countries. For example, some cars in Japan will start flashing the hazards during emergency (hard) braking.

U.S DOT is a stubborn beast, though, and they will not allow these, although they did allow Mercedes to sell some cars with fancy lighting features as an experimental exception.

The one I got is made by 3rdbrakeflasher.com, although I got them from Amazon since they have a presence there, and is their latest model with built-in accelerometer. It has 3 programmable modes with different acceleration values. Number of flashes, flashing rates, whether to repeat the flashing or to stay ON, are all programmable for each of the 3 levels, and the levels themselves are also programmable (acceleration rates).

It's a tiny unit, entirely enclosed in some sort of epoxy resin. I used some 3M double-sided molding tape to attach it to the underside of the trunk.



I added a toggle switch to the programming wires, so it's much easier to program. I can't imagine trying to program this using two bare wires.

I also added a T10 socket and pushed it into the interior, so I can see what it's doing through the rear view mirror. I can always pull the bulb if it annoys me, but it hasn't annoyed me at all.



I've programmed mine this way:

Initial Power Up: 1-flash at rate=8. Almost no difference from normal behavior. The point was to make it behave almost as if I don't have a flasher installed. I did 1-flash just so I can easily tell that it's still functioning properly.

I've disabled the lockout, which would disable the flashing if brake is released and then applied again within programmable seconds. This is meant to prevent annoying people in a stop-and-go-traffic, but since my default is just 1-flash, I don't have to worry about annoying people. Also, I don't want it to lockout if I ever have to pump the brake for some reason.

Medium Braking Force: 6-flashes at rate=8. I wanted to differentiate this from normal braking without standing out too much.

High Braking Force: 16-flashes at rate=4 (faster).

In normal driving, I can entirely avoid Medium/High braking force modes.

The flasher is smart enough to move to higher modes if the deceleration increases even during braking. For example, if I'm approaching a red light and slowing down normally (1-flash-then-ON), but a car in the next lane suddenly swerves in front of me and I press harder on the brake pedal, increasing the deceleration rate, flasher will move to the appropriate mode. The end result could be something like 1-flash-ON---16-fast-flashes-ON. It could even go through all 3 stages in a single activation.

I've only hooked it up to the CHMSL, but I can imagine people doing other things with it.

I personally think it's a great investment. Build quality is fantastic in my opinion. It's literally a small circuit board embedded in translucent plastic. I've had mine in both BRZ and Impreza for about 4 months now and it has performed flawlessly so far.

Non-disclaimer since I've nothing to disclaim: I did not get paid to write this. I bought mine normally from Amazon. I've not found other brake flasher with this level of features and programmability, and yet I've found many crappier (in my opinion) units costing as much or even more than these.

[geezerbrzeezer]

Awesome find. Is it legal?

[ryoma]

do you think you can get a video of how it looks? I have seen aftermarket 4th brake lights do the flashing but IMO it doesn't work that well since the car is already low and the light is at the lowest point of the car.

[catsspat]

As for legality, it varies. I did find something about at most 4 flashes within the first 4 seconds rule for California, but I couldn't confirm if it applies to this case. I see plenty of cars with brake flashers around here (Nevada), though, many installed by the dealers.

One of the reasons why I programmed mine to do only a single flash for normal conditions was to avoid troubles. They'll just do a double-take and think they're imagining things. I could even disable it for normal conditions and have it flash only during hard deceleration.

I'll try to get a video this weekend, but I'm solo, so I won't be able to control the zoom. The car might be tiny by the time I'm braking.

[FX86]

Originally Posted by geezerbrzeezer

Awesome find. Is it legal?

don't know about canada but in florida...everything is legal...i installed a basic flasher with 3 flashes and stays solid until i press the pedal again

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by geezerbrzeezer

Awesome find. Is it legal?

There are very few laws about brake lights in Ontario. Technically we don't even need them since we only require one red light in the rear and it does not have to indicate braking.
But...
"Flashing red lights, visible from any direction on a vehicle, are restricted to law enforcement vehicles only" so no we can not have these.


http://www.ontarioticket.com/motor-vehicle-lighting.php

[geezerbrzeezer]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

There are very few laws about brake lights in Ontario. Technically we don't even need them since we only require one red light in the rear and it does not have to indicate braking.
But...
"Flashing red lights, visible from any direction on a vehicle, are restricted to law enforcement vehicles only" so no we can not have these.


http://www.ontarioticket.com/motor-vehicle-lighting.php

"This restriction does not include four way flashers or tapping the brake pedal to produce an on and off effect with the brake lights."

Now, the question is whether tapping the brake pedal repeatedly to produce a flash for each tap is legally written to specifically exclude equipment that is able to produce preprogrammed brake light actions with a single tap or differing pressure. After all, the flashing is being produced by tapping the brake pedal, albeit with a single tap.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by geezerbrzeezer

"This restriction does not include four way flashers or tapping the brake pedal to produce an on and off effect with the brake lights."

Now, the question is whether tapping the brake pedal repeatedly to produce a flash for each tap is legally written to specifically exclude equipment that is able to produce preprogrammed brake light actions with a single tap or differing pressure. After all, the flashing is being produced by tapping the brake pedal, albeit with a single tap.

I think that an auto flasher would be pushing your luck. You would also need to have all the brake lights hooked up to it not just the third or else you have just created a flashing light.

[RFB]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

There are very few laws about brake lights in Ontario. Technically we don't even need them since we only require one red light in the rear and it does not have to indicate braking.
But...
"Flashing red lights, visible from any direction on a vehicle, are restricted to law enforcement vehicles only" so no we can not have these.


http://www.ontarioticket.com/motor-vehicle-lighting.php

Strangely enough, in Bantario flashing brake lights are ILLEGAL on CARS but LEGAL on MOTORCYCLES ! - (typical loony liberal legislators again).


Toronto cops on the iron donkeys have them.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by RFB

Strangely enough, in Bantario flashing brake lights are ILLEGAL on CARS but LEGAL on MOTORCYCLES ! - (typical loony liberal legislators again).


Toronto cops on the iron donkeys have them.

Legal on cop bikes (the law specifically mentions them) but are they on others?

[RFB]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Legal on cop bikes (the law specifically mentions them) but are they on others?

Yep, us peons are allowed to use them on M/C's, and continually flashing red to rear on bicycles.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by RFB

Yep, us peons are allowed to use them on M/C's, and continually flashing red to rear on bicycles.

I don't know. The section does not specify what vehicles but simply says "no person". I don't think they are legal per se but probably not enforced.


(14) Subject to subsections (14.1) and (15), no person shall use a lamp, other than the vehicular hazard warning signal lamps commonly known as four way flashers, that produces intermittent flashes of red light. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 62 (14); 2007, c. 13, s. 17 (1).

[RFB]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I don't know. The section does not specify what vehicles but simply says "no person". I don't think they are legal per se but probably not enforced.


(14) Subject to subsections (14.1) and (15), no person shall use a lamp, other than the vehicular hazard warning signal lamps commonly known as four way flashers, that produces intermittent flashes of red light. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 62 (14); 2007, c. 13, s. 17 (1).

You may be correct, the info is not from me, but from a Metro bike cop, and an Ontario Ministry Of Transport Inspector - there is an exemption for motorcycles.

Apparently not in the HTA but in RSO amendment regs. somewhere.

Having said that, I have had a bottom red strip L.E.D. brake light strobe for almost 5 years on my FRS and have been checked several times by the tax collectors in uniform, and neither the countymounties nor doorshakers were bothered by it, including the ones who follow track cars while checking CPIC on their MDT's .

[geezerbrzeezer]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I think that an auto flasher would be pushing your luck. You would also need to have all the brake lights hooked up to it not just the third or else you have just created a flashing light.

Actually, that's an even better idea. And it might garner even more of the desired safety/awareness/braking attention from the behind morons.

But having all three vs the third brake lights hooked up makes it no more or less illegal - it's either all good or all bad. It may come down to an interpretation of the wording in the law.

I think the definition of the word 'intermittent' is key - not going to spell that out here as anyone can look up its myriad scope of interpretation.

Whereas flashing lights allowable on emergency vehicles are a toggle on and then regular flash interval until toggle off, the product from OP works only in tandem with the application of a safety device.

But I seriously like the idea of having all the brake lights affected, and it would go a long way to disguising that there is anything special about the brake light system.